The US embargo on Cuba has been going on for 66 years.

Omissions

• The claim rounds up to 66 years; the embargo has not yet completed 66 full years — only 65 years and 7 months from the October 1960 start date.
• There are two relevant start dates: the partial embargo of 19 October 1960 (Eisenhower) and the full embargo proclaimed on 7 February 1962 (Kennedy). Counting from the full embargo would yield only about 64 years.
• The MEP did not cite a source for the duration, but major media outlets such as The Conversation have used the '66 years' framing as recently as February 2026.

Sources

• PrimaryThe American Presidency Project (UCSB)Proclamation 3447, signed by President John F. Kennedy, prohibited 'effective 12:01 A.M., Eastern Standard Time, February 7, 1962, the importation into the United States of all goods of Cuban origin' — establishing the full trade embargo.
• PrimaryNational Security Archive (George Washington University)In 1960 President Dwight D. Eisenhower imposed the first economic sanctions against Cuba's revolutionary government, though they fell short of a full embargo. The full embargo was established by Proclamation 3447 on 3 February 1962, effective 7 February 1962.
• SecondaryThe ConversationHeadline and article state: 'Cuba has survived 66 years of US-led embargoes.' Published 23 February 2026, confirming the '66 years' framing was in common media use shortly before the MEP's speech on 19 May 2026.
• SecondaryTimeEisenhower's State Department imposed the first trade embargo on Cuba on 19 October 1960. The original embargo covered all U.S. exports to Cuba except certain food and medicine.