Foreign relations of Cuba

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Cuba

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Cuba

Institutions Constitution National Assembly of People's Power Council of State Council of Ministers Supreme Court Provinces Municipalities Committees for the Defense of the Revolution People and organizations President Raúl Castro First Vice President José R. Machado Ventura Vice President Juan Almeida Bosque Abelardo Colomé Ibarra Carlos Lage Dávila Prime Minister Political parties Communist Party of Cuba Opposition Democracy and human rights Elections Human rights Foreign relations Foreign relations Cuba-People's Republic of China relations Cuban-Soviet relations Cuba-United States relations Cuba-Venezuela relations

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Cuba's once-ambitious foreign policy has been scaled back and redirected as a result of economic hardship after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. Without its primary trading partner Cuba was comparatively isolated in the 1990s, but has since entered bilateral co-operation with several South American countries, most notably Venezuela and Bolivia. Although relations with the neighboring United States have not improved significantly since the 1980s, Cuba has developed a growing relationship with the People's Republic of China and retains varying diplomatic ties with the European Union. In all, Cuba continues to have formal relations with 160 nations, and provided civilian assistance workers - principally medical - in more than 20 nations.^[1] Cuba's present foreign minister is Felipe Pérez Roque.

Cuba is currently a lead country on the United Nations Human Rights Council, and is a founding member of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, a member of the Latin American Integration Association and the United Nations. Cuba is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and hosted its September 2006 summit. In addition as a member of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Cuba was re-appointed as the chair- of the special committee on transportation issues for the Caribbean region.^[2] Following a meeting in November, 2004, several leaders of South America have attempted to make Cuba either a full or associate member of the South American trade-bloc known as Mercosur.^[3][4]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Spanish colonial period 1.2 1898-1959 1.3 The Cold War 1.4 Relations in Latin America and Africa during the Cold War 1.5 Post-Cold War relations 2 Cuban foreign relations by region 2.1 North America and the Caribbean 2.1.1 Relations with Canada 2.1.2 Relations with the United States 2.1.3 Relations with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) 2.2 Central and South America 2.2.1 Relations with Brazil 2.2.2 Relations with Costa Rica 2.2.3 Relations with Panama 2.2.4 Relations with Mexico 2.2.5 Relations with Venezuela 2.3 Relations with the People's Republic of China 2.4 Relations in Africa 2.5 Relations with the European Union 2.6 Relations in Oceania 3 International organizations and groups 4 Cuban intervention abroad: 1959 - Early 1990s 4.1 Latin America 4.2 Black Panthers 4.3 Palestinians 4.4 Irish Republicans 5 Humanitarian aid 6 US Accusations of supporting terrorism 7 List of Foreign Ministers of Cuba 8 See also 9 External links 10 References

[edit] History

[edit] Spanish colonial period

Prior to achieving its independence, Cuba was a colony of Spain.

[edit] 1898-1959

Prior to the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, Cuba maintained strong economic and political ties to the United States. From 1902 until its abrogation in 1934, the Platt Amendment authorized the US to use military force to preserve Cuba's "independence".

In 1917, Cuba entered World War I on the side of the allies. [2]

Cuba joined the League of Nations in 1920.

In 1941, Cuba declared war on Italy, Germany, and Japan.

Cuba joined the United Nations in 1945.

Cuba joined the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1948.

During the Presidency of Fulgencio Batista, the United States provided Cuba with arms. In mid-1958, the United States ceased supplying Batista with arms, a contributing factor to the success of the Cuban Revolution.

[edit] The Cold War

See also Cuban-Soviet relations

After the revolution of 1959, Cuba soon took actions inimical to American trade interests on the island. In response, the U.S. stopped buying Cuban sugar and refused to supply its former trading partner with much needed oil. Relations between the countries deteriorated rapidly. Following the failed invasion of Cuba by CIA trained Cuban exiles at the Bay of Pigs, Fidel Castro declared Cuba to be a socialist republic and moved quickly to develop the growing relations between Cuba and the Soviet Union.

In 1962, Cuba was expelled from the Organization of American States - Thereafter, many nations throughout Latin America broke ties with Cuba.

Following the establishment of diplomatic ties, and after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Cuba became increasingly dependent on Soviet markets and military and economic aid. Cuba was able to build a large military force with the help of Soviet equipment and military advisors. The Soviets also kept in close touch with Havana, sharing varying close relations until the collapse of the bloc in 1990.

[edit] Relations in Latin America and Africa during the Cold War

During the cold war, Cuba's influence in the Americas was inhibited by the Monroe Doctrine and the dominance of the United States.^[5] Despite this Fidel Castro became an influential figurehead for leftist groups in the region, extending support to Marxist Revolutionary movements throughout Latin America, most notably aiding the Sandinistas in overthrowing Somoza in Nicaragua in 1979. In 1971, Fidel Castro took a month-long visit to Chile. The visit, in which Castro participated actively in the internal politics of the country, holding massive rallies and giving public advice to Salvador Allende, was seen by those on the political right as proof to support their view that "The Chilean Way to Socialism" was an effort to put Chile on the same path as Cuba.^[6]

Cuba's intervention in Africa, which began in the mid-1970s, was more substantial leading to involvement in 17 African nations and three African insurgencies soon leading Cuban soldiers engaging in frontline military combat.^[5] In doing so Castro aligned Cuba with African insurgencies against colonial vestiges and specifically against South Africa.^[5] By providing military aid Cuba won trading partners for the Soviet bloc and potential converts to Marxism.^[5]

On November 4, 1975 Castro ordered the deployment of Cuban troops to Angola in order to aid the Marxist MPLA government against UNITA forces, which were being supported by the People's Republic of China, and later the United States, Israel, and South Africa (see: Cuba in Angola). After two months on their own, Moscow aided the Cuban mission with the USSR engaging in a massive airlift of Cuban forces into Angola. On this, Nelson Mandela is said to have remarked "Cuban internationalists have done so much for African independence, freedom, and justice."^[7] Cuban troops were also sent to Marxist Ethiopia to assist Ethiopian forces in the Ogaden War with Somalia in 1977. Cuba sent troops along with the Soviet Union to aid the FRELIMO and MPLA governments in Mozambique and Angola, respectively, while they were fighting U.S. and South African-backed insurgent groups RENAMO (supported by Rhodesia as well) and UNITA. He also aided the government of Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia during its conflict with Somalia. Overall, an estimated 14,000 Cubans were killed in Cuban military actions abroad.^[8]

[edit] Post-Cold War relations

In the post-Cold War environment Cuban support for guerrilla warfare in Latin America has largely subsided, though the Cuban government continued to provide political assistance and support for left leaning groups and parties in the developing Western Hemisphere.

Cuba today works with a growing bloc of Latin American politicians opposed to the "Washington consensus", the American-led doctrine that free trade, open markets, and privatization will lift poor third world countries out of economic stagnation. The Cuban government have condemned neoliberalism as a destructive force in the developing world, creating an alliance with Presidents Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia in opposing such policies.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Currently, Cuba has diplomatically friendly relationships with Presidents Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Lula da Silva of Brazil, and Cristina Fernández of Argentina, with Chávez as perhaps his staunchest ally in the post-Soviet era. Cuba has sent thousands of teachers and medical personnel to Venezuela to assist Chávez's socialist oriented economic programs. Chávez, in turn provides Cuba with lower priced petroleum. Cuba's debt for oil to Venezuela is believed to be on the order of one billion US dollars.^[13]

[edit] Cuban foreign relations by region

[edit] North America and the Caribbean

[edit] Relations with Canada

See also: Canada-Caribbean relations

Canada has maintained consistently cordial relations with Cuba, in spite of considerable pressure from the United States, and the island is also one of the most popular travel destinations for Canadian citizens. Canada-Cuba relations can be traced back to the 18th century, when vessels from the Atlantic provinces of Canada traded codfish and beer for rum and sugar. Cuba was the first country in the Caribbean selected by Canada for a diplomatic mission. Official diplomatic relations were established in 1945, when Emile Vaillancourt, a noted writer and historian, was designated Canada's representative in Cuba. Canada and Mexico were the only two countries in the hemisphere to maintain uninterrupted diplomatic relations with Cuba following the Cuban Revolution in 1959.

In 1994, a joint venture was formed between the Cuban Nickel Union and the Canadian firm Sherritt International, which operates a mining and processing plant on the island in Moa. A second enterprise, Cobalt Refinery Co. Inc., was created in Alberta for nickel refining. Canada has been critical of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, and strongly objected to the Helms-Burton Act. In 1996 Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy stated: "Canada shares the U.S. objectives of improving human rights standards and moving to more representative government in Cuba. But we are concerned that the Helms-Burton Act takes the wrong approach. That is why we have been working with other countries to uphold the principles of international law". In 1996 a Private Member's Bill was introduced, but not made law, in the Canadian parliament; this law called the Godfrey-Milliken Bill was in response to the extra-territoriality of the aforementioned Act. Canada also protests U.S. preclearance customs agents in Canadian airports who try to catch American citizens travelling to Cuba in defiance of U.S. law.

Former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Fidel Castro were personal friends. Castro was among Pierre Trudeau's pallbearers at his funeral in 2000.

[edit] Relations with the United States

Main article: Cuba-United States relations

Since the Cuban revolution of 1959 relations deteriorated substantially and have subsequently been marked by tension and confrontations. The United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Cuba and has maintained an embargo which makes it illegal for U.S. corporations to do business with Cuba. This includes travel restrictions. These measures were further strengthened by the implementation by the U.S. of the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 which attempted to punish any foreign companies operating in Cuba, especially those using expropriated US assets. US diplomatic representation in Cuba is handled by the United States Interests Section in Havana, and a similar "Cuban Interests Section" remains in Washington. Both are officially part of the respective embassies of Switzerland.

[edit] Relations with Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

Ties between the nations of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba have remained cordial over the course of the later half of the 20th century [3]. Formal diplomatic relations between the CARICOM economic giants: Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago have existed since 1972[4], [5] and have over time led to an increase in cooperation between the CARICOM Heads of Government and Cuba. At a summit meeting of sixteen Caribbean countries in 1998, Fidel Castro called for regional unity, saying that only strengthened cooperation between Caribbean countries would prevent their domination by rich nations in a global economy.^[14] Cuba, for many years regionally isolated, increased grants and scholarships to the Caribbean countries.

To celebrate ties between the Caribbean Community and Cuba in 2002 the Heads of Government of Cuba and CARICOM have designated the day of December 8 to be called 'CARICOM-Cuba Day'[6]. The day is the exact date of the formal opening of diplomatic relations between the first CARICOM-four and Cuba.

In December 2005, during the second CARICOM/CUBA summit held in Barbados, heads of CARICOM and Cuba agreed to deepen their ties in the areas of socio-economic and political cooperation in addition to medical care assistance. Since the meeting, Cuba has opened four additional embassies in the Caribbean Community including: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Suriname, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. This development makes Cuba the only nation to have embassies in all independent countries of the Caribbean Community.[7] CARICOM and Canadian politicians[8] have jointly maintained that through the International inclusion of Cuba, a more positive change might indeed be brought about there (politically) as has been witnessed in the People's Republic of China.

Cuban cooperation with the Caribbean was extended by a joint health programme between Cuba and Venezuela named Operación Milagro, set up in 2005. The initiative is part of the Sandino commitment, which sees both countries coming together with the aim of offering free ophthalmology operations to an estimated 4.5 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean over a ten-year period.^[15] According to Denzil Douglas, the prime minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and the current Caricom chairman, more than 1,300 students from member nations are studying in Cuba while more than 1,000 Cuban doctors, nurses and other technicians are working throughout the region. In 1998 Trinidad Prime Minister Patrick Manning had a heart valve replacement surgery in Cuba and returned in 2004 to have a pacemaker implanted.^[16]

Following Fidel Castro's illness and temporary transfer of power Caribbean leaders sent get-well-soon messages to Castro. Leaders included Prime Minister Kenny Anthony of St. Lucia who announced: "We pray for President Castro and we wish him God's blessings".^[16] Grenadan Prime Minister Keith Mitchell stated "Cuba has been a long-standing friend to the entire Caribbean", and Trinidad Prime Minister Patrick Manning issued a statement extending Castro his "best wishes for a prompt recovery."^[16] Additionally the Cuban-Barbadian Friendship Association (CBFA) and the social movement known as the Clement Payne Movement also extended a press release stating "We will lead the process for all progressive organisations in Barbados to hold a solidarity meeting with the government and people of the Republic of Cuba on August 13 at the Clement Payne Cultural Centre". Both organizations stated they would be planning to send a delegation to Cuba to celebrate with Fidel Castro his 80th birthday, in addition to the annual observance on October 6 of Cubana Flight 455 which was bombed off the coast of Barbados in 1976 via a CIA-linked plot. [9]

[edit] Central and South America

[edit] Relations with Brazil

With the electorial win of the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2002 ties between Cuba and Brazil have steadily warmed. Brazil continues to play its part in trying to revive and upgrade the offshore oil and gas infrastructure of Cuba[10]. In addition, talks led by Brazil are underway seeking to develop a framework for Cuba to become a normalised affiliate member of the Mercosur bloc of countries.

[edit] Relations with Costa Rica

Costa Rica broke relations with Cuba in 1961 to protest Cuban support of the left in Central America and has not renewed formal diplomatic ties with Fidel Castro's government. In 1995, Costa Rica established a consular office in Havana. Cuba opened a consular office in Costa Rica in 2001, but relations continued to be difficult. In 2006, shortly after the death of Augusto Pinochet, Costa Rican President Óscar Arias compared Fidel Castro's human rights record to that of the former Chilean president. In response, Cuban officials released a statement describing the Washington aligned Arias as a "vulgar mercenary" of U.S. officials, and asserting that Washington "always had on hand another opportunistic clown ready to follow its aggressive plans against Cuba."^[17][18]

[edit] Relations with Panama

Cuba and Panama have restored diplomatic ties after breaking them off in 2004 when Panama's former president pardoned four Cuban exiles accused of attempting to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro. The foreign minister of each country re-established official diplomatic relations in Havana by signing a document describing a spirit of fraternity that has long linked both nations.^[19] Cuba, once shunned by many of its Latin American neighbours, now has full diplomatic relations with all but Costa Rica and El Salvador.^[20]

[edit] Relations with Mexico

Cuba had held good relations with Mexico since the Revolution. Also, when Cuba was expelled from the Organization of American States, Mexico was the only country to vote against this. Relations were stable from 1934 to 1998.

The relationship between Cuba and Mexico remains strained. In 1998 Fidel Castro apologised for remarks he made about Mickey Mouse which led Mexico to recall its ambassador from Havana. Castro had declared that Mexican children would find it easier to name Disney characters than to recount key figures in Mexican history. He later said that his words were meant to underscore the cultural dominance of the US.^[21] Mexican president Vicente Fox apologised to Fidel Castro in 2002 over allegations by Castro that Fox forced him to leave a United Nations summit in Mexico so that he would not be in the presence of US President Bush, who also attended.^[22]

[edit] Relations with Venezuela

See also: Cuba-Venezuela relations

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez is a close ally of Fidel Castro, and has described the Fidel Castro–Hugo Chávez–Evo Morales relationship as an "Axis of good". Chávez's formulation is a play on the "axis of evil" phrase used by President Bush when describing governments such as those of Iraq, Iran, and North Korea in his 2002 State of the Union Address. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has agreed to barter Venezuelan oil, in exchange for Cuban medical assistance.

On December 15, 2004 an agreement called the ALBA (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) was signed to eliminate tariffs and import duties and promote investment as well as technical and educational cooperation between the two countries. Venezuela and Cuba have been close trading partners since a cooperative agreement was signed between them on October 30, 2000. The new agreement meant that Cuban goods and services were to be paid for with Venezuela products and currency. Venezuela will transfer technology, finance development projects in the agriculture, service, energy and infrastructures sectors. Cuba, in addition to providing over 15,000 medical professionals who participate in Barrio Adentro, a social program which provides Cuban healthcare treatment to Venezuelans and trains doctors and specialists, will grant 2,000 annual scholarships to Venezuelan students. Also, the agreement commits the two countries to work together with other Latin American countries to fight illiteracy.^[23]

In 2005 the two countries also signed cooperation agreements in the area of energy and electricity, an accord between Venezuela's oil company PDVSA and its Cuban counterpart Cupet to buy and sell crude oil and a crude oil storage agreement between the two companies.^[24]

Hugo Chávez, who says he is one of the few people in the world who knows Castro's illness from July 31, 2006, has helped Cuba undermine a strict U.S. embargo by sending cheap oil and boosting commercial relations. Agreements between Cuba and Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, have brought more than 20,000 Cuban doctors to Venezuela to provide medical services for the poor. The program, one of numerous oil-funded social projects, has helped Chávez build a strong political support base and he was widely expected to win a reelection bid in December 2006.^[25] Chávez was able to win that election.

A White House point man on plans for a post-Castro transition, Caleb McCarry, recently told The Miami Herald that U.S. estimates of total Venezuelan subsidies to Cuba per year "are up to the $2 billion figure." This is comparable to the $4 billion to $6 billion that the Soviet Union once pumped into Cuba per year.[11]

[edit] Relations with the People's Republic of China

Main article: People's Republic of China-Cuba relations

As the economy of the Soviet Union fell into a decline during the 1990s, the People's Republic of China has emerged as a new a key partner for Cuba's foreign relations. Relations between Cuba and China continue to grow including deals for China to set up a possible military base in Cuba, similar to the Bejucal Base and an agreement was signed between China and Cuba for China open more factories producing local goods such as televisions. Cuba has also purchased from China a wide range of items including bicycles, rice cookers, energy-saving lightbulbs and diesel-electric locomotives with the aim of providing a boost to Cuba's national infrastructure.^[26]

[edit] Relations in Africa

On a visit to South Africa, Fidel Castro was warmly received by President Nelson Mandela.^[27] President Mandela gave Castro South Africa's highest civilian award for foreigners, the Order of Good Hope.^[28] In 2005 Castro fulfilled his promise of sending 100 medical aid workers to Botswana, according to the Botswana presidency. According to Anna Vallejera, Cuba's first-ever Ambassador to Botswana, the health workers are part of her country's ongoing commitment to proactively assist in the global war against HIV/AIDS,^[29] Cuba also has historically good ties with a number of other African countries, including Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Algeria.

[edit] Relations with the European Union

EU relations with Cuba are governed by the Common Position, as approved by the European Council of Ministers in 1996, which is updated every six months following regular evaluations. According to the Common Position "the objective of the European Union in its relations with Cuba is to encourage a process of transition to a pluralist democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as sustainable recovery and improvement in the living standards of the Cuban people". Cuba rejects the Common Position as interference in its internal affairs. There is an EU Delegation in Havana that works under the responsibility of the EC Delegation in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

In response to the Cason affair of March 2003, when the government of Cuba arrested dozens of journalists, librarians, and human rights activists, the EU took measures, which were publicly announced on 5 June 2003 to limit high level governmental visits. The Union reduced the profile of member states' participation in cultural events and invited Cuban dissidents to National Day celebrations. The Cuban authorities announced on 26 July 2003 their refusal of all direct aid coming from the European Union. This period of diplomatic friction became known as the Cocktail Wars.

On 31 January 2005, the EU decided that all the measures taken on 5 June 2003 would be suspended temporarily. The Council stated once again that the EU remains willing to maintain a constructive dialogue with the Cuban authorities aiming at tangible results in the political, economic, human rights and cooperation sphere. Furthermore, it decided that the EU will develop more intense relations with the peaceful political opposition and broader layers of civil society in Cuba, through enhanced and more regular dialogue. The temporary suspension of these measures was confirmed in June 2005.

Cuba benefits from the GPS (Generalized Preference System) preferential treatment for its exports. Furthermore, Cuba does not benefit from the ACP-EU Sugar Protocol but from a sugar quota granted by the EU (some 59,000 tonnes per year; duty paid on this quota is EUR 98/t). [12]

[edit] Relations in Oceania

Cuba has only one embassy in Oceania, located in Wellington (opened in November 2007 [13]). It also has a Consulate General in Sydney [14]. However, Cuba has official diplomatic relations with Nauru since 2002 [15] and the Solomon Islands since 2003 [16], and maintains relations with other Pacific countries by providing aid.

There are currently sixteen doctors providing specialised medical care in Kiribati, with sixteen more scheduled to join them [17]. Cubans have also offered training to I-Kiribati doctors [18]. Cuban doctors have reportedly provided a dramatic improvement to the field of medical care in Kiribati, reducing the child mortality rate in that country by 80% [19], and winning the proverbial hearts and minds in the Pacific. In response, the Solomon Islands began recruiting Cuban doctors in July 2007, while Papua New Guinea and Fiji considered following suit [20].

In June 2007, Nauru adopted the "Cuban literacy method", reportedly used also in several other countries [21]. In October 2007, Nauruan Foreign Minister and Trade Minister David Adeang travelled to Cuba to strengthen relations between the two island nations [22]. This led to the creation of a Cuba-Nauru Joint Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation [23]. An unspecified number of Cuban doctors are serving in Nauru.

In April 2007, the Solomon Star reported that the Solomon Islands’ High Commissioner to the United Nations was soon to be sworn in as Ambassador to Cuba [24]. In September 2007, it was announced that 40 Cuban doctors would be sent to the Solomon Islands [25]. The Solomons’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Patterson Oti said that Solomon Islander doctors would "learn from their Cuban colleagues in specialized areas" [26]. In addition to providing doctors, Cuba provided scholarships for 50 Solomon Islanders to study medicine in Cuba for free [27][28].

Regarding relations with New Zealand, Cuban ambassador Jose Luis Robaina Garcia said his country had "admiration for New Zealand's independent foreign policy" [29].

In 2008, Cuba will reportedly be sending doctors to the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Nauru and Papua New Guinea^[30]. It may also provide training for Fiji doctors. Indeed, Fiji's ambassador to the United Nations, Berenado Vunibobo, has stated that his country may seek closer relations with Cuba, and in particular medical assistance, following a decline in Fiji's relations with New Zealand.^[31]

[edit] International organizations and groups

Further information: Cuban relations with the Organization of American States

Cuba is currently excluded from participation in the Organization of American States under a decision adopted by the Eighth Meeting of Consultation in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on 21 January 1962. The resolution stated that as Cuba had officially identified itself as a Marxist-Leninist government, is was incompatible with "the principles and objectives of the inter-American system."[30] This stance is occasionally questioned by other individual member states.

The reincorporation of Cuba as an active member regularly arises as a topic within the inter-American system (e.g., it was intimated by the outgoing ambassador of Mexico in 1998) [31] but most observers do not see it as a serious possibility while the present government remains in power. On 6 May 2005, President Fidel Castro reiterated that the island nation would not "be part of a disgraceful institution that has only humiliated the honor of Latin American nations". [32]

Cuba was the last of ten nations to join the Latin American Integration Association becoming a full member on 26 August 1999. The organization was set up in 1980 to encourage trade integration association. Its main objective is the establishment of a common market, in pursuit of the economic and social development of the region.

On September 15, 2006, Cuba officially took over leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement during the 14th summit of the organization in Havana. [33]

[edit] Cuban intervention abroad: 1959 - Early 1990s

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Aided by a massive buildup of Soviet advisors, military personnel, and advanced weaponry during the Cold War, Cuba became a staunch ally of the USSR during Castro's rule, modeling its political structure after that of the CPSU. Due to this huge amount of support, Cuba became a major sponsor of Marxist "wars of national liberation" not only in Latin America, but worldwide.

[edit] Latin America

Cuba has supported a number of leftist groups and parties in Latin America and the Caribbean since the 1959 revolution. In the 1960s Cuba established close ties with the emerging Guatemalan social movement lead by Luis Augusto Turcios Lima, and supported the establishment of the URNG, a militant organization that has evolved into one of Guatemala's current political parties. In the 1980s Cuba backed the FMLN in El Salvador, providing military and intelligence training, weapons, guidance, and organizational support.

During the Cold War, Cuba gave training, money, medicines, weapons and safe haven to members of Colombian guerrilla movements, especially to the ELN and also to members of the FARC, both of which were founded in the early 1960s. In recent years, Fidel Castro has made gestures of reconciliation with different Colombian government administrations, and has been considered responsible for facilitating talks between them and the opposing guerrilla groups.

Cuba developed close relations with the 1979 Sandinista government in Nicaragua (having supported the Sandinista insurgency against Anastasio Somoza's rule). Cuba proved to be the organization's chief international ally in the civil war against the U.S.-backed Contras. Cuba transported weapons to Panama. From Panama, the Cuban weapons would be taken through Costa Rica to Nicaragua. Cuba continues to have close relations with the Sandinista National Liberation Front, since being re-elected in 2006 for the first time since 1984, they are again the governing party of Nicaragua.

[edit] Black Panthers

In the '60s and '70s, Cuba openly supported the black nationalist and Marxist-oriented Black Panther Party of the U.S. Many members found their way into Cuba for political asylum, where Cuba welcomed them after they had been convicted of crimes in the U.S.

[edit] Palestinians

Cuba has also lent support to Palestinian nationalist groups against Israel. Fidel Castro claims Israel practices "Zionist Fascism." Cuba has also lent support to the prominent Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the lesser-known Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) both received training from Cuba's General Intelligence Directorate, as well as financial and diplomatic support from the Cuban government.

Cuba, along with North Korea, are the only non-Islamic states in the world that do not recognise the state of Israel.

[edit] Irish Republicans

The Irish Republican political party, Sinn Féin is also known to have close political links to the Cuban government. In the past Fidel Castro has expressed support for the Irish Republican cause of a United Ireland. The Cuban government supported and still supports the Republican cause, but opposed the attacks which took place on civilian targets by Sinn Féin's military ally, the Provisional Irish Republican Army and of course attacks on civilians by their loyalist enemies such as the Ulster Volunteer Force and Ulster Defence Association.

[edit] Humanitarian aid

Since the establishment of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba in 1959, the country has sent more than 52,000 medical workers abroad to work in needy countries, including countries affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. [34] There are currently about 20,000 Cuban doctors working in 68 countries across three continents, including a 135-strong medical team in Java, Indonesia. [35]

[edit] US Accusations of supporting terrorism

The U.S. list of state sponsors of international terrorism includes Cuba. According to the US, the Cuban Government has taken no action against al-Qaida or other terrorist groups. The Government of Cuba maintains close relationships with Iran and North Korea, and has provided safe haven to members of ETA, FARC, and the ELN. U.S. fugitives from justice and ETA members are living legally in Cuba. Cuba refuses to extradite U.S. fugitives by stating that approval would be contingent upon the U.S. returning wanted Cuban criminals and that it will no longer provide safe haven to new U.S. fugitives who may enter Cuba.[36]

[edit] List of Foreign Ministers of Cuba

Main article: List of Foreign Ministers of Cuba

[edit] See also

• Cocktail Wars
• Cuban diplomatic missions
• List of diplomatic missions in Cuba

[edit] External links

• Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Cuban Mission to the United Nations
• Text of U.S.- Cuban agreement on military bases

Representations of other countries in Cuba

• British Embassy in Havana
• Embassy of India in Havana
• The Canadian Embassy in Cuba
• U.S. Interests Section in Havana

Cuban represntations to other countries

• Cuban Embassy in Lebanon

[edit] References

v • d • e Foreign relations of Cuba Bilateral: Angola • People's Republic of China • Iran • Namibia • Pakistan • Russia • Soviet Union • United States • Venezuela • Multilateral: Organization of American States Diplomatic missions of Cuba