The Cuban Revolution overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959, led by Fidel Castro. Castro established a communist government in Cuba and seized property owned by Americans and Cubans. This strained relations with the United States, who did not approve of a communist country so close. The failed Bay of Pigs invasion and Cuban Missile Crisis further deteriorated relations between the two countries. Due to the US embargo and Cuba's communist policies, Cuba's economy declined significantly. Relations between Cuba and the US remain tense to this day.