announcer: funding for this program was provided by the minerva nolte estate. woman: people are getting water in the home. john f. kennedy: regard any nuclear missile launched... man: [speaking spanish] woman 2: we need gender equality and we need this reflected in national priorities. [applause] narrat: cuba is an anhronism. ancient vehicles, crumbling infrastructure, and limited opportunities. but spite years of economic sations byhe unitestates, the socialist country survives. there's free education and a free world-class medical system.

in 1958, fidel castro overthrew the military junto ruling cuba. newscaster: havana. january 1, 1959. [woman singing in spanish] newscaster: to the cuban people and to the admiring world, there could be no better way to start the new year. [singing continues] narrator: but before long, castro nationalized american oil refineries on the island without paying the owners, triggering an economic embargo by the united states. with few options, cuba turned to the soviet union for trade. then in 1962, moscow took advantage of cuba's stratec location, and the world held its breath as president kennedy created a naval blockade to stop russian nuclear missiles on their way to havana. man: the cuban missile crisis is over, but kennedy imposes a full

trade embargo on cuba. it will come to be the symbol of u.s.-cuba relations r the next 50 years. man 2: in 1980, facing growing political and economic pressure, castro announced that anyone who wanted to leave cuba could do so. man 3: and 125,000 arrive in florida. this ad a completely new dimension to the conflict. it's now also about the internal cuban battle between castro vs. cuban dissidents, which plays out through american politics. reporter: u.s. cracking down on travel to the communist island and limiting the amount of money families can send to relatives in cuba. narrator: television rorts from around the world question whether u.s. sanctions on cuba are still necessary. king: the embargo has caused undue hardship on the cuban people for nearly two generations. woman: almost unanimous support for the cubans on this issue. narratorthere ha been ma drivers of t u.s. sanctions on cuba. in this episode, adapted from a web series produced in havana, an independent

journalist looks at the impact 6 decades of american sanctions from the point of view of many of cuba's 11 million citizens. now on "the global mosaic." [fernandez speaking spanish]

[all speaking spanish] [castro speaking spanish] clinton: the legislation i signed today further tightens that embargo. bush: i'm maintaining our embargo. [man speaking spanish]

[chicken clucking] [man shouting] [both speaking spanish]

fernandez: the blockade is the longest trade bargo in modern history. it isn't motivated by concerns about human rights. it's about money and power. until 1959, cuba was like a u.s. colony. our econy was controlled by u.s. companies, corrupt politicians, and the mafia. after the revolution, cuba nationalized the u.s. companies. we claimed our sovereignty, our right toovern ouelves. the government gave basic rights to the majority--women, black people, campesinos, the working class. the blockade was retaliation. it's basically a form of

economic warfare. the blockade stops cuba from doing business with the united states. they can't buy our stuff and we can't buy theirs. we can't pay for things because banks won't lend us money or even let us open accounts. the blockade also stops cuba from doing business with other countries. obama: it does not serve america's interests or the cuban people to try to push cuba towards collapse. [crowd cheering] [player speaks spanish]

jagger: hola, havana! reporter: the trump administration is imposi new restrictionsn u.s. travel to cuba. reporter 2: john bolton making a south florida stop today to talk to the cuban-american community. reporter 3: unveiling sweeping changes to cuba policy. reporter 4: a major blow to the new u.s.-cuba relationship. reporter 5: the u.s. has banned flights. reporter 6: all families t leave cuba. reporter 7: the u.s. government will al ban trips by cruise ships. reporter 8: they'll have to go after their finances. reporter 9: limiting the amount of money, fresh u.s. sanctions.

[both speaking spanish] [man speaking spanish] [man speaking spanish]

[man speaking spanish] [woman speaking spanish] reporter: out of hava, where there appears to be some kind

of gas crisis. [reporter speaking spanish] reporter: the trump administration is sanctioning the ships who deliver that fuel. [reporter speaking spanish] reporter 2: the u.s. wants to stop the oil trade between the two political allies. fernandez: 20 years ago, hugo chavez was elected president of venezuela. cuba and venezuela became close allies. venezuela has more oil than any other country in the world, but their healthcare system needed help. so the two governments made a deal. venezuela sent us oil and we sent them...

[mom speaking spanish] fernandez: in 2005, hugo chavez began providing cheap oil to countries throughout the caribbean. venezuela's oil diplomacy offered a way for countries to be less dependent on the united states, and it helped cuba reducehe impact of the blockade. but this south-south cooperation threatened u.s. hegemony. john bolton ban talking about the monroe doctrine, which dates backo 1823. boltonthe monroe doctrine alive and well. fernandez: the monroe doctrine basically says the western hemisphere belongs to the united states. it's been

used to justify u.s. invasions in latin america for more than a century. trump: wseek a peaceful transition of power, but all options are open. nothing could be better for the future of venezuela and nothing uld be better for the ture another ctive nation, cub trump: the dictator maduro is a cubapuppet. penc the people of vezuela are essentlly cuba's hostage. pompeo: cuba is the true imperialispower in venezuela. bolton: ifhis afternoo 20 to 25,000 cubanseft venezua, i think maduro would fall by midnight.

[fernando speaking spanish] [both speaking spanish]

[berriz speaking spanish]

[doorbell rings]

reporter: doctors and nurses from cuba touch down in milan. they're there to provide support and expertise to the hospitals in italy. [juan jesus speaking spanish] [juan jesus speaking spanish] [both speaking spanish]

[muro speaking spanish] fernandez: cuba'international medical program began in 1960 when it sent a health brigade to chile in response to a deadly earthquake. since then, cuba has sent more than 400,000 medical personnel to 164 countries. for decades, cuba's medical missions were purely humanitarian. the

gornment didn't charge a penny. today, cuba still sends thousands of doctors to poor countries in africa and latin america at no cost. but the last 20 years, cuba haalso began charging wealthier countries. reporter: ok, so the allegation is that cuban doctorare bein sent around the world to work in different places. won: these cuban medical missions, if you'll call them, are really just disguised human trafficking. pompeo: we've noticed how the regime in havana has taken advantage of the covid-19 pandemic to continue its exploitation of cuban medical workers. barsa: this business of forced labor is the functional equivalent of modern-day slavery. fernandez: usaid offered $3 million in grants to investigate alleged rights violationof cuban medical rsonnel.

holmes: and the breaking news is the far right candidate, jair bolsonaro has won brazil's presidential race. reporter: president trump twted about it this morning. "we agreed that brazil a the united states will work closely together on trade and military and everything else. [bolsonaro speaking portuguese] [muro speaking spanish]

[anez speaking spanish] [muro speaking spanish] [man speaking spanish] [diaz speaking spanish] [fernandez speaking spanish]

[diaz speaking spanish] fernandez: in the face of the global pandemic, cuba's international medical program has grown. the henry reeve brigade has sent nearly 4,000 doctors and nurses to more than 30 countries to fight covid. but the cubans were still not welcome in bolivia, ecuador, and brazil. reporter: in bolivia, the healthcare system there has been overwhelmed by the coronavirupandemic. reporter 2: hospitals e at breaking points. people aren't just dying in their cars. they're also dying on the street. reporter 3: ecuador is seeing

one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks. reporter 4: corpses wrapped in plastic and left on the sidewalk in ecuador. reporter 5: brazil's infections are rocketing, particularly among the poor. reporter 6: they're digging thousands upon thousands of graves. reporter: bril now has the second highest number of cases and deaths in the world. [juan jesus speaking spanish] [fernandez speaking spanish]

narrator: ending 6 decades of sanctions on cuba will take u.s. citizen engagement to secure enough support in congress. reporter: the administration is re-designated cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. reporter 2: the move, of course, comes in the final days of the trump administration. reporter 3: pompeo cited cuba's harboring of u.s. fugitives and its support for venezuelan leader nicolas maduro as reasons for the move. critics said the decision was nothing more than an eleventh hour move to complicate matters for incoming president joe biden. reporter 4: there's only a small window otime to come up with policy before politics get h anheavy in the next congressional elections.

narrator: for more perspectives on the complex relationship between cuba and the united states, as well as other global challenges, visit theglobalmosaic.com. announcer: funding for this program was provided by the ówówóoc■j?■x■xqú/ú/ú/ú/ú/ú/

>> this is focus on europe. i'm lara babalola, happy new year and a warm welcome to the show. hope for a new beginning. it's a dream that is prompting migrants to seek a better life here in europe. despite the freezing temperatures, the number of asylum seekers arriving here has spiked compared to a year ago and applications within the eu are at their highest since 2015. in northern italy, franchesco chibati's hometown of triest has become a popular spot for asylum-seekers.