The law that drives cigar lovers crazy brings us this week’s Marketplace Money Buzzword: Foreign Assistance Act

Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act in 1961. It defines which countries can receive US non-military aid.

Cuba didn’t make the cut. In fact, the law began the American trade embargo of our Communist island neighbor.

In 2004, the U.N. issued a resolution opposing the embargo. Not that it made Cohibas any easier to come by in the States.

When Fidel Castro fell ill this week, many hoped it’d signal a political change in Cuba.

And that the embargo might therefore go up in smoke.