A ‘friendly’ takeover? Why Cubans distrust US power.

As Cuba’s government struggles with energy shortages, an economic crisis and U.S. pressure, the question of what comes after Cuban communism is no longer theoretical. Some imagine that regime change might finally be within reach.

But for many Cubans who care deeply about their country’s independence, American interest inspires less hope than unease. That reaction draws on history long preceding the Cold War.

Cuba’s strained relations with the U.S. did not begin with Fidel Castro’s 1959 communist revolution. They go back to the 19th century, when the U.S. was rapidly expanding its territory and Cuba was one of America’s main annexation targets. Again and again, Cuban vulnerability produced American plans for intervention, acquisition or control. That pattern continues to influence how Cubans interpret Washington’s intentions today.

Just after the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers speculated about acquiring Cuba. They saw it as a natural extension of U.S. power into the Caribbean. By the 1840s, American politicians frequently described Cuba as a piece of fruit hanging from a tree, ready to fall into America’s hands once it ripened. The metaphor assumes that geography, power and destiny would eventually override Cuban........

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