Cigars played a starring role in the U.S. embargo on Cuba. In February 1961, JFK asked his Secretary of State for recommendations on instituting a “full embargo” against Cuba. ⁠ ⁠ “About five million dollars’ worth of high-quality cigars were imported from Cuba in 1960,” Secretary of State Dean Rusk informed the President.⁠ “An embargo on Cuban cigars would result in considerable inconvenience to United States consumers,” he wrote, “as cigars of comparable quality could not be obtained from other sources.”⁠ ⁠ As JFK prepared to issue his presidential directive, he heeded Rusk’s warning. The President quietly dispatched his press secretary, Pierre Salinger, to acquire a stash of Kennedy’s favorite Cuban smokes: H. Upmann Petit Upmanns, 4 1/2 inches long by 36 ring gauge. ⁠Salinger informed the President he had managed to purchase 1,200 of the Cuban cigars, he reported that Kennedy smiled and opened his desk. “He took out a long paper which he immediately signed,” Salinger later wrote.⁠ ⁠ Sixty years later, those restrictions are still in place. They continue to block the importation of cigars rolled in Cuba into the United States, as well as cigars made anywhere else in the world with Cuban tobacco. ⁠ ⁠ Visit our linkin.bio to read the full story.⁠ ⁠ #cigaraficionado #cigaraficionadomagazine #thegoodlife #JFK #cubancigar #cubaembargo #cuba #cigarnews