Cuba

The e-Advocate Cuba Legal Missions International 1 Kings 14:22-24 Romans 1:24-27

“Helping Individuals, Organizations & Communities Achieve Their Full Potential”

Vol. IV, Issue VIII – Q-1 January| February| March 2018

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The Advocacy Foundation, Inc. Helping Individuals, Organizations & Communities Achieve Their Full Potential

Legal Missions International

Cuba

“Helping Individuals, Organizations & Communities Achieve Their Full Potential 1735 Market Street, Suite 3750 Philadelphia, PA 19102

| 100 Edgewood Avenue, Suite 1690 Atlanta, GA 30303

John C Johnson III Founder & CEO

(878) 222-0450 Voice | Fax | SMS www.TheAdvocacyFoundation.org

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Biblical Authority ______ 1 Kings 14:22-24 (NIV) 22 Judah did evil in the eyes of the LORD. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than their fathers had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. ______

Romans 1:24-27 (NIV) 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

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Table of Contents Cuba Biblical Authority I.

Introduction

II.

History of Cuba

III.

Geography

IV.

Demographics

V.

The Cuban Economy

VI.

Education & Healthcare

VII.

Politics & Government

VIII. Human Rights & Foreign Relations IX.

The Cuban Military

X.

Sports

Attachment A Cuban Law & Justice

Copyright Š 2015 The Advocacy Foundation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Introduction Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba (i/kjuːbə/; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced: [repuβlika ðe kuβa]), is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba comprises the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud and several archipelagos.

Havana is the capital of Cuba and its largest city.

The second-largest city is Santiago de Cuba. To the north of Cuba lies the United States (150 km (93 mi) away), the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands are to the northeast, Mexico is to the west (210 km (130 mi) away), the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.

The island of Cuba was inhabited by numerous Mesoamerican Indian tribes prior to the landing of explorer Christopher Columbus in 1492, who claimed it for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, after which it gained nominal independence as a de facto U.S. protectorate in 1902. The fragile republic endured increasingly radical politics and social strife, and despite efforts to strengthen its democratic system, Cuba came under the dictatorship of former president Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Growing unrest and instability led to Batista's ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, which afterwards established a government under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Since 1965 the country has been governed as a single-party state by the Communist Party.

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, and with over 11 million inhabitants, is the second-most populous after Hispaniola, albeit with a much lower population density for the region. It is a multiethnic country whose people, culture and customs derive from diverse origins, including the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the long period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves, a close relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and proximity to the United States.

Cuba today is the only remaining communist state to receive a "very high" human development ranking from the United Nations, and ranks well in measures of health and education.

Etymology The name Cuba comes from the Taíno language. The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as 'where fertile land is abundant' (cubao), or 'great place' (coabana). Authors who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal.

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History of Cuba Prehistory

Cuba was inhabited by American Indian people known as the Taíno, also called Arawak by the Spanish, and Guanajatabey and Ciboney people before the arrival of the Spanish. The ancestors of these Native Americans migrated from the mainland of North, Central and South America several centuries earlier. The native Taíno called the island Caobana (correct spelling is "Coabana", which is spelled wrong on the referenced site.) The Taíno were farmers, while the Ciboney were farmers as well as fishers and hunter-gatherers.

Spanish Colonization and Rule (1492–1898) After first landing on an island then called Guanahani, Bahamas on October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus commanded his three ships: La Pinta, La Niña and the Santa María, to land on Cuba's northeastern coast on October 28, 1492. (This was near what is now Bariay, Holguin province.) Columbus claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain and named it Isla Juana after Juan, Prince of Asturias.

In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa. Other towns soon followed, including San Cristobal de la Habana, founded in 1515, which later became the capital. The native Taíno were forced to work under the encomienda system, which resembled a feudal system in Medieval Europe. Within a Page 10 of 78

century the indigenous people were virtually wiped out due to multiple factors, primarily Eurasian infectious diseases, to which they had no natural resistance (immunity), aggravated by harsh conditions of the repressive colonial subjugation. In 1529, a measles outbreak in Cuba killed two-thirds of those few natives who had previously survived smallpox.

On September 1, 1548, Dr. Gonzalo Perez de Angulo was appointed governor of Cuba.

He arrived in Santiago, Cuba on November 4, 1549 and immediately declared the liberty of all natives. He became Cuba's first permanent governor to reside in Havana instead of Santiago, and he built Havana's first church made of masonry. After the French took Havana in 1555, the governor's son, Francisco de Angulo, went to Mexico.

Cuba developed slowly and, unlike the plantation islands of the Caribbean, had a diversified agriculture. But what was most important was that the colony developed as an urbanized society that primarily supported the Spanish colonial empire. By the mid18th century, its colonists held 50,000 slaves, compared to 60,000 in Barbados; 300,000 in Virginia, both British colonies; and 450,000 in French Saint-Domingue, which had large-scale sugar cane plantations.

The Seven Years' War, which erupted in 1754 across three continents, eventually arrived in the Spanish Caribbean. Spain's alliance with the French pitched them into direct conflict with the British, and in 1762 a British expedition of five warships and 4,000 troops set out from Portsmouth to capture Cuba. The British arrived on 6 June, and by August had Havana under siege. When Havana surrendered, the admiral of the British fleet, George Keppel, the 3rd Earl of Albemarle, entered the city as a conquering new governor and took control of the whole western part of the island. The British immediately opened up trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies, causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society. They imported food, horses and other goods into the city, as well as thousands of slaves from West Africa to work on the under developed sugar plantations.

Though Havana, which had become the third-largest city in the Americas, was to enter an era of sustained development and increasing ties with North America during this period, the British occupation of the city proved short-lived. Pressure from London sugar merchants, fearing a decline in sugar prices, forced negotiations with the Spanish over colonial territories. Less than a year after Britain seized Havana, it signed the Peace of Paris together with France and Spain, ending the Seven Years' War. The treaty gave Britain Florida in exchange for Cuba. The French had recommended this to Spain, advising that declining to give up Florida could result in Spain instead losing Mexico and much of the South American mainland to the British.[41] Many in Britain were disappointed, believing that Florida was a poor return for Cuba and Britain's other gains in the war.

Although a smaller proportion of the population of Cuba was enslaved, at times slaves arose in revolt. In 1812 the Aponte Slave Rebellion took place but it was suppressed.

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The population of Cuba in 1817 was 630,980, of which 291,021 were white, 115,691 free people of color (mixed-race), and 224,268 black slaves. This was a much higher proportion of free blacks to slaves than in Virginia, for instance, or the other Caribbean islands. Historians such as Swedish Magnus Mõrner, who studied slavery in Latin America, found that manumissions increased when slave economies were in decline, as in 18th-century Cuba and early 19th-century Maryland of the United States.

In part due to Cuban slaves working primarily in urbanized settings, by the 19th century, there had developed the practice of coartacion, or "buying oneself out of slavery," a "uniquely Cuban development," according to historian Herbert S. Klein. Due to a shortage of white labor, blacks dominated urban industries "to such an extent that when whites in large numbers came to Cuba in the middle of the nineteenth century, they were unable to displace Negro workers." A system of diversified agriculture, with small farms and fewer slaves, served to supply the cities with produce and other goods.

In the 1820s, when the rest of Spain's empire in Latin America rebelled and formed independent states, Cuba remained loyal.

Its economy was based on serving the empire.

By 1860, Cuba had 213,167 free people of color, 39% of its nonWhite population of 550,000. By contrast, Virginia with about the same number of blacks, had only 58,042 or 11% who were free; the rest were enslaved. In the antebellum years, Virginia discouraged manumissions after the Nat Turner Slave Rebellion of 1831 and strengthened restrictions against free blacks, as did other southern states. In addition, there was a high demand for slaves, and Virginia planters sold many in the internal domestic slave trade, to be shipped or taken overland to the Deep South, which had greatly expanded its cotton production.

Independence Movements Full independence from Spain was the goal of a rebellion in 1868 led by planter Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. De Céspedes, a sugar planter, freed his slaves to fight with him for a free Cuba. On 27 December 1868, he issued a decree condemning slavery in theory but accepting it in practice and declaring free any slaves whose masters present them for military service. The 1868 rebellion resulted in a prolonged conflict known as the Ten Years' War. Two thousand Cuban Chinese joined the rebels. Chinese had been imported as indentured laborers. A monument in Havana honours the Cuban Chinese who fell in the war.

The United States declined to recognize the new Cuban government, although many European and Latin American nations did so. In 1878, the Pact of Zanjón ended the

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conflict, with Spain promising greater autonomy to Cuba. In 1879–1880, Cuban patriot Calixto García attempted to start another war known as the Little War but did not receive enough support. Slavery in Cuba was abolished in 1875 and was completed in the 1880s.

An exiled dissident named José Martí founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York in 1892. The aim of the party was to achieve Cuban independence from Spain. In January 1895 Martí traveled to Montecristi and Santo Domingo to join the efforts of Máximo Gómez. Martí recorded his political views in the Manifesto of Montecristi.

Fighting against the Spanish army began in Cuba on 24 February 1895, but Martí was unable to reach Cuba until 11 April 1895. Martí was killed in the battle of Dos Rios on 19 May 1895. His death immortalized him as Cuba's national hero.

Around 200,000 Spanish troops outnumbered the much smaller rebel army, which relied mostly on guerrilla and sabotage tactics. The Spaniards began a campaign of suppression. General Valeriano Weyler, military governor of Cuba, herded the rural population into what he called reconcentrados, described by international observers as "fortified towns". These are often considered the prototype for 20th-century concentration camps. Between 200,000 and 400,000 Cuban civilians died from starvation and disease in the camps, numbers verified by the Red Cross and United States Senator Redfield Proctor, a former Secretary of War. American and European protests against Spanish conduct on the island followed.

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The U.S. battleship Maine was sent to protect U.S. interests, but soon after arrival, she exploded in Havana harbor and sank quickly, killing nearly three quarters of her crew.

The cause and responsibility for her sinking remained unclear after a board of inquiry.

Popular opinion in the U.S., fueled by an active press, concluded that the Spanish were to blame and demanded action. Spain and the United States declared war on each other in late April 1898.

Over the decades, four US presidents—Polk, Buchanan, Grant, and McKinley—had tried to buy the island of Cuba from Spain.

Independence (1902–1959) After the Spanish-American War, Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (1898), by which Spain ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States for the sum of $20 million. Cuba gained formal independence from the U.S. on May 20, 1902, as the Republic of Cuba. Under Cuba's new constitution, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Under the Platt Amendment, the U.S. leased the Guantánamo Bay naval base from Cuba.

Following disputed elections in 1906, the first president, Tomás Estrada Palma, faced an armed revolt by independence war veterans who defeated the meager government forces. The U.S. intervened by occupying Cuba and named Charles Edward Magoon as Governor for three years. Cuban historians have attributed Magoon's governorship as having introduced political and social corruption. In 1908, self-government was restored when José Miguel Gómez was elected President, but the U.S. continued intervening in Cuban affairs. In 1912, the Partido Independiente de Color attempted to establish a separate black republic in Oriente Province, but was suppressed by General Monteagudo with considerable bloodshed.

In 1924, Gerardo Machado was elected president. During his administration, tourism increased markedly, and American-owned hotels and restaurants were built to accommodate the influx of tourists. The tourist boom led to increases in gambling and prostitution. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 led to precipitous drops in the price of sugar, political unrest, and repression. Protesting students, known as the Generation of 1930, turned to violence in opposition to the increasingly unpopular Machado. A general strike (in which the Communist Party sided with Machado), uprisings among sugar workers, and an army revolt forced Machado into exile in August 1933. He was replaced by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada.

In September 1933, the Sergeants' Revolt, led by Sergeant Fulgencio Batista, overthrew Cespedes. A five-member executive committee (the Pentarchy of 1933) was chosen to head a provisional government. Ramon Grau San Martin was then appointed as provisional president. Grau resigned in 1934, leaving the way clear for Batista, who dominated Cuban politics for the next 25 years, at first through a series of puppet-

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presidents. The period from 1933 to 1937 was a time of "virtually unremitting social and political warfare".

A new constitution was adopted in 1940, which engineered radical progressive ideas, including the right to labour and health care. Batista was elected president in the same year, holding the post until 1944. He is so far the only non-white Cuban to win the nation's highest political office. His government carried out major social reforms. Several members of the Communist Party held office under his administration. Cuban armed forces were not greatly involved in combat during World War II, although president Batista suggested a joint U.S.-Latin American assault on Francoist Spain in order to overthrow its authoritarian regime.

Batista adhered to the 1940 constitution's strictures preventing his re-election. Ramon Grau San Martin was the winner of the next election, in 1944. Grau further corroded the base of the already teetering legitimacy of the Cuban political system, in particular by undermining the deeply flawed, though not entirely ineffectual, Congress and Supreme Court. Carlos Prío Socarrás, a protégé of Grau, became president in 1948. The two terms of the Auténtico Party saw an influx of investment which fueled a boom and raised living standards for all segments of society and created a prosperous middle class in most urban areas.

After running unsuccessfully for the presidency in 1952, Batista staged a coup. He outlawed the Cuban Communist Party in 1952. Cuba had Latin America's highest per capita consumption rates of meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios, though about one third of the population was considered poor and enjoyed relatively little of this consumption.

In 1958, Cuba was a relatively well-advanced country by Latin American standards, and in some cases by world standards. On the other hand, Cuba was affected by perhaps the largest labor union privileges in Latin America, including bans on dismissals and mechanization. They were obtained in large measure "at the cost of the unemployed and the peasants", leading to disparities. Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba extended economic regulations enormously, causing economic problems. Unemployment became a problem as graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs. The middle class, which was comparable to that of the United States, became increasingly dissatisfied with unemployment and political persecution. The labor unions supported Batista until the very end. Batista stayed in power until he was forced into exile in December 1958.

Revolution and Communist Party Rule (1959–Present) In the 1950s, various organizations, including some advocating armed uprising, competed for the public's support in bringing about political change. In 1956, Fidel Castro and about 80 other rebels aboard the Granma yacht launched a failed attempt to start a rebellion against the government. It was not until 1958 that the July 26th Movement emerged as the leading revolutionary group.

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By late 1958, the rebels broke out of the Sierra Maestra and launched a general popular insurrection. After the fighters captured Santa Clara, Batista fled with his family to the Dominican Republic on January 1, 1959. Later he went into exile on the Portuguese island of Madeira and finally settled in Estoril, near Lisbon. Fidel Castro's forces entered the capital on 8 January 1959. The liberal Manuel Urrutia Lle贸 became the provisional president.

From 1959 to 1966 Cuban insurgents fought a six-year rebellion in the Escambray Mountains against the Castro government. The insurgency was eventually crushed by the government's use of vastly superior numbers. The rebellion lasted longer and involved more soldiers than the Cuban Revolution. The U.S. State Department has estimated that 3,200 people were executed from 1959 to 1962. Other estimates for the total number of political executions range from 4,000 to 33,000.

The revolution was initially received positively in the United States, where it was seen as part of a movement to bring democracy to Latin America.

Castro's legalization of the Communist party and the hundreds of executions that followed caused a deterioration in the relationship between the two countries. The promulgation of the Agrarian Reform Law, expropriating thousands of acres of farmland, further worsened relations. In February 1960, Castro signed a commercial agreement with Soviet Vice-Premier Anastas Mikoyan. In March 1960, Eisenhower gave his approval to a CIA plan to arm and train a group of Cuban refugees to overthrow the Castro regime.

The invasion (known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion) took place on April 14, 1961. About 1,400 Cuban exiles disembarked at the Bay of Pigs, but failed in their attempt to overthrow Castro. In January 1962, Cuba was suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS), and later the same year the OAS started to impose sanctions against Cuba of similar nature to the US sanctions. The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in October 1962. By 1963, Cuba was moving towards a full-fledged Communist system modeled on the USSR. During the 1970s, Fidel Castro dispatched tens of thousands of troops in support of Soviet-supported wars in Africa. He supported the MPLA in Angola and Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia.

The standard of living in the 1970s was "extremely spartan" and discontent was rife.

Fidel Castro admitted the failures of economic policies in a 1970 speech. In 1975 the OAS lifted its sanctions against Cuba, with the approval of 16 member states, including the U.S. The U.S., however, maintained its own sanctions.

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Castro's rule was severely tested in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse in 1991 (known in Cuba as the Special Period). The country faced a severe economic downturn following the withdrawal of Soviet subsidies worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually, resulting in effects such as food and fuel shortages. The government did not accept American donations of food, medicines, and cash until 1993. On 5 August 1994, state security dispersed protesters in a spontaneous protest in Havana.

Cuba has found a new source of aid and support in the People's Republic of China.

Hugo Chávez, former President of Venezuela, and Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, have become allies and both countries are major oil and gas exporters. In 2003, the government arrested and imprisoned a large number of civil activists, a period known as the "Black Spring".

In February 2008, Fidel Castro announced his resignation as President of Cuba. On 24 February his brother, Raúl Castro, was declared the new President. In his inauguration speech, Raúl promised that some of the restrictions on freedom in Cuba would be removed. In March 2009, Raúl Castro removed some of his brother's appointees.

On 3 June 2009, the Organization of American States adopted a resolution to end the 47-year ban on Cuban membership of the group. The resolution stated, however, that full membership would be delayed until Cuba was "in conformity with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS." Fidel Castro restated his position that he was not interested in joining after the OAS resolution had been announced.

Effective January 14, 2013, Cuba ended the requirement established in 1961 that any citizens who wish to travel abroad were required to obtain an expensive government permit and a letter of invitation. In 1961 the Cuban government had imposed broad restrictions on travel to prevent the mass emigration of people after the 1959 revolution; it approved exit visas only on rare occasions. Requirements were simplified: Cubans need only a passport and a national ID card to leave; and they are allowed to take their young children with them for the first time. However, a passport costs on average five months' salary. Observers expect that Cubans with paying relatives abroad are most likely to be able to take advantage of the new policy. In the first year of the program, over 180,000 left Cuba and returned.

As of December, 2014, talks with Cuban officials and American officials including President Barack Obama have resulted in the exchange of releasing Alan Gross, fifty two political prisoners, and an unnamed non-citizen agent of the United States in return for the release of three Cuban agents currently imprisoned in the United States.

Additionally, while the embargo between the United States and Cuba will not be lifted, it will be relaxed to allow import, export, and certain commerce within a limit between the two.

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Geography Cuba is an archipelago of islands located in the northern Caribbean Sea at the confluence with the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It lies between latitudes 19° and 24°N, and longitudes 74° and 85°W. The United States lies 150 kilometers (90 miles) across the Straits of Florida to the north and northwest (to the closest tip of Key West, Florida), and the Bahamas to the north. Mexico lies 217 kilometers (135 miles) across the Yucatán Channel to the west (to the closest tip of Cabo Catoche in the State of Quintana Roo).

Haiti is to the east, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to the south. Cuba is the principal island, surrounded by four smaller groups of islands: the Colorados Archipelago on the northwestern coast, the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago on the north-central Atlantic coast, the Jardines de la Reina on the south-central coast and the Canarreos Archipelago on the southwestern coast.

The main island named Cuba is 1,250 km (780 mi) long, constituting most of the nation's land area (104,556 km2 (40,369 sq mi)) and is the largest island in the Caribbean and 17th-largest island in the world by land area. The main island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains apart from the Sierra Maestra mountains in the southeast, whose highest point is Pico Turquino (1,974 m (6,476 ft)).

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The second-largest island is Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) in the Canarreos archipelago, with an area of 2,200 km2 (849 sq mi). Cuba has an official area (land area) of 109,884 km2 (42,426 sq mi). Its area is 110,860 km2 (42,803 sq mi) including coastal and territorial waters.

Climate With most of the island south of the Tropic of Cancer, the local climate is tropical, moderated by northeasterly trade winds that blow year-round. The temperature is also shaped by the Caribbean current, which brings in warm water from the equator. This makes the climate of Cuba warmer than Hong Kong, which is at around the same latitude as Cuba, but has a subtropical climate instead of a tropical climate. In general (with local variations), there is a drier season from November to April, and a rainier season from May to October. The average temperature is 21 째C (69.8 째F) in January and 27 째C (80.6 째F) in July. The warm temperatures of the Caribbean Sea and the fact that Cuba sits across the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico combine to make the country prone to frequent hurricanes. These are most common in September and October.

Biodiversity Cuba signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 12 June 1992, and became a party to the convention on 8 March 1994. It has subsequently produced a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, with one revision which was received by the convention on 24 January 2008.

The revision comprises an action plan with time limits for each item, and an indication of the governmental body responsible for delivery. There is, however, virtually no information in that document about biodiversity itself. The country's fourth national Page 20 of 78

report to the CBD, however, contains a detailed breakdown of the numbers of species of each kingdom of life recorded from Cuba, the main groups being: animals (17,801 species), bacteria (270 species), chromista (707 species), fungi, including lichenforming species (5844 species), plants (9107 species) and protozoa (1440 species).

As elsewhere in the world, vertebrate animals and flowering plants are well documented. The numbers recorded from Cuba for those groups are therefore likely to be close to the numbers which actually occur in Cuba. For most if not all of the other groups, however, the true numbers of species occurring in Cuba are likely to exceed, often considerably, the numbers of those recorded so far.

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Demographics According to the official census of 2010, Cuba's population was 11,241,161, comprising 5,628,996 men and 5,612,165 women. Its birth rate (9.88 births per thousand population in 2006) is one of the lowest in the Western Hemisphere. Although the country has grown by around 4 million people since 1961, the rate of increase had simultaneously began to fall during that period, and the population began to decline in 2006, with a fertility rate of 1.43 children per woman.

Indeed, this drop in fertility is among the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and is attributed largely to unrestricted access to legal abortion: Cuba's abortion rate was 58.6 per 1000 pregnancies in 1996, compared to an average of 35 in the Caribbean, 27 in Latin America overall, and 48 in Europe. Similarly, the use of contraceptives is also widespread, estimated at 79% of the female population (in the upper third of countries in the Western Hemisphere).

Ethnoracial Groups Cuba's population is multiethnic, reflecting its complex colonial origins. Intermarriage between diverse groups is widespread, and subsequently there is a discrepancy regarding the country's racial composition: whereas the Institute for Cuban and CubanAmerican Studies at the University of Miami determined that 62% of Cubans are black, the 2002 Cuban census found that a similar proportion of the population, 65.05%, was white.

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In fact, the Minority Rights Group International determined that "An objective assessment of the situation of Afro-Cubans remains problematic due to scant records and a paucity of systematic studies both pre- and post-revolution. Estimates of the percentage of people of African descent in the Cuban population vary enormously, ranging from 34% to 62%".

An autosomal study from 2014 has found out the genetic ancestry in Cuba to be 72% European, 20% African and 8% native American.

Asians make up about 1% of the population, and are largely of Chinese ancestry, followed by Filipinos and Vietnamese. Many are descendants of farm laborers brought to the island by Spanish and American contractors during the 19th and early 20th century. Afro-Cubans are descended primarily from the Yoruba people, as well as several thousand North African refugees, most notably the Sahrawi Arabs of Western Sahara.

Immigration and Emigration Immigration and emigration have played a prominent part in Cuba's demographic profile. Between the 18th and early 20th century, large waves of Canarian, Catalan, Andalusian, Galician, and other Spanish people immigrated to Cuba. Between 18991930 alone, close to a million Spaniards entered the country, though many would eventually return to Spain. Other prominent immigrant groups included French, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Dutch, Greek, British, and Irish, as well as small number of descendants of U.S. citizens who arrived in Cuba in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Post-revolution Cuba has been characterized by significant levels of emigration, which has led to a large and influential diaspora community. During the three decades after January 1959, more than one million Cubans of all social classes — constituting 10% of the total population — emigrated to the United States, a proportion that matches the extent of emigration to the U.S. from the Caribbean as a whole during that period. Other common destinations include Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico, and Sweden, among others. Those who left the country typically did so by sea, in small boats and fragile rafts. Between 30,000 and 80,000 Cubans are estimated to have died trying to flee Cuba. On 9 September 1994, the U.S. and Cuban governments agreed that the U.S. would grant at least 20,000 visas annually in exchange for Cuba's pledge to prevent further unlawful departures on boats.

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Religion In 2010, the religious affiliation of the country was estimated by the Pew Forum to be 59% Christian (mostly Roman Catholic), 23% unaffiliated, 17% folk religion (such as santería), and the remaining 0.4% consisting of other religions.

Cuba is officially a secular state. Religious freedom increased through the 1980s, with the government amending the constitution in 1992 to drop the state's characterization as atheistic.

Roman Catholicism is the largest religion, with its origins rooted in Spanish colonization.

Despite less than half of the population identifying as Catholics in 2006, it nonetheless remains the dominant faith.

The religious landscape of Cuba is also strongly defined by syncretisms of various kinds. Christianity is often practiced in tandem with Santería, a mixture of Catholicism and mostly African faiths, which include a number of cults. La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (the Virgin of Cobre) is the Catholic patroness of Cuba, and a symbol of Cuban culture. In Santería, she has been syncretized with the goddess Oshun.

Cuba also hosts small communities of Jews (500 in 2012), Muslims, and members of the Bahá'í Faith.

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Several well known Cuban religious figures have operated outside the Island such as the charismatic Pentecostal preacher Lazaro Santana and Humanitarian and Author Jorge Armando (J.A.) Pérez.

Languages The official language of Cuba is Spanish and the vast majority of Cubans speak it.

Spanish as spoken in Cuba is known as Cuban Spanish and is a form of Caribbean Spanish. Lucumi, a dialect of the West African language Yoruba, is also used as a liturgical language by practitioners of Santería, and so only as a second language.

Haitian Creole is the second largest language in Cuba, and is spoken by Haitian immigrants and their descendants. Other languages spoken by immigrants include Galician and Corsican.

Havana

Santiago de Cuba

Largest cities or towns in Cuba Rank Name Province Pop. 1 Havana Havana 2,201,610 2 Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba 423,392 3 Camagüey Camagüey 301,574 4 Holguín Holguín 269,618 5 Santa Clara Villa Clara 210,220 6 Guantánamo Guantánamo 208,145 7 Bayamo Granma 144,664 8 Victoria de Las Tunas Las Tunas 143,582 9 Cienfuegos Cienfuegos 140,734 10

Manzanillo

Granma

132,789

Camagüey

Holguín

Culture Cuban culture is influenced by its melting pot of cultures, primarily those of Spain and Africa. After the 1959 revolution, the government started a national literacy campaign, offered free education to all and established rigorous sports, ballet and music programs.

Internet in Cuba has some of the lowest penetration rates in the Western hemisphere, and all content is subject to review by the Department of Revolutionary Orientation.

ETECSA operates 118 cybercafes in the country. The government of Cuba provides an online encyclopedia website called EcuRed that operates in a "wiki" format. Internet access is limited. The sale of computer equipment is strictly regulated. Internet access is controlled, and e-mail is closely monitored.

Music Cuban music is very rich and is the most commonly known expression of culture. The central form of this music is Son, which has been the basis of many other musical styles Page 26 of 78

like salsa, rumba and mambo and an upbeat derivation of the rumba, the cha-cha-cha.

Rumba music originated in early Afro-Cuban culture. The Tres was also invented in Cuba, but other traditional Cuban instruments are of African origin, Taíno origin, or both, such as the maracas, güiro, marimba and various wooden drums including the mayohuacan.

Popular Cuban music of all styles has been enjoyed and praised widely across the world. Cuban classical music, which includes music with strong African and European influences, and features symphonic works as well as music for soloists, has received international acclaim thanks to composers like Ernesto Lecuona. Havana was the heart of the rap scene in Cuba when it began in the 1990s.

During that time, reggaetón was growing in popularity. In 2011, the Cuban state denounced reggaeton as degenerate, directed reduced "low-profile" airplay of the genre (but did not ban it entirely) and banned the megahit Chupi Chupi by Osmani García, characterizing its description of sex as "the sort which a prostitute would carry out". In December 2012, the Cuban government officially banned sexually explicit reggaeton songs and music videos from radio and television. Dance in Cuba has taken a major boost over the 1990s. As well as pop, classical and rock are very popular in Cuba.

Cuisine Page 27 of 78

Cuban cuisine is a fusion of Spanish and Caribbean cuisines. Cuban recipes share spices and techniques with Spanish cooking, with some Caribbean influence in spice and flavor. Food rationing, which has been the norm in Cuba for the last four decades, restricts the common availability of these dishes. The traditional Cuban meal is not served in courses; all food items are served at the same time.

The typical meal could consist of plantains, black beans and rice, ropa vieja (shredded beef), Cuban bread, pork with onions, and tropical fruits. Black beans and rice, referred to as Moros y Cristianos (or moros for short), and plantains are staples of the Cuban diet. Many of the meat dishes are cooked slowly with light sauces. Garlic, cumin, oregano, and bay leaves are the dominant spices.

Literature Cuban literature began to find its voice in the early 19th century. Dominant themes of independence and freedom were exemplified by José Martí, who led the Modernist movement in Cuban literature. Writers such as Nicolás Guillén and Jose Z. Tallet focused on literature as social protest. The poetry and novels of Dulce María Loynaz and José Lezama Lima have been influential. Romanticist Miguel Barnet, who wrote Everyone Dreamed of Cuba, reflects a more melancholy Cuba.

Writers such as Reinaldo Arenas, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, and more recently Daína Chaviano, Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, Zoé Valdés, Guillermo Rosales and Leonardo Padura have earned international recognition in the post-revolutionary era, though many of these writers have felt compelled to continue their work in exile due to ideological control of media by the Cuban authorities.

Capital and largest city Official Languages

Havana 23°8′N 82°23′W Spanish  

Ethnic groups (2012)

Demonym Government -

President First Vice President

-

President of the National Assembly



64.1% White 26.6% Mulatto / Mestizo 9.3% Black

Cuban Marxist-Leninist single-party state Raúl Castro Miguel Díaz-Canel Esteban Lazo Hernández

National Assembly of People's Power Independence from Spain War of Independence February 24, 1895 Legislature

-

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-

-

-

Recognized Republic declared (Independence from United States)

December 10, 1898 May 20, 1902

July 26, 1953 - January 1, 1959 Current constitution February 24, 1976 Area 2 109,884 km (106th) Total 42,426 sq mi Water (%) negligible Population 2013 census 11,210,064 2 102/km (106th) Density 264.0/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate Total $212 billion (58th) Per capita $18,796 (61st) GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate Total $78.694 billion (65th) Per capita $6,985 (86th) 38.0 Gini (2000) medium 0.815 HDI (2013) very high · 44th Cuban Revolution

 Currency



Peso (CUP) a Convertible peso

(CUC) Time zone CST (UTC−5) Summer (DST) CDT (UTC−4) Drives on the right Calling code +53 ISO 3166 code CU Internet TLD .cu From 1993 to 2004, the United States dollar was used a. alongside the peso until the dollar was replaced by the convertible peso.

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The Cuban Economy The Cuban state claims to adhere to socialist principles in organizing its largely state-controlled planned economy. Most of the means of production are owned and run by the government and most of the labor force is employed by the state. Recent years have seen a trend toward more private sector employment. By 2006, public sector employment was 78% and private sector 22%, compared to 91.8% to 8.2% in 1981. Any firm wishing to hire a Cuban must pay the Cuban government, which in turn will pay the employee in Cuban pesos. The average monthly wage as of July 2013 is 466 Cuban pesos, which are worth about US$19.

Cuba has a dual currency system, whereby most wages and prices are set in Cuban pesos (CUP), while the tourist economy operates with Convertible pesos (CUC), set at par with the US dollar. Every Cuban household has a ration book (known as libreta) entitling it to a monthly supply of food and other staples, which are provided at nominal cost.

Before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, Cuba was one of the most advanced and successful countries in Latin America. Cuba's capital, Havana, was a "glittering and dynamic city". The country's economy in the early part of the century, fueled by the sale of sugar to the United States, had grown dynamically. Cuba ranked 5th in the hemisphere in per capita income, 3rd in life expectancy, 2nd in per capita ownership of automobiles and telephones, and 1st in the number of television sets per inhabitant.

Cuba's literacy rate, 76%, was the fourth highest in Latin America. Cuba also ranked 11th in the world in the number of doctors per capita. Several private clinics and hospitals provided services for the poor. Cuba's income distribution compared favorably with that of other Latin American societies. A thriving middle class, according to PBS, held the promise of prosperity and social mobility. According to Cuba historian Louis Perez of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "Havana was then what Las Vegas has become."

After the Cuban revolution and before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba depended on Moscow for substantial aid and sheltered markets for its exports. The removal of these subsidies sent the Cuban economy into a rapid depression known in Cuba as the Special Period. Cuba took limited free market-oriented measures to alleviate severe shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. These steps included allowing some self-employment in certain retail and light manufacturing sectors, the legalization of the use of the US dollar in business, and the encouragement of tourism. Cuba has developed a unique urban farm system (the organop贸nicos) to compensate for the end of food imports from the Soviet Union.

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The leadership of Cuba has called for reforms in the country's agricultural system. In 2008, Raúl Castro began enacting agrarian reforms to boost food production, as at that time 80% of food was imported. The reforms enacted are aimed at expanding land usage and increasing efficiency. Venezuela supplies Cuba with an estimated 110,000 barrels (17,000 m3) a day of oil in exchange for money and the services of some 44,000 Cubans, most of them medical personnel, in Venezuela. Estimates place Venezuelan assistance at over 20% of the Cuban GDP for 2008–2010, similar to the aid flows from the Soviet Union in 1985–1988.

In 2005 Cuba had exports of $2.4 billion, ranking 114 of 226 world countries, and imports of $6.9 billion, ranking 87 of 226 countries. Its major export partners are Canada 17.7%, China 16.9%, Venezuela 12.5%, Netherlands 9%, and Spain 5.9% (2012).

Cuba's major exports are sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus fruits, and coffee; imports include food, fuel, clothing, and machinery. Cuba presently holds debt in an amount estimated to be $13 billion, approximately 38% of GDP. According to the Heritage Foundation, Cuba is dependent on credit accounts that rotate from country to country. Cuba's prior 35% supply of the world's export market for sugar has declined to 10% due to a variety of factors, including a global sugar commodity price drop that made Cuba less competitive on world markets.

In 2010, Cubans were allowed to build their own houses. According to Raúl Castro, they will be able to improve their houses with this new permission, but the government will not endorse these new houses or improvements.

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On August 2, 2011, The New York Times reported Cuba as reaffirming their intent to legalize "buying and selling" of private property before the year's end. According to experts, the private sale of property could "transform Cuba more than any of the economic reforms announced by President Raúl Castro's government". It will cut more than one million state jobs, including party bureaucrats who resist the changes. The new economic reforms effectively created a new economic system, referred by some as the "New Cuban Economy".

In August 2012, a specialist of the "Cubaenergia Company" announced the opening of Cuba's first Solar Power Plant. As a member of the Cubasolar Group, there was also a mention of 10 additional plants in 2013.

In October 2013, as part of Raúl Castro's latest reforms, Cuba announced an end to the dual currency system.

Resources Cuba's natural resources include sugar, tobacco, fish, citrus fruits, coffee, beans, rice, potatoes, and livestock.

Cuba's most important mineral resource is nickel, with 21% of total exports in 2011. The output of Cuba's nickel mines that year was 71,000 tons, approaching 4% of world production. As of 2013 its reserves were estimated at 5.5 million tons, over 7% of the world total. Sherritt International of Canada operates a large nickel mining facility in Moa. Cuba is also a major producer of refined cobalt, a by-product of nickel mining operations.

Oil exploration in 2005 by the US Geological Survey revealed that the North Cuba Basin could produce approximately 4.6 billion barrels (730,000,000 m3) to 9.3 billion barrels (1.48×109 m3) of oil. In 2006, Cuba started to test-drill these locations for possible exploitation.

Tourism Tourism was initially restricted to enclave resorts where tourists would be segregated from Cuban society, referred to as "enclave tourism" and "tourism apartheid". Contacts between foreign visitors and ordinary Cubans were de facto illegal between 1992 and 1997. The rapid growth of tourism during the Special Period had widespread social and economic repercussions in Cuba, and led to speculation about the emergence of a twotier economy.

Cuba has tripled its market share of Caribbean tourism in the last decade; as a result of significant investment in tourism infrastructure, this growth rate is predicted to continue.

1.9 million tourists visited Cuba in 2003, predominantly from Canada and the European Union, generating revenue of $2.1 billion. Cuba recorded 2,688,000 international

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tourists in 2011, the third-highest figure in the Caribbean (behind the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico).

The Medical tourism sector caters to thousands of European, Latin American, Canadian, and American consumers every year.

Allegations of widespread sex tourism are downplayed by the Cuban Justice minister.

According to a Government of Canada travel advice website, "Cuba is actively working to prevent child sex tourism, and a number of tourists, including Canadians, have been convicted of offences related to the corruption of minors aged 16 and under. Prison sentences range from 7 to 25 years."

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Education & Healthcare The University of Havana was founded in 1728 and there are a number of other well-established colleges and universities. In 1957, just before Castro came to power, the literacy rate was fourth in the region at almost 80% according to the United Nations, higher than in Spain. Castro created an entirely state-operated system and banned private institutions. School attendance is compulsory from ages six to the end of basic secondary education (normally at age 15), and all students, regardless of age or gender, wear school uniforms with the color denoting grade level. Primary education lasts for six years, secondary education is divided into basic and pre-university education. Cuba's literacy rate of 99.8 percent is the tenth-highest globally, due largely to the provision of free education at every level.

Cuba's high school graduation rate is 94 percent.

Higher education is provided by universities, higher institutes, higher pedagogical institutes, and higher polytechnic institutes. The Cuban Ministry of Higher Education operates a scheme of distance education which provides regular afternoon and evening courses in rural areas for agricultural workers. Education has a strong political and ideological emphasis, and students progressing to higher education are expected to have a commitment to the goals of Cuba. Cuba has provided state subsidized education to a limited number of foreign nationals at the Latin American School of Medicine.

According to the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, the top-ranking universities in the country are Universidad de la Habana (1544th worldwide), Instituto Superior PolitĂŠcnico JosĂŠ Antonio EcheverrĂ­a (2603rd) and the Universidad Central Marta Abreu de la Villas (2947th).

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Health Cuba's life expectancy at birth is 78 years. Historically, Cuba has ranked high in numbers of medical personnel and has made significant contributions to world health since the 19th century. Today, Cuba has universal health care and although shortages of medical supplies persist, there is no shortage of medical personnel. Primary care is available throughout the island and infant and maternal mortality rates compare favorably with those in developed nations.

Post-Revolution Cuba initially experienced an overall worsening in terms of disease and infant mortality rates in the 1960s when half its 6,000 doctors left the country. Recovery occurred by the 1980s, and the country's healthcare has been widely praised. The Communist government asserted that universal health care was to become a priority of state planning and progress was made in rural areas. Like the rest of the Cuban economy, Cuban medical care suffered from severe material shortages following the end of Soviet subsidies in 1991, followed by a tightening of the U.S. embargo in 1992.

Challenges include low pay of doctors (only $15 a month), poor facilities, poor provision of equipment, and frequent absence of essential drugs. Cuba has the highest doctor-topopulation ratio in the world and has sent thousands of doctors to more than 40 countries around the world. According to the World Health Organization, Cuba is "known the world over for its ability to train excellent doctors and nurses who can then go out to help other countries in need." As of September 2014 there are around 50,000 Cuban-trained health care workers aiding 66 nations.

According to the UN, the life expectancy in Cuba is 78.3 years (76.2 for males and 80.4 for females). This ranks Cuba 37th in the world and 3rd in the Americas, behind only Canada and Chile, and just ahead of the United States. Infant mortality in Cuba

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declined from 32 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 1957, to 10 in 1990–95. Infant mortality in 2000–2005 was 6.1 per 1,000 live births. Its infant mortality rate is 5.13.

In Cuba, there is a need to import certain pharmaceutical drugs. Therefore, the Quimefa Pharmaceutical Business Group was developed under The Ministry of Basic Industry (MINBAS) called, "FARMACUBA." This group also handles the exporting of pharmaceuticals, and provide technical information for the production of these drugs.

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Politics & Government

The Republic of Cuba is one of the world's last remaining Communist countries . The Constitution of 1976, which defined Cuba as a socialist republic, was replaced by the Constitution of 1992, which is "guided by the ideas of JosĂŠ MartĂ­ and the political and social ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin." The constitution describes the Communist Party of Cuba as the "leading force of society and of the state".

The First Secretary of the Communist Party is concurrently President of the Council of State (President of Cuba) and President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes referred to as Premier of Cuba). Members of both councils are elected by the National Assembly of People's Power. The President of Cuba, who is also elected by the Assembly, serves for five years and there is no limit to the number of terms of office.

The People's Supreme Court serves as Cuba's highest judicial branch of government. It is also the court of last resort for all appeals against the decisions of provincial courts.

Cuba's national legislature, the National Assembly of People's Power (Asamblea Nacional de Poder Popular), is the supreme organ of power; 609 members serve fiveyear terms. The assembly meets twice a year; between sessions legislative power is held by the 31 member Council of Ministers. Candidates for the Assembly are approved by public referendum. All Cuban citizens over 16 who have not been convicted of a criminal offense can vote. Article 131 of the Constitution states that voting shall be "through free, equal and secret vote". Article 136 states: "In order for deputies or Page 40 of 78

delegates to be considered elected they must get more than half the number of valid votes cast in the electoral districts".

No political party is permitted to nominate candidates or campaign on the island, including the Communist Party. The Communist Party of Cuba has held six party congress meetings since 1975. In 2011, the party stated that there were 800,000 members, and representatives generally constitute at least half of the Councils of state and the National Assembly. The remaining positions are filled by candidates nominally without party affiliation. Other political parties campaign and raise finances internationally, while activity within Cuba by opposition groups is minimal.

In February 2013, Raúl Castro, current Cuban President, announced his resignation for 2018, that will end his current 5-year term, and hope to implement permanent term limits for future Cuban Presidents, including age limits.

Administrative Divisions The country is subdivided into 15 provinces and one special municipality (Isla de la Juventud). These were formerly part of six larger historical provinces: Pinar del Río, Habana, Matanzas, Las Villas, Camagüey and Oriente. The present subdivisions closely resemble those of the Spanish military provinces during the Cuban Wars of Independence, when the most troublesome areas were subdivided. The provinces are divided into municipalities.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Pinar del Río Artemisa Havana Mayabeque Matanzas Cienfuegos Villa Clara Sancti Spíritus

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Ciego de Ávila Camagüey Las Tunas Granma Holguín Santiago de Cuba Guantánamo Isla de la Juventud

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Human Rights & Foreign Relations The Cuban government has been accused of numerous human rights abuses including torture, arbitrary imprisonment, unfair trials, and extrajudicial executions (also known as "El Pared贸n"). Human Rights Watch has stated that the government "represses nearly all forms of political dissent" and that "Cubans are systematically denied basic rights to free expression, association, assembly, privacy, movement, and due process of law".

The European Union (EU) in 2003 accused the Cuban government of "continuing flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms". The United States continues an embargo against Cuba "so long as it continues to refuse to move toward democratization and greater respect for human rights", though the UN General Assembly has, since 1992, passed a resolution every year condemning the ongoing impact of the embargo and claiming it to be in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. Cuba considers the embargo itself to be in violation of human rights. On December 17, 2014, United States President Barack Obama announced the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, pushing for Congress to put an end to the embargo.

Cuba had the second-highest number of imprisoned journalists of any nation in 2008 (China had the highest) according to various sources, including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch.

Cuban dissidents face arrest and imprisonment. In the 1990s, Human Rights Watch reported that Cuba's extensive prison system, one of the largest in Latin America, consists of 40 maximum-security prisons, 30 minimum-security prisons, and over 200 work camps. According to Human Rights Watch, Cuba's prison population is confined in "substandard and unhealthy conditions, where prisoners face physical and sexual abuse."

In 2005, the president of the EU made a declaration on behalf of member states and other regional countries: "The EU has noted with grave concern the situation of political prisoners, Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, Victor Rolando Arroyo and Felix Navarro, all in extremely poor health through hunger strikes undertaken in protest at the conditions in which they are being held.

The EU calls on the Cuban authorities to take immediate action to improve the conditions of detention of these individuals and other political prisoners who are being held in circumstances that fall below the UN Minimum Standards for the Treatment of Prisoners.

The EU reiterates its urgent request to Cuba to release unconditionally all political prisoners still detained."

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In July 2010, the unofficial Cuban Human Rights Commission said there were 167 political prisoners in Cuba, a fall from 201 at the start of the year. The head of the commission stated that long prison sentences were being replaced by harassment and intimidation.

Foreign Relations Cuba under Castro was heavily involved in wars in Africa, Central America and Asia.

Cuba supported Algeria in 1961–5. Cuba sent tens of thousands of troops to Angola during the Angolan Civil War. Other countries that featured Cuban involvement include Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Yemen.

Cuba has conducted a foreign policy that is uncharacteristic of such a minor, developing country. Lesser known actions include the 1959 missions to the Dominican Republic.

The expedition failed, but a prominent monument to its members was erected in their memory in Santo Domingo by the Dominican government, and they feature prominently at the country's Memorial Museum of the Resistance.

Cuba is a founding member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. At the end of 2012, tens of thousands of Cuban medical personnel worked abroad, with as many as 30,000 doctors in Venezuela alone via the two countries' oil-for-doctors programme.

In 1996, the United States, then under President Bill Clinton, brought in the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, better known as the Helms–Burton Act. Page 44 of 78

In 2008, the EU and Cuba agreed to resume full relations and cooperation activities.

United States President Barack Obama stated on April 17, 2009, in Trinidad and Tobago that "the United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba", and reversed the Bush Administration's prohibition on travel and remittances by Cuban-Americans from the United States to Cuba.

On December 17, 2014, an agreement between the United States and Cuba, popularly called "The Cuban Thaw", brokered in part by Canada and Pope Francis, began the process of restoring international relations between Cuba and the United States. Cuba and the US agreed to release political prisoners and the United States began the process of creating an embassy in Havana.

Crime and Law Enforcement All law enforcement agencies are maintained under Cuba's Ministry of the Interior which is supervised by the Revolutionary Armed Forces. In Cuba, citizens can receive police assistance by dialing "106" on their telephones. The police force, which is referred to as "PolicĂ­a Nacional Revolucionaria" or PNR is then expected to provide help. The Cuban government also has an agency called the Intelligence Directorate that conducts intelligence operations and maintains close ties with the Russian Federal Security Service.

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The Cuban Military As of 2009, Cuba spent about $91.8 million on its armed forces. In 1985, Cuba devoted more than 10% of its GDP to military expenditures. In response to perceived American aggression, such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, Cuba built up one of the largest armed forces in Latin America, second only to that of Brazil.

From 1975 until the late 1980s, Soviet military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities. After the loss of Soviet subsidies, Cuba scaled down the numbers of military personnel, from 235,000 in 1994 to about 60,000 in 2003.

The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces The Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias—FAR) consist of ground forces, naval forces, air and air defence forces, and other paramilitary bodies including the Territorial Troops Militia (Milicias de Tropas Territoriales—MTT), Youth Labor Army (Ejército Juvenil del Trabajo—EJT), and the Defense and Production Brigades (Brigadas de Producción y Defensa—BPD).

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The armed forces has long been the most powerful institution in Cuba and high-ranking generals are believed to play crucial roles in all conceivable succession scenarios. The military controls 60 percent of the economy through the management of hundreds of enterprises in key economic sectors. The military is also Raúl Castro's base. In numerous speeches, Raúl Castro has emphasized the military's role as a people's partner.

From 1966 until the late 1980s, Soviet Government military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities to number one in Latin America and project power abroad. The first Cuban military mission in Africa was established in Ghana in 1961.

Cuba's military forces appeared in Algeria, in 1963, when a military medical brigade came over from Havana to support the regime. Since the 1960s, Cuba sent military forces to African and Arab countries; Syria in 1973, Ethiopia in 1978, the Cuban intervention in Angola from 1975 to 1989, and Nicaragua and El Salvador during the 1980s.

The Soviet Union gave both military and financial aid to the Cubans. The tonnage of Soviet military deliveries to Cuba throughout most of the 1980s exceeded deliveries in any year since the military build-up during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

In 1989 the government instituted a cleanup of the armed forces and the Ministry of Interior, convicting army Major General and Hero of The Republic of Cuba Arnaldo Ochoa, Ministry of Interior Colonel Antonio de la Guardia (Tony la Guardia), and Ministry of Interior Brigadier General Patricio de la Guardia on charges of co rruption and drug trafficking. This judgment is known in Cuba as "Causa 1" (Cause 1).

Ochoa and Antonio de la Guardia were executed. Following the executions, the Army was drastically downsized, the Ministry of Interior was moved under the informal control of Revolutionary Armed Forces chief General Raúl Castro (Fidel Castro's brother), and large numbers of army officers were moved into the Ministry of Interior.

Cuban military power has been sharply reduced by the loss of Soviet subsidies. Today, the Revolutionary Armed Forces number 79,000 regular troops. The DIA reported in 1998 that the country's paramilitary organizations, the Territorial Militia Troops, the Youth Labor Army, and the Naval Militia had suffered considerable morale and training degradation over the previous seven years but still retained the potential to "make an enemy invasion costly." Cuba also adopted a "war of the people" strategy that highlights the defensive nature of its capabilities.

On September 14, 2012, a Cuban senior general agreed to further deepen military cooperation with China during a visit to Beijing. He said that Cuba was willing to enhance exchanges with the Chinese military and strengthen bilateral cooperation in personnel training and other areas.

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The Cuban Army In 1984, according to Jane's Military Review, there were three major geographical commands, Western, Central, and Eastern. There were a reported 130,000 all ranks, and each command was garrisoned by an army comprising a single armoured division, a mechanised division, and a corps of three infantry divisions, though the Eastern Command had two corps totalling six divisions.

A U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment in the first half of 1998 said that the army's armour and artillery units were at low readiness levels due to 'severely reduced' training, generally incapable of mounting effective operations above the battalion level, and that equipment was mostly in storage and unavailable at short notice. The same report said that Cuban special operations forces continue to train but on a smaller scale than beforehand, and that while the lack of replacement parts for its existing equipment and the current severe shortage of fuel were increasingly affecting operational capabilities, Cuba remained able to offer considerable resistance to any regional power.

2002 Organization In 1999 the Revolutionary Army (Ejercito Revolucionario) represented approximately 70 percent of Cuba's regular military manpower. According to the IISS, the army's estimated 45,000 troops included 39,000 members of the Ready Reserves who were

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completing the forty-five days of annual active-duty service necessary for maintaining their status, as well as conscripts who were fulfilling their military service requirement.

The IISS reported in 1999 that the army's troop formations consisted of four to five armored brigades; nine mechanized infantry brigades; an airborne brigade; fourteen reserve brigades; and the Border Brigade. In addition, there is an air defense artillery regiment and a surface-to-air missile brigade. Each of the three territorial armies is believed to be assigned at least one armored brigade-usually attached to the army's headquarters-as well as a mechanized infantry brigade. As well, it is known that the Border Brigade in Guantanamo and at least one ground artillery regiment (attached to a mechanized infantry brigade), based in Las Tunas, are under the Eastern Army's command.

1996 Organization There are estimated to be 38,000 army personnel. As of 1996, according to Jane's Information Group, the army is organized into three Territorial Military Commands with three Armies, one army for each command.

Revolutionary Army Command:    

Airborne brigade consisting of 2 battalions (at Havana and its immediate environs) Artillery division (at Havana and its immediate environs) SAM Brigade An anti-aircraft artillery regiment

Western Army (deployed in the capital and the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Río)   

1st Armored Training Division 70th Mechanised Division 78th Armored Division

2nd (Pinar del Río) Army Corps:   

24th Infantry Division 27th Infantry Division 28th Infantry Division

Central Army (Provinces of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus)     

81st Infantry Division 84th Infantry Division 86th Infantry Division 89th Infantry Division 12th Armored Regiment/1st Armored Division Page 50 of 78



242nd Infantry Regiment/24th Infantry Division

4th (Las Villas) Army Corps:   

41st Infantry Division 43rd Infantry Division 48th Infantry Division

Eastern Army (Provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Granma, Holguín, Las Tunas, Camagüey and Ciego de Avila)             

3rd Armored Division 6th Armored Division 9th Armored Division 31st Infantry Division 32nd Infantry Division 38th Infantry Division 84th Infantry Division 90th Infantry Division 95th Infantry Division 97th Infantry Division Guantanamo Frontier Brigade 123rd Infantry Division/former 12th Infantry Division 281st Infantry Regiment/28th Infantry Division

6th (Holguín) Army Corps:     

50th Mechanised Division 52nd Infantry Division 54th Infantry Division 56th Infantry Division 58th Infantry Division

6th (Camagüey) Army Corps:    

60th Mechanised Division 63rd Infantry Division 65th Infantry Division 69th Infantry Division

Equipment

Infantry Weapons Name Makarov

Country of origin Soviet

Type

Notes

Semi-

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PM Stechkin APS PM-63 RAK SKS AKM AMD-65 Vz. 58

Union Soviet Union Poland Soviet Union Soviet Union Hungary Czechoslovakia

RPK

Soviet Union

KPV

Soviet Union

PKM Dragunov SVD Alejandro Sniper Rifle

Soviet Union Soviet Union Cuba

Mambi

Cuba

RPG-7

Soviet Union

SPG-9

Soviet Union

AGS-17

Soviet Union

RGD-5

Soviet Union Russia

automatic pistol Automatic pistol Submachine gun Carbine

Mostly limited to use as a ceremonial weapon.

Assault rifle Assault rifle Assault rifle Light machine gun Heavy machine gun Machine gun Sniper rifle Sniper rifle Anti-material rifle RocketPropelledGrenade launcher Recoilless rifle Automatic grenade launcher Grenade

Light And Medium Tanks Name PT-76

Country of origin Soviet Union

Quantity

Notes

50

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Main Battle Tanks Name

Country of Quantity origin

Notes

T-54/55

Soviet Union Poland Cuba

800

Modernized active, others used as SelfPropelled Artillery with D-30 mounted; 300+ in storage

T-62

Soviet Union

300

T-62Ms active

Reconnaissance Armoured Vehicles Name BRDM-1 BRDM-2

Country of origin Soviet Union Soviet Union

Notes

Quantity 50 100

Infantry Fighting Vehicles Name BMP-1 BMD-1

Country of Quantity origin Soviet Union Poland Soviet Union

Notes

400

Armoured Personnel Carriers Name BTR152 BTR-40 BTR-50

BTR-60

Country of origin Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union

Quantity

Notes

Various versions of this vehicle. Including one with a 100mm gun and a modified T-55 turret.

Soviet Union

Towed Artillery Name ZIS-3

Country of origin Soviet Union

Quantity

Notes

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D-30

Soviet Union

M-46

Soviet Union

M-30 M1938 122 mm

Soviet Union

Mostly used as guns for Self-Propelled Artillery together with modernized A-19 122mm.

This 130mm long range gun is used also as a Self-Propelled Artillery Piece in 6x6 truck called Jupiter-V and there is also a version mounted on a T-34 chassis.

Self-Propelled Artillery Name 2S1 Gvozdika 2S3 Akatsiya T-55

Country of origin Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union Cuba

Quantity

Notes

60 40 With M-46 130mm mounted

Multi Rocket Launchers Name BM-14 BM-21 BM21PD "Grad" BM-24 P-15 Termit

Country of origin Soviet Union Soviet Union

Quantity

Notes

Locally built version of the BM-21

Cuba Soviet Union Soviet Union

Mortars Name M-41/43 M-38/43

Country of origin Soviet Union Soviet Union

Quantity

Notes

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Anti-Tank Weapons Name AT-1 Snapper AT-3 Sagger 9K111 Fagot D-44 SU-100 T-12

Country of origin Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union

Quantity

Notes

Mounted on the BTR60s and some.

Anti-Aircraft Guns Name ZU-23-2 ZPU-4 ZSU-234 ZSU-572 S-60 M-1939

Country of origin Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union

Quantity

Notes

400 200 36 25 200 300

Ballistic missiles Name 9K52 Luna-M

Country of origin Soviet Union

Quantity

Notes

65

SAMs Name SA-6 Gainful SA-7 Grail SA-8 Gecko

Country of origin Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union

Quantity

Notes

12

16

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SA-9 Gaskin SA-13 Gopher SA-14 Gremlin SA-16 Gimlet S-75 Dvina S-125 Neva/Pechora

Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union Soviet Union Russia Soviet Union Soviet Union

60 42

144 60

Self-propelled SAM Name SA-2

S-125 Neva/Pechora

Country of Quantity origin Soviet Union 25 Cuba Soviet Union Cuba

Notes On T-55 chassis.

On T-55 chassis. This missile was seen in the Cuban Military Parade of 2006.

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The Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force (DAAFAR) The Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force (Spanish: Defensa Anti-AĂŠrea Y Fuerza AĂŠrea Revolucionaria) commonly abbreviated to DAAFAR in both Spanish and English, is the air force of Cuba.

Former aircraft include: MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19, North American B-25 Mitchell, North American P-51 Mustang, and the Hawker Sea Fury In the 1980s, Cuba with the help of the Soviet Union was able to project power abroad, using its air force, especially in Africa. During that time Cuba sent jet fighters and transports for deployment in conflict zones such as Angola and Ethiopia.

In 1990, Cuba's Air Force was the best equipped in Latin America. In all, the modern Cuban Air Force imported approximately 230 fixed-wing aircraft. Although there is no exact figure available, Western analysts estimate that at least 130 (with only 25 operational) of these planes are still in service spread out among the thirteen military airbases on the island.

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In 1996, fighters from the DAAFAR shot down two Cessna aircraft based in Florida which were incorrectly suspected of dropping leaflets into Cuban airspace. The air force was criticised for not giving the pilots of the aircraft options other than being shot down.

One aircraft escaped.

In 1998, according to the same DIA report mentioned above, the air force had 'fewer than 24 operational MIG fighters; pilot training barely adequate to maintain proficiency; a declining number of fighter sorties, surface-to-air missiles and air-defense artillery to respond to attacking air forces.

By 2007 the International Institute for Strategic Studies assessed the force as 8,000 strong with 41 combat capable aircraft and a further 188 stored. DAAFAR is known now to have integrated another Mig-29 and a few MiG-23s which makes it 58 combat aircraft in active service which are listed as 6 MiG-29s, 40 MiG-23s, and 12 MiG-21s. There were also assessed to be 12 operational transport aircraft plus trainers which include 8 L-39C and helicopters which are mainly Mil Mi-8, Mil Mi-17 and Mil Mi-24 Hind. Raúl Castro ordered in 2010 that all MiG-29 pilots had to have full training, they now have from 200–250 hours of flight annually together with real dogfight training and exercises.

Up to 20 MiG-23 units also have this kind of training but the other 16 MiG-23 units spend more time in simulators than real flight. MiG-21 units have limited time in this exercises and spend more time in simulators and maintain their skills flying with the commercial brand of the air force Aerogaviota.

At San Antonio de los Banos military air field, south west of Havana, several aircraft are visible using Google Earth.

Aircraft

Origin

Type

Version

Total delivered

Current total

Combat Aircraft MikoyanGurevich MiG-21 Fishbed MikoyanGurevich MiG-23 Flogger MikoyanGurevich MiG-29 Fulcrum

USSR

fighter / trainer

MiG-21MF / MiG21UM

60----10

12

USSR

fighter / multirole fighter / trainer

MiG-23MF/MS / MiG-23ML / MiG23UB

21 / 21 / 5

24

USSR

fighter / multirole fighter / trainer

MiG-29B / MiG29UB

14

3

Mi-8T / Mi-8TKV

20 / 20

10 / 10

Mi-24D / Mi-24V

(unknown)

4

Mil Mi-8/Mil Mi-17

USSR

Mil Mi-24 Hind Antonov An-26 Curl Aero L-39 Albatros

USSR

transport/attack helicopter attack

USSR

cargo

An-26

17

2

Czechoslovakia

trainer/attack

L-39C

30

25

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The Cuban Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, MGR) In 1998, according to a CIA report, the Cuban Navy had no functioning submarines, around 12 surface vessels that were combat ready, a 'weak' anti-surface warfare capability, primarily SS-N-2 Styx SSM equipped fast attack boats, and an 'extremely weak' anti-submarine warfare capability.

By 2007, the Cuban Navy was assessed as being 3,000 strong (including up to 550+ Navy Infantry) by the IISS with six Osa-II and one Pauk class corvette.

Almost all of the ships of the Cuban Navy have been decommissioned, and the three Koni class frigates were either expended as targets or sunk to build reefs. Cuba has constructed rolling platforms with Soviet P-15 Termit (CSS-C-3 "Seersucker") missile batteries taken from its warships and placed them near beaches where hostile amphibious assaults may occur. Most patrol boats are non-operational due to lack of fuel and spares.

The Cuban Navy also includes a small marine battalion called the Desembarco de Granma. It once numbered 550 men though its present size is not known.

There are reports of new naval projects under the RaĂşl Castro government. After the old Soviet submarines were put out of service, Cuba searched for help from North Korea's experience in midget submarines. North Korean defectors claimed to have seen Page 59 of 78

Cubans in mid to late 1990s into a secret submarine base and appeared in public view years later a single picture of a small black native submarine in Havana harbour. It is rumored to be called 'Delfin' and is to be armed with two torpedoes. Further analysis confirmed it to be a derived from the North Korean Yugo class submarine and up to 6 units are rumoured to be in service, even if 2 of them are used for civilian meteorologic studies.

The Cuban Navy rebuilt one, large ex-Spanish fishing boat. The BPH-390 Rio Damuji is now armed with 2 C-201W missiles, 1 x 2-57mm guns, 2 x 2-25mm guns and 1 x14.5mm machine gun. This vessel is larger than the Koni class, and it is used as a helicopter carrier patrol vessel. A second unit (n°392) is under construction at Cienfuegos and is expected to enter into service as a military ship also.

The Cuban Navy today operates its own missile systems, the made-in-Cuba Bandera (a copy of the dated Styx Soviet missiles) and Remulgadas anti-ship missile systems, as well as the nationally produced Frontera self-propelled coastal defence multiple rocket launcher.

Air and Naval Air Bases List of active bases: 



Cabañas (HQ Western Command) – San Julián Air Base (MUSJ) o 23rd Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23ML) o Primary Training (Antonov An-2) o 1650 Combat Training (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21UM) o Combat Training Squadron (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21PFMA and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF) o Rwy 01/19 2041 m (6695 ft) o Rwy 08/26 2584 m (8479 ft) Alameda del Siboney o 23° 5'24.74"N, 82°28'44.75"W and 22°58'45.10"N, 82°59'15.13"W



Holguín (HQ Eastern Command) – Frank País Airport (MUHG) o 1724 Interceptor Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN bomber) o 3710 Interceptor Squadron and Training o 34th Tactical Regiment



Havana – Playa Baracoa Airport (MUPB) o 3405th Executive Squadron o 3404 Transport Squadron o 3688 Transport Regiment



Havana – José Martí Airport (MUHA) o 25th Transport Regiment (Ilyushin Il-76 and Antonov An-32) o Rwy 06/24, Size: 4001 m (13,125 ft) Page 60 of 78



La Coloma Airport (MULM) o 1660 Training Squadron (Aero L-39 AlbatrosC)

Inactive 

Mariel – Mariel Airfield (MUML) – now container terminal o former anti-submarine helicopter squadron (Ka-32 and Mil Mi-14PL)



Campo de Columbia – renamed Campo Libertad in 1961 (MULB) o 26th Transport Regiment (Mil Mi-2 and Mil Mi-8) o Training Squadron (Aero L-39 AlbatrosC and Z-326T) o 2065 m (6775 ft runway)



Campo Teniente Brihuega



Playa Baracoa – Playa Baracoa Airfield (MUPB) o 22nd Regiment



Nicaro Airport (MUNC) o abandoned airfield 1315 m (single 4314 ft runway)



Punta Movida o Soviet built base



Cienfuegos Airport (Jaime González Air Station) (MUCF) o single 2/20 runway 1510 m (4954 ft) o 15th Transport Regiment (Antonov An-2 and Antonov An-26) o 16th Helicopter Regiment (Mil Mi-8, Mil Mi-14, Mil Mi-17) Güines o 24 Tactical Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN)





Santiago de Cuba – Antonio Maceo Airport (MUCU) o 35th Transport Regiment (Antonov An-2 and Antonov An-26) o 36 Helicopter Regiment (Mil Mi-8 and Mil Mi-24) o Rwy 09/27 4000 m (13123 ft) o Rwy 18/36 1296 m (4252 ft)



San Antonio de los Baños Airport (MUSA) o 21st Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21B) o 1724 Regiment o 3 Runways  Rwy 01/19 2400 m (7873 ft)  Rwy 05/23 3596 m (11,799 ft)  Rwy 12/30 2482 m (8144 ft)



Santa Clara – Abel Santa María Airport (MUSC) Page 61 of 78

o o

14th Tactical Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23BN) bomber Rwy 08/26 3017 m (9898 ft)



Santa Cruz o 11 Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21B)



Sancti Spíritus – Sancti Spiritus Airport (MUSS) o 12th Regiment (Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF) o Rwy 03/21 1801 m (5908 ft)



Camagüey – Ignacio Agramonte Airport (MUCM) o 31st Regiment – Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21MF fighters o Rwy 07/25 3000 m (9842 ft)

Current   

         

2 Rio Damuji class Frigates, 1 x 57mm gun, 2 Styx surface-to-surface missiles, 1 x 12.7mm machine gun, 2 x 25mm machine guns.

4 ( + 2 for civilian use) Delfin class midget submarines, 2 torpedo launchers with 6 torpedoes. Derived from North Korean Yugo class submarine.

1 Pauk II Fast Patrol Craft, Coastal with 1 x 76 mm gun, 4 Anti-Submarine Torpedo Tube, 2 Anti-Submarine Weapon Rocket Launcher – 495 tons full load – commissioned 1990.

6 Former Soviet Union (FSU) Osa II PFM missile boats; 13 Type II transferred.

3 ex-Soviet Union (FSU) Sonya Mine Sweeper Coastal; 4 transferred.

5 Former Soviet Union (FSU) Yevgenya Mine Sweeper Inshore; 11 transferred.

1 Intelligence Collection Vessel.

2 amphibious assault battalions.

122 mm artillery.

M-1931/3 artillery.

130 mm: M-46 artillery.

152 mm: M-1937 artillery. ≈10 SSC-3 surface-to-surface missile systems.

The border guards have: 2 Stenka class patrol boats and 30/48 Zhuk patrol craft. Cuba makes Zhuk patrol craft and some are seen with an SPG-9 mounted on front of the twin 30mm guns.

Historic   

1 Soviet Foxtrot class submarine with 533 mm and 406 mm Torpedo Tube (nonoperational); 3 transferred 2 Soviet Koni corvettes with 2 Anti-Submarine Weapon Rocket Launcher (nonoperational); 3 transferred 4 Soviet Osa I/II missile boats with 4 SS-N-2 Styx Surface-to-Surface Missile+

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 

1 Soviet Pauk II Fast Patrol Craft, Coastal with 2 Anti-Submarine Weapon Rocket Launcher, 4 Anti-Submarine Torpedo Tube 1 Soviet/Polish Polnocny LSM (medium landing ship), capacity 180 tps, 6tk (nonoperational)

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Page 64 of 78

Sports

Baseball is the official sport of Cuba.

Due to historical associations with the United States, many Cubans participate in sports which are popular in North America, rather than sports traditionally promoted in other Latin American nations. Baseball is by far the most popular; other sports and pastimes include football, basketball, volleyball, cricket, and athletics. Cuba is a dominant force in amateur boxing, consistently achieving high medal tallies in major international competitions. Cuba also provides a national team that competes in the Olympic Games.

The Cuban Sports Program Post Revolutionary Cuba prides itself on its success in sports. Fidel Castro expressed that sports should be ―the right of the people,‖ not the right of the wealthy. He compared Pre-Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary Cuba by explaining that while before only the wealthy could enjoy sports, now everyone can enjoy sports. He also explains that talent in sport comes from hard work, and a strong will. These are not traits the naturally wealthy have; rather these are traits that working-class people have. In modern Cuban society, sport and physical education begin when a child is only 45 days old. The mothers are taught to exercise their children's limbs and massage their muscles to keep them healthy. Children are taught at a later age to play games that resemble physical exercise. These ideas were the basis for the modern sports program in Cuba, and clearly it is working. Considering that Cuba’s population is only around 11 million (around half the size of New York metro area), Cuba has a demanding 7.5 to 0.70 lead against the US in the number of sports medals won per million occupants.

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In 1961, two years after the triumph of the Revolution, The National Institute of Sport, Physical Education, and Recreation (INDER) was created. This was the governing branch of all sport and recreation in Cuba. It developed all of the current sports and education programs in place today, including the EIDE, which is the program that finds the naturally talented young adults and gets them into sports oriented secondary schools. All first and secondary schools in Cuba teach sport and physical education as a compulsory subject. There are five sports taught in all standard secondary schools: track and field, basketball, baseball, gymnastics, and volleyball. The students who excel at a certain sport usually find themselves competing in the Cuban summer Junior Olympics which is where the EIDE sees their talent and recruits them to a specialized school that caters to just their sport.

Most of these specialized schools are located on the Isle of Youth. This is a 2,200 square kilometer island to the south of Cuba which has more than 27 of these schools, each having about 600 children who attend. The majority of them are semiboarding schools where the students get on a boat to the island every Sunday evening and return every Friday evening. The schools are spread out across the island and have citrus groves in between them.

Being consistent with the ideals of the Revolution, all of the students are required to put in 3 hours of work a day picking or canning fruit.

Every school in Cuba participates in the Junior Olympic Program established in 1963.

However many of the standard secondary schools only compete in the sports for which they have teams, for instance most of them do not have pools. The competition usually commences in July. The games have a traditional ladder system where first local schools compete, then the district winners will compete and finally the regional winners will compete. However for team sports, the winning teams will move on, but the best players from all of the losing teams will form a new team and also move on. This way no single great player will be tossed out because of a bad team. As of 1978 the Cuban Junior Olympics involved 20 sports: Chess, Weightlifting, Athletics, Tennis, Football, Table Tennis, Basketball, Modern Gymnastics, Gymnastics, Synchronized Swimming, Swimming, Diving, Volleyball, Water Polo, Cycling, Fencing, Judo, Roller derby, Roller hockey, Pistol Shooting, Baseball and Wrestling.

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INDER has many programs, including the National Institute for Sports Medicine, the National Coaches program, and the National Physical Education Institute. All of these were developed during the relatively strong economic period of 1960–1990. The Special Period of the 1990s–2000s created many special challenges for INDER, including budget cutbacks and a limited amount of electricity causing blackouts. In the early 1990s, many of the night sporting events were canceled to preserve electricity.

Cuba’s new sports program also began to pay for itself when many of the best players were

allowed to retire early and take up position on teams in other countries. These other countries wanted to hire them because of Cuba’s fantastic success in training winning athletes.

These players would earn a large salary, and about 80% of it would go directly to the Cuban government. The players would then pocket the other 20%, which was more than what the average Cuban in Cuba was earning. It is worthy to note that Castro abolished professional sport in Cuba in the beginning of the Revolution. What this meant was that all leagues and teams are considered amateur. This concept was imbedded in the stated ideals of the revolution, that everyone should be equal. However this outflow of the best athletes and trainers began to take its toll. In 1997 Cuba ended its 10-year, 152-game, winning-streak at the baseball International Cup by losing to Japan 11 to 2. To fix this problem, Cuba began to offer material incentives like houses and cars to the good players to keep them from playing for other countries. These offerings weren’t to completely prevent talented Cuban’s from leaving the country instead they were there to keep the system balanced. By the year 2007 there were 50 nations around the world who employed several hundred Cuban sports trainers and coaches.

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Page 71 of 78

Attachment A Cuban Law & Justice

Page 72 of 78

Cuban Law & Justice

The 1976 constitution establishes the People's Supreme Court, consisting of a president, vice president, and other judges, as the highest judicial tribunal. All members of the court are elected by the National Assembly, as are the attorney general and deputy attorneys general. Through its Governing Council, the court proposes laws, issues regulations, and makes decisions that must be implemented by the people's courts, whose judges are elected by the municipal assemblies. There are also seven regional courts of appeal, as well as district courts with civil and criminal jurisdiction.

Military tribunals assume jurisdiction for certain counterrevolutionary cases.

Although the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, the courts are subordinate to the National Assembly and the Council of State.

There are no jury trials. Most trials are public. The legal system is based on Spanish and American law influenced with communist legal theory. ______ The Supreme Court of Cuba serves as the nation's highest judicial branch of government.

Cuban courts are organized into three tiers that match the governmental divisions (national or Supreme Court, provincial, and municipal). Most civil and criminal cases tried at the municipal and provincial levels are adjudicated by a panel of two lay judges and one professional judge. Cases that involve a potential sentence longer than eight years or complex civil law issues are heard, at the provincial or supreme level, by a panel of three professional judges and two lay judges. Both professional and lay judges are elected to their positions by the legislative assembly.

Lay judges are peasants, workers, professionals, housewives, university students, who Page 73 of 78

form the judicial panels along with the professional judges. They have the same rights to make decisions on the cases that are submitted to the courts. They serve for 30-day terms.

Under Cuban law, all judges are required to be independent in their judgment and are subject only to the law. ______ The judicial branch of Cuba is one of three branches of the Cuban government.

Shortly after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban government adopted as its guiding force the ideas of Marxism-Leninism and sought to build a socialist society in accordance with these principles. In order to do this, the existing political and economic structure had to be dismantled, and with it, the nation's laws and legal system.

Gradually, a new legal system arose, based heavily on communist legal theory.

Constitutions of Cuba Since Cuba's formal independence, it has had five constitutions; those of 1901, 1934, 1935, 1940 and 1976. Major amendments were made in 1992 and 2002.

History of the Cuban Judiciary The Cuban Judiciary currently one of the three branches of the Cuban government, the others being the executive and the legislative branch. It has been contended that the judiciary lacks independence and is subordinate to the executive branch of government.

The original legal system in Cuba was a reflection of its status as a Spanish colony.

Even after the nation received its independence in 1902, vestiges of Spanish law remained in effect – for example, the Civil Code remained in effect, with modifications, until 1987. The period of United States occupation and influence resulted in developments such as the Supreme Court of Cuba. After the Cuban Revolution, the legal system underwent a series of radical transformations, both in terms of its structure and also in terms of the laws it promulgated. After a variety of experimental tribunals and projects, the legal system was institutionalized in 1976, with the adoption of a new Constitution. In the intervening years, changes have continued to occur.

Judges in Cuba Professional Judges Professional judges in Cuba are elected for unlimited terms, serving until they are no longer capable or until removed by the electoral body. Persons seeking to become judges are required to pass an examination given by the Ministry of Justice. The requirements to be a judge include age, citizenship, and a requisite amount of legal Page 74 of 78

experience that varies depending upon which court one is to serve on (10 years for Supreme Court; Five years for Provincial Courts; Two years for municipal courts.)

Membership in the Cuban Communist Party is not required to be a judge. In 1988, 43% of the judges were not members of the Party.

Lay Judges Lay judges serve alongside professional judges in all levels of the judicial system.

Candidates for the position of lay judge are nominated in workplace assemblies and are screened by the Ministry of Justice to ensure they meet the age and citizenship requirements to be a judge. They are given training before their employment begins.

Lay judges are elected for terms of five years, serving a maximum of 30 days per year (This is because lay judges continue their regular employment.) Observers note that lay judges in Cuba play a far more dynamic role than the lay judges in the former Soviet Union. On a whole, lay judges tend to represent the overall population in terms of race, gender, employment, and education.

Judicial Autonomy Under Cuban law, judges are required to be independent in their judgment and free from the influence of organs of government in their deliberations. Judges can be removed for physical/mental incapacity, negligence or incompetence, or becoming the subject of criminal prosecution. Studies demonstrate judicial autonomy. A 1977 study noted that 43% of all criminal cases were dismissed due to lack of evidence. Bufetes Colectivos report that 32% of filed criminal cases were dismissed in 1991. A substantial portion of criminal (26%) and benefits (42%) decisions were overturned or modified in 2000 by municipal courts.

Lawyers in Cuba History In the years following the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, many lawyers left Cuba. The legal profession saw its prestige decline as the new society looked toward it as another manifestation of the bourgeoisie that was to become unnecessary in the coming years of revolution. In the mid-1960s, Blas Roca CalderĂ­o began a process whereby the legal system in Cuba was resurrected to provide for the institutionalization of the Revolution.

With the newfound relevance of the law to Cuba's revolutionary process, the practice of law began to become more widespread. Today, the legal profession serves both individuals and enterprises, as well as provides counsel to the government as Cuba struggles to find its place in the international economy.

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Bufetes Colectivos Bufetes Colectivos are collective law offices, first established by the Ministry of Justice after the private practice of law was abolished, and currently under the oversight of the National Organization of Bufetes Colectivos (ONBC). In order to practice in a bufete, one must graduate from law school in Cuba or a foreign country with Cuban validation.

Exceptions to this can be made under extraordinary circumstances. Once in a bufete, lawyers may practice anywhere in the country. Currently, approximately 2,000 lawyers practice in some 250 bufetes throughout Cuba, collectively handling some 200,000 cases per year. Lawyers in bufetes typically have large caseloads and work under difficult conditions. A small number of bufetes specializing in providing legal assistance to foreign nationals have arisen in recent years.

Independent Law Offices Independent legal practice is not permitted.

Legal Advisors to State Institutions and Enterprises As of 1999, 30% of lawyers worked as legal advisors to state agencies, ministries, and commercial enterprises. These lawyers receive a lower salary than their counterparts in the bufetes, but this is offset somewhat by added perks and bonuses from their employer. Although historically relegated to ensuring contracts complied with government regulations, the shifts in the Cuban economy following the collapse of the Soviet Union have led to legal advisors taking a more active role in the market-based, commercial dealings of Cuba.

Professional Life The salary of lawyers is based upon the number and complexity of the cases which they handle. Better lawyers typically earn a higher salary.

Legal Ethics Conflicts of interest (usually relationships with the opposing party) bar a lawyer from representing particular clients. The ONBC propagates rules of ethics and conduct and carries out punishment for their violation, usually in the form of warnings, although suspension, dismissal, and jail are possible in cases of serious violations.

Lawyers are expected to uphold the principle of socialist legality in their practice, thereby strengthening socialism and socialist law. Critics argue that this requirement of the lawyers make it difficult for lawyers to defend their clients against the state. In 1984, laws were passed to remedy this problem, mandating that lawyers defend their clients with diligence and independence to the best of the lawyer's ability. Whether this law has its desired effect is debatable. Examples of passive defense counsel in criminal cases abound (such as the case of General Arnaldo Ochoa, sentenced to death for drug Page 76 of 78

trafficking), while there also exist cases of defense counsel acting diligently on behalf of clients whose interests are diametrically opposed to those of the government.

National Union of Cuban Jurists The National Union of Cuban Jurists (UNJC) is a professional organization for lawyers.

Membership is voluntary and some 85% of practitioners are members. Headquartered in Havana, the UNJC comments on proposed legislation, publishes a law review (Revista Cubana de Derecho), and organizes various national and international legal conferences and symposia.

Legal Education 1959 - Late 1970s In the early days of the revolution, Fidel Castro, himself a lawyer, advised the young people of Cuba not to study law, instead opting for the study of the sciences, engineering, and medicine. The Revolution's emphasis on developing other academic skills, coupled with the decrease in relevance of lawyers in the revolutionary process in which Cuba was engaged in the early 1960s, led to a dramatic decrease in enrollment at the University of Havana College of Law. Some years passed with no new enrollments (1964–65), while others saw no students graduating (1978 and 1979). The curriculum changed as the new political structures made courses on commercial and contract law far less important.

Late 1970s - Present Beginning in the late 1970s, the Ministry of Higher Education began to tinker with the law school curriculum in order to make more comprehensive the legal education received by law students. In the early 1990s, a new plan was instituted that emphasized basic theory and history in a number of different areas of the law, coupled with practical experience. Today, there are law schools in Havana, CamagĂźey, Santiago de Cuba, and Villa Clara. Enrollment totals approximately 1,100 at the University of Havana, and 3,500 nationwide. Entrance into law school is competitive. Tuition and room and board are free for Cuban residents, while the cost of books is subsidized by the state.

Between 1982 and 1992, graduating law students were required to work in a bufete for three years as a social service and to gain experience in a wide range of practice areas.

This was altered in 1992, and now graduates can perform their social service in a wide variety of legal jobs.

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CHAPTER 18

Improvements in the Cuban Legal System

James H. Manahan Cuba inherited its legal system from the Spanish conquerors, as did most countries in Central and South America. However, Communist theory from Russia, East Germany, and China has had a great influence on Cuban practices since 1959.

Cuban lawmakers perceive law and the lawmaking process as educational. All proposed laws are discussed at neighborhood meetings, in an attempt to inform citizens and obtain consensus, and it usually takes several years before new statutes are adopted.

For example, a new criminal code was drafted between 1969 and 1973, but it was not enacted until 1979. This meant that the Code reflected the conditions in Cuba in the ‘60s, when there was still fighting with the United States (the Bay of Pigs is only one example) and the CIA was trying to kill Fidel Castro. A new Code went into effect in 1989, a more modern approach which uses incarceration as a last resort and encourages alternative sanctions.

The repressive criminal justice system was transformed into a system that relies more heavily on education and re-socialization than on incarceration.

The court system was restructured in 1973 and 1977. At that time the private practice of law was eliminated, and all lawyers were integrated into law collectives (bufetes colectivos). Further procedural reforms were made in 1990.

All courts have a mixture of lawyer judges and lay judges. Municipal and provincial courts now have two lay judges and one professionally trained judge, and the Supreme Court has two lay judges and three professional judges. The purpose of lay judges, like our juries, is to bring a non-legalistic, popular sense of justice into the proceedings, and to educate citizens about legal proceedings. Most lay judges belong to the Cuban Communist Party (82

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James Manahan

percent in the Supreme Court, 57 percent in provincial courts, 77 percent in municipal courts).

As in the rest of Spanish-speaking America, there is a movement toward a more fully oral and adversarial system such as we have in common-law countries. I saw an oral criminal trial last year in which two men were accused of breaking and entering a home. The only witnesses called to testify at the trial were the victim, the defendants, and the wife of one defendant; no police officer testified, and the trial took less than two hours. The lawyers and judges wore black robes. Witnesses stood before the judges, and a typist (using a loud typewriter) summarized the testimony. The presiding judge frequently interrupted the lawyers and witnesses. I did not see any lawyer cross-examine a witness, but the lawyers did give long and powerful closing arguments.

However, I believe Cuban lawyers would benefit from training in direct and cross-examination skills and the techniques of persuasion in oral trials.

Trials (such as the one I saw) which carry penalties of less than eight years in prison have one professional judge and two lay judges; more serious crimes have three professional judges and two lay judges. Lay judges are nominated by fellow workers and elected by the municipal or provincial assemblies. They serve one month per year for five years, and work at their regular jobs the rest of the time.

Last July I spent 10 days in Cuba interviewing a number of people about the functioning of their legal system. In general, law professors and older lawyers seem satisfied with the present procedures, whereas younger lawyers are more interested in reform.

Cuba was actually the first country in Latin America to start using oral, adversarial trials in criminal cases. This reform occurred in 1889 when Cuba was still a Spanish colony. Prior to that they used the Inquisition system of written, secret trials, and only in the past 10 years have the other countries of Latin America begun changing their system to an adversarial model.

On July 21 I spoke at an International Criminal Law Seminar which was held at the Summer School of the University of Havana Law School, and was given an award for being a “Founding Professor” of the Summer School. My topic was “The Role of Advocacy in the Procedural Reforms of Latin America,” and I criticized the fact that vestiges of the Inquisition system still persist in the Cuban courts (as in the courts of many other Latin American countries that have reformed their procedures).

In the Inquisition system, the judge’s role is to investigate the case and determine the “truth” about what happened, while the lawyers simply file written arguments and motions. In an oral, adversarial system, the judge should have a very different role, that of referee, and the job of the lawyers is to produce evidence and prove their contentions through accreditation and

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contradiction of witnesses. The judge should be passive, limiting his or her role to guarantying the rights of the parties and deciding the issues. The judge is simply an arbiter.

There are three vestiges of the old system that still persist in Cuba and elsewhere: (1) When witnesses are called to testify, they first give a spontaneous statement telling what they know about the matter, rather than answering questions of the lawyer who called them. This may seem like a quick and easy way to get their stories told, but more often than not there is a lot of irrelevant and incomplete testimony. Even worse, this practice does not allow the lawyer to develop the testimony in a coherent manner which is consistent with the lawyer’s theory of the case. The adversary system is supposed to be contradictory and dialectic, and the lawyers should be in charge of the presentation of the evidence.

(2) After the lawyers have questioned the witnesses, the judges can (and do) question them further. This also may seem to be a good way to make sure that the witnesses tell everything they may know, but the judge’s role should be passive, simply listening to the evidence and not trying to “produce” it. However impartial the judge’s questions may be, it might have the effect of destroying what one of the parties has accomplished during direct or cross examination. The judge thus loses his neutrality and appears to be just another cross-examiner. If the judges have doubts after hearing the testimony, they are supposed to resolve those doubts in favor of the accused.

(3) Finally, the court rules prohibit the use of leading questions, even during cross-examination. The theory is that leading questions may put words in the witness’ mouth, thereby preventing the witness from giving his or her own testimony. Since the witness is normally affiliated with the lawyer who called the witness to testify, this rule makes sense on direct examination. However, the witness will be hostile to the other lawyer, whose job is to show that the witness is mistaken or is lying.

In common-law countries, lawyers try to show that by using leading questions on cross-examination. John Henry Wigmore, the great legal scholar in the United States, said that “without doubt, cross-examination is the best machine invented by man for the discovery of the truth.” Another expert, Charles McCormick, said “For two centuries, common law judges and lawyers have considered the opportunity to cross-examine as an essential safeguard of truth…and have insisted that the opportunity be more than a privilege, that it be a right.” The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that crossexamination “is essential in determining if a witness is credible.”

An Italian scholar, Francesco Carnelutti, said that “Everyone knows that testimonial proof is the most false of all proofs.” For that very reason, court

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rules ought to permit the most effective methods to demonstrate that the witness may be mistaken or even lying.

In El Salvador, the law on oral adversarial trials was changed in 1998 to permit leading questions on cross-examination, and to prohibit judges from questioning witnesses except to clarify their testimony. The same is now true in Chile, which adopted the oral, adversarial system in criminal cases for the entire country just this past summer.

Despite this fact, several members of my audience spoke out rather strongly against my views. They asked how I could come to Cuba for a few weeks and think that I understood their system. They pointed out that in the United States only about 10 percent of criminal cases actually go to trial and the rest are resolved by plea bargains, whereas in Cuba every single case goes to trial. Defendants cannot plead guilty even if they want to do so! Because of this, they said, the courts do not have time for long cross examinations and lengthy procedures, usually having to hold several trials every day. My response to this was that a lawyer’s job is to advocate strenuously for the client, and to use every technique legally available to persuade the judges that the client’s version is true; if this takes time, then time must be taken to do the job right. That’s what we mean by the adversarial system, and Cuba cannot expect to achieve justice in its criminal cases by continuing to keep vestiges of the old Inquisition system.

Dissent Many people to whom I spoke felt completely free to tell me how dissatisfied they are with the Cuban legal system. A young lawyer, Fidel Rivero Villasol, told me at length that the court system does not deliver justice in Cuba. The police control the prosecution, suspects don’t (in practice) have a right to a lawyer (though they do have that right on paper), officials are corrupt and accept money under the table, and political cases are decided even before trial.

Comments of this type, whether true or not, reveal a perception among many Cubans that the legal system needs to be reformed. In my opinion, a stronger commitment to the adversarial system and more training in trial skills and effective oral trial techniques would go a long way to improve the Cuban system of justice.

The University of Havana The University of Havana has 15 schools with 29 separate career paths, as well as several Centers of Study. It has some 20,000 undergraduate students, 19,000 post-graduate students, and 4,000 master’s candidates. Some 600 workers take night courses, and there are 20,000 “distant learners” who study at home and take tests at the University. Thirty-two percent of the professors

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have their Ph.D. The University has 19 branches in Havana. Higher education is free.

The law school is a five-year course, starting at age 18, and 80 percent of the students are women. Forty-three percent of the graduates pass the national bar exam on their first try. Students must do three years of public service to repay their free education. Graduates work for three years as assistant prosecutors, in a law collective, in tourism, or prepare to become law professors. Under the descalif贸n system, a job is offered to every student who passes the bar exam, with the top student getting first choice, down to the last student.

The students and young lawyers with whom I spoke are very interested in learning more about the common law system used in the United States, England, Australia, and Canada, and specifically about our system of oral, adversarial trials. Once the United States embargo is repealed, law professors, lawyers, and judges should make a concerted effort to go to Cuba to talk and teach about our trial system and to assist in the effort to improve the Cuban legal system. We can also learn a lot from studying the Cuban system, including the use of lay judges, which we might be able to incorporate into our court system in the United States.

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