The economic relationship between Cuba and the Soviet Union was not entirely subsidy, nor entirely trade: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba%E2%80%93Soviet_Unio

The economic relationship between Cuba and the Soviet Union was not entirely subsidy, nor entirely trade: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba%E2%80%93Soviet_Union_relations#After_the_revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba%E2%80%93Soviet_Union_rela... The United States subsidizes many government within its sphere of influence, too. In turn it also trades with them and gains significant sway over the economic affairs of those countries for the benefit of US markets. Cuba had none of this for the last 25 or so years.