Cuba
“There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil” (Rand, 1957). As senior enlisted leaders it is important that we understand how to deal with conflict resolution. This paper will examine Cuba’s background, former and current government, strategic importance, and possible future direction. Background
In the eighteen hundred’s an island in the Caribbean sea 90 miles away from the southern most point of the United States, was a major sugar producer for the world, along with increased tobacco, agriculture, and cattle production, the once poverty stricken island turned to prosperity until 1898, this island was Cuba.
1898, Cuba is involved in a war between Spain and the United
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Fast-forward to 1959, Fidel Castro seized control of Cuba with the help of Che Guevara, his brother Rual Castro and a couple thousand loyalists after the former dictator President Batista’s government was overthrown and he fled the country. Fidel Castro seized all U.S. assets and converted Cuba into a communist state, implemented a Civil Law System, and in 1961 when the U.S. tried to evade Cuba with the assistance of Cuban exiles, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sponsored assault was met with a more formidable adversary and consequently defeated. The result of the failed attempt sparked a newfound alliance between Cuba and the Union of Soviet Social Republics (USSR), the construction of Soviet missile bases, and beginning of the Cuban Missile …show more content…
and Cuba, and the ability for missiles launched from Cuba to reach as far north as Illinois, Massachusetts, and possibly Newfoundland, the U.S. placed a blockade around Cuba and started peace talks with the USSR. Ever since 1962 there has been a commercial, financial, and economic restriction on Cuba; the reason for the embargo was to push Cuba into establishing a democratic government.
Government
Since 01 January 1959 the current government in Cuba has been a Communist state, it has an executive branch, legislative branch, and a judicial branch. President Raul Castro has been the communist leader since 2008, as well as the chief of state and head of government. In 2013 Cuba’s Communist party elected R. Castro to a second term, this one, as per the Communist Party Congress (CPC) will be limited to only five years and will be his last term in office.
The executive branch consists of Chief of State, head of government, and cabinet. The legislative branches consist of members directly elected by majority in a two-round vote and also serve only a five-year term, and the judicial branch has the people’s supreme court, which is the highest court, and consist of 41 professional judges; additionally the elected judges only serve for 2.5
Communism is a government in which all the people are treated equally no matter the race, religion, or social ranking. The current leader of Cuba's government is Raul Castro. The government has decided that the men in Cuba must serve two years of active duty in the military after they reach the age of 16. The Cubans have one of the best healthcare systems in Latin America. Healthcare is also free to the Cubans as a part of their communist government.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a dangerous and direct confrontation in the year 1962 between the Soviet Union and the United States over the existence of missile sites in Cuba. Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet premier positioned Soviet military missile in Cuba that had come under the Soviet power since the victory of the Cuban Revolution (Lockwood, Lockwood and Lockwood 15). This crisis occurred during the cold war and was the instant when the two superior powers came nearer to the nuclear conflict. The crisis was distinct in a number of ways featuring miscalculations and calculations as well as secret and direct miscommunications and communications among the two sides. The dramatic catastrophe was also featured by the fact that it was mainly played out at the Kremlin level and the white house with relatively diminutive input from the respective bureaucracies normally included in the foreign policy process (Blight., et al 64). This essay will discuss the Cuban Missile Crisis and the impact of the United States and Russia.
Castro turned to Khrushchev, the leader of the Soviet Union, for assistance in warding off the United States (Trueman, 2015). Khrushchev started sending missiles and military aid to Cuba. The United States was at a severe disadvantage because their radar was unable to detect if Cuba launched any missiles in their direction until they were over US airspace (The Bay of Pigs Invasion and its Aftermath, 2016). Using geostrategic positioning, Kennedy surrounded Cuba with a Naval blockade and searched ships entering Cuba to intercept any weapons entering the country. The US demanded the removal of missiles from Cuba and Khrushchev agreed as long as the United States promised not to retaliate against Cuba and removed any missiles from Turkey aimed at the USSR (Boston University Student Researchers, n.d.). By creating the naval blockade, Kennedy was able to assert power over Cuba and use geostrategic positioning and the power of negotiation to end the Cuban Missile
The current Constitution of Cuba was accepted by a ballot on February 24, 1976, and was revised three times in 1978, 1992 and in 2002 Cuba is an independent socialist republic that is controlled by 1 party, the Cuban Communist Party which Fidel Castro is the head, with his brother, Raul Castro as vice-president. The current Cuban constitution, written in 1976, has many of the same
In the early 1900’s, Cuba was a stomping ground for many of the rich and famous from the United States. Many famous movies stars and wealthy business entrepreneurs spend their vacations there along with a substantial amount of money. Trade and commerce between the United States and Cuba flowed freely and abundantly. Even with the Dictatorship-like regime of Batista, the countries benefited from the economic trade between them. This was all about to come crashing down as revolts against Batista occurred and Fidel Castro came to power within Cuba.
In 1962, Cuba was convinced that the USA was planning to attack them and asked the Soviet Union for military assistance. The USSR sent Cuba materials to build missile bases and launch sites. When President Kennedy realized that Cuba could launch missiles into America, he demanded that the USSR remove its weapons and troops. The Americans formed a naval blockade as the world stood nervously on the edge of a nuclear war. The USSR removed its weapons despite protests from Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro and his band of rebels overtook the Cuban government. Their Revolution was based on massive agrarian reform and equality throughout. It was not based on Communism or communistic ideals. The US government was against the rise of Castro and his people. They had been able to control the Cuban government by controlling the successive presidents, since the Spanish-American War early in the 20th Century. The rise of Castro was undertaken with a distinct anti-American flavor to it. Castro was able to expand his popularity by fusing the anti-American fever with massive reforms intended to give social and economic equality to all Cubans. The economic presence, of the US, within Cuba was great at the time of Castro’s
The communist Political system adopted in 1952, remains in effect today. Under Cuba’s communist state every citizen has the right to participate in discussions of political, social, and economic issues, but that participation is constrained by the chain of command structure of society and government. The Cuban Communist Party (PCC) plays a key factor in the selection of everyone voted into the legislative bodies. Even though Cuba has legislative bodies, their decisions must meet the President needs for his approval. Since Raul Castro is currently President of the Republic, First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party,
In 1959, Cuban leader Fidel Castro seized power over Havana and overthrew the U.S. during the Cold War. Castro then began an alliance with the Soviet Union and proceeded to increase trade with them. After these events, Washington banned exports from the U.S. to Cuba. Restricted were later extended over the whole economy by placing an embargo, which limited Americans travel and the ability to do business with Cuba. These events lead towards restriction between both countries for over 50 years.
During the 1950’s, Cuba was on the brink of revolution. The nation, which had suffered numerous corrupt and oppressive governmental regimes, fell victim to yet another when Fulgencio Batista seized power under a military coup in March of 1952. A cry for a just Cuba, that was economically, politically, and socially free continued to echo throughout the island. In 1959, a group of radical revolutionaries, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, overthrew the Batista dictatorship and put in place the political and social structures that exist in Cuba to this day.
Fidel Castro is making plans to overthrow Cuba along with revolutionary Che Guevara. The main reason why Castro and Guevara wanted to overthrow Batista was for the people. We had been suffering too much from the Batista dictatorship for a long time. Che wants the proletariat to have a leader that they can respect for our fair and equal views. One of the major aspects of the Cuban Revolution was the United States getting involved.The reason why the United States got involved was they had a good relationship with Batista and they were nervous that the Cuban rebels could take over property the USA invested in Cuba. The United States also got involved in the war because Castro wanted to become allies with the Soviet Union
Cuba’s government is a totalitarian-socialist regime from a communist state. Fidel Castro is Cuba’s leader by default, but many Cuban’s dislike Castro’s ruling and cannot wait till the end of Castro’s rein. Castro also has his own army, which help him keep everything in order in and around the country. Fidel’s army is also known for brutal attacks on its citizens. Cuba’s religion is 85% Roman Catholic and many take their religion seriously.
On April 15, 1961 the Bay of Pigs invasion began to invade Cuba and remove Castro from the leadership. The unsuccessful invasion was stopped two days later. Now Castro needed the strong arm of the Soviets even more. With the Cold War arms race in effect, Castro knew that the Soviets could protect him from future invasions from the United States.
In order to understand the importance of the Cuban Missile Crisis in American history one must first understand the Cold War drama, Castro’s rise to power, and the American operations that set up the crisis. “The term Cold War refers
After it became officially globally acknowledged that Cuba was in fact a communist state and was being led through a dictatorship run by Castro, it did not take long before powerful enemies and essential allies were formed. The act of seizing all foreign land with none or very little compensation was received with great hostility amongst those who lost in their property through this process, and probably the reaction that had the biggest impact on Cuba’s economy was that of the US. Castro’s communistic policies did not of course help calm this resentment and also took part in leading to the establishment of trade embargos with Cuba from the US. This meant that Cuba would now lose a very valuable buyer of their precious sugar, [5] but they did however gain another one, a powerful nation that shared quite similar Marxist ideals and were quick to form an alliance with the Cubans, the USSR.