5. Infamously, JFK Bought 1,200 High-Grade Cuban Cigars Before Signing The Embargo On Cuban Imports
On February 7, 1962, the USA expanded their embargo on Cuba to include almost all imports. The President at the time: JFK. However, the evening before Kennedy had called his press secretary, Pierre Salinger, into the Oval Office and told him he needed "a lot of cigars", and then expanded to say "about 1,000 Petit Upmanns". Salinger returned with 1,200 cigars from Cuba on the morning of February 7, and then JFK smiled, opened his desk and signed the extension of the embargo on Cuban imports. One thing JFK certainly cannot be accused of is lacking cunning...
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
