Background Notes: Cuba
PA/PC
Source: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public
Affairs
Date: Oct 15, 199010/15/90
Category: Country Data
Region: Caribbean
Country: Cuba
Subject: Cultural Exchange, Resource Management,
Military Affairs, History, International Organizations,
Trade/Economics
[TEXT]
Official Name: Republic of Cuba
PROFILE
People
Nationality: Noun: Cuban(s); adjective-Cuban. Population:
10,513,742 (Sep. 1989); 70% urban, 30% rural. Avg. annual growth
rate: .93%. Density: 95/sq. km. (238/sq. mi.). Ethnic groups:
Spanish-African mixture. Language: Spanish. Education: Years
compulsory-6. Attendance: 92% (ages 6-16). Literacy: 98.5%.
Health: Infant mortality rate-11.8/1,000. Life expectancy -75
years. No statistics available by sex. Work force: 3,300,000; 30%
government and services, 29% industry, 13% agriculture, 11%
commerce, 10% construction, 7% transportation and
communications (1987).
Geography
Area: 110,860 sq. km. (44,200 sq. mi.); about the size of
Pennsylvania. Capital-Havana (pop. 2 million). Other cities-
Santiago de Cuba, Camaguey, Santa Clara, Holguin, Matanzas,
Cienfuegos, Pinar del Rio. Terrain: Flat or gently rolling plains,
hills, mountains up to 2,000 meters (6,000 ft.) feet in the
southeast. Climate: Tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season
(November to April); rainy season (May to October). Averages one
hurricane every other year.
Government
Type: Communist state. Current government assumed power
January 1, 1959. Independence: May 20, 1902. Constitution:
February 24, 1976.
Branches: Executive-President, Council of Ministers. Legislative-
National Assembly of People's Government. Judicial-People's
Supreme Court.
Political party: Cuban Communist Party (PCC). Suffrage: All
citizens age 16 and older, except those who have applied for
permanent emigration. National Assembly elections were held in
1986 and municipal elections for local assemblies in 1989.
Administrative subdivisions: 14 provinces and one special
municipality (Havana).
Flag: White star centered on red triangle at staff side, three blue
and two white horizontal bands.
Economy
Gross Social Product (GSP) (This economic measure is not
convertible to GNP/GDP) (1990 est.): $27 billion. Real annual growth
rate: 0.0% (1988). Per capita income: $2,644.
Natural resources: Nickel, cobalt, iron ore, copper, manganese, salt,
timber.
Agriculture: Products-sugar, citrus and tropical fruits, tobacco,
coffee, rice, beans, meat and vegetables.
Industry: Types-sugar, food processing, oil refining, cement,
electric power, light consumer and industrial products.
Trade: Exports-$5.4 billion (f.o.b. 1987): sugar and its byproducts,
petroleum, nickel, seafood, citrus, tobacco, rum. Major markets-
USSR, 72%; other Communist countries, 15% . Imports-$7.6 billion
(c.i.f. 1987): capital goods, industrial
raw materials, food, petroleum, consumer goods. Major suppliers-
USSR, 72%, other Communist countries, 14%.
Official exchange rate: 1 Cuban peso=US$1.33.
Membership in International Organizations
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CEMA), Economic
Commission for Latin America (ECLA), Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), Group of 77 (G-77), International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA), International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Latin American Economic
System (SELA), United Nations and some of its specialized and
related agencies, including UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), U.N. Human Rights Commission (UNHRC),
Universal Postal Union (UPU), World Federation of Trade Unions
(WFTU), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
PEOPLE
Cuba is a multi-racial society with a population of mainly
Spanish and African origins. The largest organized religion is the
Roman Catholic Church. Government and communist party
restrictions on religions and discrimination against churchgoers
intimidate Cuban citizens from practicing their faiths and restrict
their professional advancements.
HISTORY
Before the arrival of Columbus in 1492, Cuba was inhabited by
three groups, the Cyboneys, the Guanahabibes, and the Tainos, who
had introduced agriculture, including maize and tobacco, to the
island. As Spain developed its colonial empire in the Western
Hemisphere, Havana (La Havana-"the haven") became an important
commercial seaport. Settlers eventually moved inland, devoting
themselves mainly to sugarcane and tobacco farming. As the native
Indian population died out, African slaves were imported to work on
the plantations. At the end of the 18th century, according to a 1774
census, 96,000 whites, 31,000 free blacks, and 44,000 slaves lived
in Cuba. Slavery was abolished in 1886.
Cuba was the last major Spanish colony to gain independence.
The independence movement began in 1850, when Cuban planters
financed and led several expeditions against Spanish garrisons on
the island. In 1868, the Ten Years' War for independence began
under the leadership of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, whom the Cubans
consider the father of their country. Twenty-four years later, Jose
Marti, Cuba's greatest national hero, initiated plans for a general
uprising. He announced the "Grito de Baire" in 1895, which heralded
the beginning of Cuba's final struggle for independence. Shortly
after, Marti died in battle.
The United States entered the conflict on the side of the
revolutionaries when the USS Maine, anchored in Havana Harbor to
protect US citizens, was sunk by an explosion of unknown origin on
February 15, 1898. On December 10, 1898, Spain signed the Treaty
of Paris, ending the Spanish-American War and relinquishing control
of Cuba to the United States. The United States administered the
island for 3 years. Independence was proclaimed on May 20, 1902.
The United States retained the right to intervene to preserve
Cuban independence and stability under the terms of the Platt
Amendment, which established conditions mandated by Congress for
the withdrawal of US troops from Cuba. In 1934, the Platt
Amendment was repealed in keeping with "Good Neighbor" policy.
Later the same year, the United States and Cuba reaffirmed by
treaty their 1903 agreement that leased the naval base at
Guantanamo Bay to the United States. This agreement remains in
force today and can only be terminated by mutual agreement or
abandonment by the United States.
Gen. Gerardo Machado, elected president in 1924, forcibly
extended his rule until a popular uprising deposed him in 1933.
Army Sergeant Fulgencio Batista led an army and student revolt and
established himself as Cuba's dominant leader for more than 25
years. He ruled through a series of presidents and was himself
elected in 1940 for 4 years. In March 1952, shortly before regularly
scheduled elections, Batista seized the presidency in a bloodless
coup.
On July 26, 1953, an armed opposition group led by Fidel
Castro attacked the Moncada army barracks at Santiago de Cuba.
The attack was unsuccessful, and many of those not killed were
imprisoned, including Castro. Castro was released by Batista under
an amnesty in May 1955 and went into exile in Mexico, where he
formed a revolutionary group, the "26th of July Movement." After
training in Mexico, Castro and 81 of his followers landed in eastern
Cuba on December 2, 1956. All but 12 were soon captured, killed, or
dispersed. From this nucleus, Castro's forces eventually grew to
several thousand. While a number of other groups in Cuba also
actively opposed Batista, Castro's "26th of July" forces became
predominant when Batista fled Cuba on January 1, 1959. Castro's
assumption of power was widely acclaimed in Cuba and abroad
because he seemed to embody the hopes of most Cubans for a return
to democratic government and an end to graft and corruption.
Within months, Castro moved to consolidate his power and to
set up an authoritarian government. Many leaders of the opposition
to Batista were executed or sentenced to lengthy prison terms for
opposing Castro's policies. Moderates were forced out of the
government, and hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled the island.
During an April 1959 visit to Washington, Castro addressed
concerns about a reported leftist tilt to his regime by saying, "We
are against all kinds of dictators, whether of a man, or a country, or
a class, or an oligarchy, or by the military. That is why we are
against communism." On December 2, 1961, Castro publicly
declared himself a Marxist-Leninist. Representative democracy
was abolished, effective freedom of expression ended, and all
opposition political activity was soon terminated.
GOVERNMENT
Cuba is a totalitarian state dominated by Fidel Castro, who is
president of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers, first
secretary of the Communist Party and commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces. With support from his brother, Raul, and a few
longtime associates, Castro exercises control over nearly all
aspects of Cuban life through a network of directorates ultimately
responsible to him through the communist party.
From January 1959 until December 1976, Castro ruled by
decree. The 1976 constitution provides for a party-government
structure in which the communist party and its politburo are "the
highest leading force of the society and state." (The following,
along with Fidel and Raul Castro, are members of the communist
party politburo: Juan Almeida, Julio Camacho, Osmani Cienfuegos,
Abelardo Colome, Vilma Espin, Armando Hart, Esteban Lazo, Jose
Machado, Pedro Miret, Jorge Risquet, Carlos Rodriguez, Robert
Veiga.)
Executive power is vested in the Council of Ministers, which
heads the government. Legislative power resides with the National
Assembly of People's Government (a rubber-stamp legislature), but
day-to-day control is held by the Council of State. Vice Presidents
of the Council of State include: Joan Almeida, Osmani Cienfuegos,
Jose Machado, Pedro Miret, Carlos Rodriguez.
The communist party is Cuba's only legal political party, and
it monopolizes all government positions, including judicial offices.
All pre-1959 political parties and political organizations have been
abolished. Though not a formal requirement, party membership is a
de facto prerequisite for high-level official positions and
professional advancement in most areas. Cuba's trade unions,
women's federation, and youth and other mass organizations are
completely controlled by the government and party. These
organizations attempt to extend Cuban government and communist
party control over each citizen's daily activities at home, work, and
school.
The party is composed of the pre-revolution Communist Party
of Cuba (in existence since 1925 under a variety of names), which
was absorbed, with two other main political groups supporting the
revolution, into a new political entity formed by Castro in July
1961. Further refinements resulted in the emergence in late 1965
of the Cuban Communist Party, which held its first congress in
1975. The second and third party congresses were held in 1980 and
1986, and resulted in changes in the membership of the central
committee and politburo. Policy changes emphasized increased
political indoctrination and the introduction of minor economic
incentives. The politburo and central committee together include
most of the country's military and civilian leaders.
The constitution states that civil liberties cannot be
exercised "contrary to the existence and objectives of the socialist
state" (Article 61). Cubans do not possess equal protection under
the law, the right freely to choose government representatives,
freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and
association, or freedom to travel to and from Cuba without
restriction. The government and communist party control all
electronic and print media.
Cuba has no independent judiciary. Although the constitution
specifies that the courts shall be "a system of state organs
independent of all others," it explicitly subordinates the judiciary
to the National Assembly of People's Government and thus to the
Council of State. The People's Supreme Court is the highest judicial
body. Due process safeguards can be constitutionally circumvented
and defense attorneys face severe disadvantages under the Cuban
judicial system.
The Ministry of Interior ensures political and social
conformity, as well as internal security. It operates border and
police forces, orchestrates public demonstrations, investigates
evidence of nonconformity, regulates migration, and maintains
pervasive vigilance through a network of informers and 80,000
block committees (Committees for the Defense of the Revolution -
CDR).
In practice, the top leadership determines the degree to which
civil liberties are exercised and what is "against the revolution." In
1987 and 1988, the Cuban government sought to improve its image
abroad by tolerating domestic human rights groups and freeing many
political prisoners. In 1989 and 1990, however, the government
reversed itself by cracking down on dissent and arresting many
human rights activists.
Principal Government Officials
President, Councils of State and Ministers; First Secretary of
the Communist Party; and Commander in Chief-Fidel Castro
First Vice President, Councils of State and Ministers; Second
Secretary of the Communist Party; General of the Army and Minister
of Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR)-Raul Castro
Ministers Foreign Relations-Isidoro Malmierca
Ambassador to the United Nations-Ricardo Alarcon
ECONOMY
For much of its history, Cuba was one of the more prosperous
countries in Latin America. Under Castro, however, highly
centralized economic control, flawed policies, and corruption have
slowed economic growth, particularly in recent years.
Since the early 1960s, The Central Planning Board, working
closely with Banco Nacional de Cuba, has directed nearly all
economic activity. It creates and implements 5-year and annual
plans which set prices and targets for production, imports, and
exports. Day-to-day responsibility for running the economy and for
economic policy rests with the Council of State. Basic public
services are provided by the state, either free of charge or for
minimal fees. Access to education and medical care generally is
adequate, but urban housing has greatly deteriorated, as have
communications and other public services.
The state owns and operates most of Cuba's farms and all
industrial enterprises. State farms now occupy about 70% of
farmland, and peasant cooperatives account for about 20%.
Privately owned farms account for about 10% of Cuba's agriculture.
Cuba's manufacturing sector emphasizes import substitution and
provision of basic industrial materials. In recent years, many Cuban
firms have been hurt by shortages of foreign exchange and limited
access to spare parts and imported components.
Castro's efforts to diversify the economy and reduce Cuba's
dependence on sugar exports in the country's international trade
have not been successful. Sugar continues to account for about 75%
of export earnings. Within the Soviet-led Council for Mutual
Economic Assistance (CEMA), which Cuba joined in 1972, Cuba has
specialized in the production of sugar byproducts, and to a lesser
extent light industry, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and
biotechnology. Today, Cuba ranks second only to Brazil as a cane
producer and is the world's leading sugar exporter. Sugar, in turn,
is Cuba's chief source of foreign exchange. Tobacco has
traditionally been Cuba's second-largest agricultural export. Other
important crops include coffee and citrus.
Cuba has considerable light industry. Under Castro, electrical
power, food processing, and cigar production have increased
substantially. There has been only modest growth in the chemical,
petroleum, textile, and metallurgy industries. Cuba has two large
oil refineries and is constructing a third. Cuba's mining sector
accounts for a significant part of export earnings. The country's
nickel reserves are the fourth largest in the world. The ore is
processed on the island in two formerly US-owned plants at
Nicaro and Moa Bay as well as at a third at Punta Gorda that opened
in 1985. A fourth refinery at Las Camariocas is expected to open in
the next several years, further increasing production. Most of
Cuba's nickel output is exported to the Soviet Union.
Cuba produces about 5% of its oil. The balance, some 270,000
barrels per day is provided by the Soviet Union. Cuba's first nuclear
power plant is being built at Juragua, near Cienfuegos, with CEMA
assistance.
Much of Cuba's transportation network was developed in pre-
revolutionary Cuba to serve the needs of the sugar industry. The
road network exceeds 30,000 kilometers (19,000 mi.), of which
about half is paved. The island has a 14,640-kilometer (5,600 sq.
mi.) railway system. Buses are found throughout urban areas but
are notoriously crowded. Havana is the most important of the
country's 11 major ports. The national airline, Cubana de Aviacion,
serves major cities in Cuba and more than a dozen foreign cities in
Europe and elsewhere. AeroCaribbean, a charter company formed in
1982, provides unscheduled passenger and cargo service to the
Caribbean basin and Western Europe.
Before the revolution, more than half of Cuba's trade was with
the United States, with which Cuba had a favorable trade balance.
In 1962, the United States imposed a comprehensive trade embargo
that remains in force. Nonetheless, Havana has continued to import
goods-mainly manufactures-from other major non-Communist
countries. Cuba pays for such items by exporting sugar, nickel,
tobacco, coffee, citrus, and seafood. Cuba also seeks to earn hard
currency by promoting tourism, a sector that the country's leaders
view as holding considerable potential for future expansion. In
1988, tourism generated $125 million; most of the visitors came
from Western Europe and Canada.
At present, more than 80% of Cuba's external trade is with the
Soviet Union and its East European allies, of which the Soviet share
is more than 70%. The Soviet Union alone imports 80% of all Cuban
sugar produced and 40% of all Cuban citrus harvested. Cuba's trade
with the Soviet Union and other members of CEMA involves use of
nonconvertible currencies. Soft currency earnings from exports of
each CEMA member finance imports from that country. Annual trade
protocols set the volume of goods to be exchanged between Cuba and
other CEMA countries.
Since July 1986, Cuba has not serviced its roughly $7 billion
debt owed to Western creditors, mainly governments. Consequently,
Cuba has not received substantial new loans or rescheduling either
from the Paris Club or private institutions.
"Rectification" Policy
In April 1986, Castro announced a "rectification of errors and
negative tendencies" campaign mandating the observance of strict
Marxist orthodoxy in running the economy. The policy, which
remains in force today, in many ways is the antithesis of the Soviet
"perestroika" (restructuring) concept. "Rectification" emphasizes
centralized direction over market forces and moral and ideological,
as opposed to material, incentives to spur productivity. It calls
upon Cubans to make greater sacrifices in order to further the
collective good.
As a part of the "rectification" effort, the government in 1986
closed farmers' markets, through which farmers had sold surplus
produce at uncontrolled prices since 1980. It also sought to
eliminate many bonuses and overtime pay for workers. Meanwhile,
the Castro government has encouraged voluntary labor, in the form
of "micro-brigades" and "contingents," especially in the
construction sector, and has tried to reduce corruption and black
marketeering.
Castro's "rectification" policy has decreased per capita gross
domestic product and further stifled private economic initiative
since 1985. Rationing and shortages of certain foodstuffs are
becoming increasingly severe. Underemployment, a chronic problem,
is being heightened by the return of thousands of veterans from
Angola and guest workers previously sent to Eastern Europe. Access
to education and medical care generally is adequate, but urban
housing has greatly deteriorated, as have communications and other
public services.
DEFENSE
Under Castro, Cuba has become one of the most highly
militarized societies in the world. In Latin America, only Brazil,
with a population more than 12 times that of Cuba, has a larger
military. In 1958, Cuba's armed forces numbered 46,000. Today,
the Revolutionary Armed Forces (RAF) contain almost 300,000
active-duty and ready reserves-265,000 army, 18,500 air force/air
defense, and 13,500 navy, plus several military units under the
Ministry of the Interior. More than 1 million Cubans belong to the
country's two paramilitary organizations, the Territorial Militia
Troops and the Youth Labor Army.
Cuba's military establishment is one of the most modern in
the region. Since 1975, massive Soviet military assistance has
enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities and to project
power abroad. The tonnage of Soviet military deliveries to Cuba in
each year for the period 1981-84 exceeded deliveries in any year
since the 1962 missile crisis, when a record 250,000 tons was
shipped. Today, Cuba's air force, with some 200 Soviet-supplied jet
fighters, including advanced MiG-23 Floggers and MiG-29 Fulcrums,
is probably the best equipped in Latin America. The Cuban army has
almost 1,000 Soviet-supplied T-62 and T-54/55 main battle tanks.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Under Fidel Castro's leadership, Cuba pursues an ambitious
foreign policy for a country of its size and resources, maintaining
relations with 122 countries and stationing thousands of its
civilian and military personnel in more than 20 nations abroad. The
basic tenets of Cuban foreign policy are opposition to the United
States and its foreign policy, support for revolutionary movements,
and close cooperation with the USSR.
When it first came to power, the Castro government supported
the spread of revolution by aiming to reproduce throughout Latin
America the rural-based guerrilla warfare experience of the "26th
of July" movement. In 1959, Cuba aided armed expeditions against
Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. During the early and
mid-1960s, Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia all
faced serious Cuban-backed attempts to develop guerrilla
insurgencies. These movements to failed to attract much popular
support. The most severe blow to Cuba's policy came in Bolivia in
1967, when Che Guevara's guerrilla band was opposed by both the
peasantry and the Bolivian Communist Party and Guevara was killed.
Guevara, an Argentine doctor, revolutionary theoretician, and Castro
comrade-in-arms, was a charismatic symbol of Cuban efforts to
spread the revolution in the Western Hemisphere.
Cuba's support for revolutionaries in the hemisphere, along
with the openly Marxist-Leninist character of its government and
its alignment with the USSR, contributed to its isolation in the
hemisphere. In 1962, the Organization of American States (OAS)
excluded the Cuban government from active participation. Two
years later, the OAS foreign ministers resolved that OAS member
nations should have no diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba
and should suspend all trade and sea transportation.
In the late 1960s, Cuba de-emphasized its policy of
supporting revolutions abroad and began to pursue normal
government-to-government relations with other Latin American
nations. By the mid-1970s, Cuba had reestablished diplomatic
relations with a number of countries in the region. In 1975, the
OAS lifted comprehensive sanctions against Cuba and deferred to
individual member states the option of diplomatic and trade
relations with Cuba.
Cuba is now pursuing a two-track policy toward its
hemispheric neighbors, seeking improved relations with existing
governments while continuing support for select radical groups
and violent, anti-democratic movements. Cuban backing for
insurgent groups, like the Farabundo Marti Liberation Front (FMLN)
in El Salvador, includes military and intelligence training, weapons,
guidance, and organizational support. Two arms seizures in 1989
demonstrate Cuba's continuing committment to the FMLN. In May,
the Salvadoran police discovered a major insurgent arms cache
which contained Soviet-designed arms and over 300,000 rounds of
ammunition manufactured in Cuba as recently as 1988. In October,
Honduran authorities seized a furniture truck loaded with weapons
and Cuban-manufactured ammunition destined for the FMLN. Cuba's
military support for the FMLN runs counter to the peace process
developed by Central American presidents.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Cuba expanded its military
presence abroad-deployments reached 50,000 troops in Angola,
24,000 in Ethiopia, more than 1,500 military advisers in Nicaragua,
and hundreds more elsewhere. In Angola, Cuban troops, supported
logistically by the USSR, backed the Popular Movement for the
Liberation of Angola (MPLA), one of the movements competing for
power after Portugal's withdrawal. In Ethiopia, Cuban soldiers
fought against Somali forces. In the late 1980s, Cuba began to pull
back militarily. The 1988 Angola-Namibia accords provided a
timetable for the complete withdrawal of Cuban forces by mid-
1991; Cuba unilaterally removed its remaining forces from Ethiopia;
and Fidel Castro announced an end to military assistance to
Nicaragua following the Sandinistas' 1990 electoral defeat.
Cuban-Soviet Relations
Ties between Cuba and the Soviet Union have been close since
the early 1960s. Cuba receives critical assistance, which both
keeps its economy afloat and enables it to maintain a
disproportionately large military establishment. The Soviets in
1988 provided about $4.3 billion in economic assistance, largely in
the form of sugar subsidies, and $1.5 billion in military assistance
to Cuba. Overall, Soviet assistance to Cuba in recent years has
accounted for about 20% of Cuba's gross domestic (social) product.
The USSR supplies more than 70% of Cuba's imports, 90% of its fuel
supply, and nearly all of its military requirements.
The USSR in turn receives important strategic military and
political benefits. The Soviet presence in Cuba includes a 2,800-
man motorized rifle brigade, 2,800 military advisers, and 6-8,000
civilian advisors. At Lourdes, Cuba, the Soviets maintain their
largest signal intelligence-gathering facility outside the USSR. The
Lourdes site is staffed by 2,100 Soviet technicians and monitors US
civilian and military communications. Soviet reconnaissance
aircraft and naval task groups periodically are deployed to Cuba.
Cuban-Soviet ties led to a direct confrontation between the
United States and the Soviet Union in 1962 over the installation of
Soviet nuclear equipped missiles in Cuba, resolved only when
Moscow agreed to the withdrawal of the missiles and other
offensive weapons. In late 1970, the possibility that the Soviet
Union was contemplating the establishment of a submarine base in
Cuba became an issue. In
1971, President Nixon affirmed the existence of an understanding
between the United States and the USSR that the Soviet Union will
not install any offensive weapons systems in Cuba nor operate such
systems from there, including sea-based systems.
Cuba's special relationship with the Soviet Union remains
intact, despite economic problems and ideological differences.
President Gorbachev became the third Soviet leader to visit Cuba in
April 1989 and spoke out against the "export of revolution" during a
speech to Cuba's National Assembly. Following Gorbachev's trip,
Castro and the Cuban press began to harshly criticize the reform
movement in the Soviet Union. In August 1989, two reform-minded
Soviet magazines, "Moscow News" and "Sputnik," were banned from
circulation in Cuba.
Cuba remains heavily dependent on Soviet financial support.
The USSR's first delivery of advanced MiG-29 fighter aircraft in
1989 signaled its ongoing military commitment to the Cuban
government. Economic changes in the Soviet Union are causing a
transformation in the two countries' economic relationship. For
example, the Cuban government was forced to ration bread because
of delays in Soviet grain deliveries at the beginning of 1990.
Cuba had established firm ties with other socialist nations in
Eastern Europe and with North Korea and Vietnam. Strains appeared
in Cuba's relations with Eastern Europe after the fall of Communist
governments there. Castro publicly condemned the "sad"
developments in Eastern Europe as a return to "repugnant
capitalism." Several of Cuba's former Eastern European allies have
openly criticized Cuban policies on human rights and resistance to
reform. Cuba has been a member of the Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance (CEMA) since 1972, but the emerging democratic
governments in Eastern Europe have been increasingly less inclined
to support Cuba's old-line communist policies at their expense. As
Eastern Europe moves toward profit-making and enterprise-to-
enterprise trading, Cuba is becoming an unattractive trading
partner.
US-Cuban Relations
Following Castro's takeover, bilateral relations deteriorated
sharply, primarily because of the imposition of a repressive
dictatorship in Cuba, its anti-American rhetoric and actions, such
as the non-compensated nationalization of American property
valued at about $2 billion, and its support for violent subversive
groups attacking US allies. The United States broke diplomatic
relations on January 3, 1961, after the Cuban government demanded
that the US Embassy in Havana be reduced to a skeleton staff. In
1963, the United States implemented a comprehensive economic
embargo against Cuba in response to hostile actions by the Castro
government. US-Cuban relations in the Castro years have
been characterized by varying degrees of hostility. Tensions
between the two peaked during the abortive "Bay of Pigs" invasion
(by anti-Castro Cubans supported by the United States) in April
1961 and the October 1962 missile crisis.
Following Cuba's de-emphasis on the export of revolution, the
United States did not oppose the OAS's decision to make
discretionary the application of sanctions against Cuba and began to
discuss normalization of relations with Cuba. Secret talks were
conducted, but were halted when Cuba intervened on a large scale in
Angola. Subsequent efforts undertaken to improve relations led to
the establishment of interests sections in the two capitals on
September 1, 1977: the US Interest Section under the protection of
the Swiss Embassy in Havana and the Cuban Interest Section under
the protection of the Czechoslovak Embassy in Washington, DC.
The new dialogue did not prosper, however. A series of new
differences-Cuba's failure to withdraw troops from Angola, Cuban
intervention in Ethiopia, increasing Cuban subversion in the
Caribbean basin, the delivery of sophisticated Soviet weaponry to
Cuba, and the Cuban government's deliberate efforts to violate US
sovereignty and immigration laws through the 1980 Mariel exodus-
eroded any possibility of significant improvement in bilateral
relations and posed new challenges to US and allied security
interests. In the Mariel exodus, Castro had mixed criminals and
other undesirables in with about 125,000 Cubans seeking refuge in
the United States.
Quiet efforts to explore the prospects for improving relations
were initiated by the United States in 1981 and 1982; however, the
Cuban government refused to alter its conduct with regard to US
concerns about Cuba's support for violent political change and its
close political and military cooperation with the Soviet Union. The
liberation of Grenada by the United States and regional allies in
1983 was a setback for Cuba's plans to expand the revolution in the
Caribbean basin.
A year later, the United States and Cuba negotiated an
agreement to normalize immigration and return to Cuba the
"excludables" who had arrived during the 1980 Mariel boatlift. Cuba
suspended this agreement in May 1985, following the initiation of
the Voice of America's Radio Marti, which broadcasts current
national and international news of interest to residents of Cuba.
The Mariel agreement, reinstated in November 1987, allowed normal
migration to occur between the two countries.
Cuban support for subversive groups, internal repression, and
the continuing Soviet military connection are primary areas of
concern to the United States and major obstacles to improved
bilateral relations. The United States expressed concern over the
1989 trial and execution of senior military officials under
questionable circumstances and without due process and the jailing
of human rights activists who testified before the UN Human Rights
Commission delegation which visited Havana in 1988. Goals of US
policy remain to:
-- Isolate Cuba in the international community;
-- Enforce a comprehensive economic embargo; and
-- To provide access to news and other information to the
Cuban people pending fundamental changes in Cuban behavior.
Despite existing tensions, the United States continues to
discuss areas of mutual concern, such as immigration, with the
Government of Cuba.
Interests Sections Havana US Interests Section Calzada between L
and M, Vedado Tel. 32-05-51
Principal Officer-Alan Flanigan
Deputy Principal Officer-Bradley Hittle
Consul-Deborah Bolton
PAO-David Evans
Washington Cuban Interests Section 2630 16th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009 Tel. 202-797-8518
Principal Officer-Jose Arbesu
Deputy Principal Officer-Manuel Davis
TRAVEL NOTES
US representation and citizenship: The US Government terminated
diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba in 1961. The US
Interests Section in Havana, which was established in 1977,
provides limited U.S. consular services and protection. Naturalized
US citizens of Cuban origin are generally considered under Cuban
law to be Cuban citizens only. The US Government insists on its
right and duty to represent the interests of all its citizens, but the
Cuban Government generally refuses such representation on behalf
of persons it considers to have Cuban nationality. US officials are
generally denied access to US citizens of Cuban origin who have
been detained by Cuban authorities.
US Treasury regulations: The Department of the Treasury
regulates all transactions between persons subject to US
jurisdiction and Cuba or its nationals, including travel-related
transactions. The current Cuban Assets Control Regulations
prohibit the following transactions: financial transactions of any
kind related to tourism, business, or recreational purposes, whether
travellers go directly or through third countries; importing into the
United States goods or services of Cuban origin either directly or
through third countries; exporting US products, technology or
services to Cuba either directly or through third countries, except
for informational materials; engaging in transactions anywhere in
the world with Cuban nationals or other individuals or organizations
acting on Cuba's behalf; and sending remittances to Cuba, except for
$500 every quarter to the household of a close relative. Penalties
for violating these regulations range up to 10 years in prison and
$50,000 in fines. For further information, contact the Chief of
Licensing, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the
Treasury, Washington, DC 20220.
Transportation: There are no scheduled commercial
transportation services between the United States and Cuba.
Currently, two private services operate charter flights several
times a week between Havana and Miami. Persons authorized to
travel to Cuba by the Department of Treasury may use those flights.
National holidays
Jan. 1, Revolution Day;
Jan. 28, Jose Marti's Birthday;
May 1, International Workers Day;
July 26, anniversary of Moncada Barracks attack.
Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau
of Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication --
Washington, DC -- October 1990 -- Editor: Peter Knecht.
Department of State Publication 8347. Background Notes Series --
This material is in the public domain and may be reprinted without
permission; citation of this source is appreciated. For sale by the
Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402. (###)