Specifically, two events: "The plant was introduced by Jose Antonio Gelabert in the 18th century. French colonists later brought their own production methods and by the time of the Cuban revolution in 1959 the country was a major global exporter.

The political context and nationalisation of the industry led to much-reduced production."

followed by another whopper: " With the collapse of the Soviet bloc, Cuba lost 80% of its export trade." https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2018/09/exploring-cubas-co...