It is a policy shift five decades in the making. This week the relationship status between Cuba and the United States thawed from "it's complicated"...
Relations between the two countries went downhill fast in 1959, when Fidel Castro seized power over the island of Cuba and aligned with the Soviet Union. This was all happening during the Cold War and in 1962, tensions escalated when Cuba installed nuclear missiles sent from the Soviet Union and pointed them at the U.S. Following the Cuban missile crisis, Cuba was placed on the U.S. blacklist as a 'state sponsor of terrorism'.
The Communist Party of Cuba is the only political party permitted to rule in the Republic of Cuba. At its core, communism is a form of government in which property is collectively owned and the government controls benefits such as food and health care.
Last month the Obama administration announced the two nations would attempt to normalize relations. As part of that move, the U.S. relaxed travel restrictions meaning more Americans can now visit the island. President Obama addressed the policy shift in his State of the Union address stating that, "This shift in Cuba policy has the potential to end a legacy of mistrust in our hemisphere."