10 Maps That Defined 2015

It was December 2014 when President Barack Obama announced the U.S. would restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba, ending more than half a century of economic embargo and political stalemate between the two countries. As a result, throughout 2015 new non-stop flights to Cuba from U.S. cities suddenly appeared, while cruise-ship itineraries quickly tacked on days at the Havana port. The map above, by Cuba Standard reporter Armando Portela, shows the ferry routes proposed by entrepreneurial Floridians who snapped up licenses to serve Cuba before officials could even say “go.”