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Released by the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs.
PROFILE
Geography
Area: 110,860 sq. km. (44,200 sq. mi.); about the size of Pennsylvania.
Cities: Capital--Havana (pop. 2 million). Other major
cities--Santiago de Cuba, Camaguey, Santa Clara, Holguin,
Guantanamo, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Pinar del Rio.
Terrain: Flat or gently rolling plains, hills, mountains up to
2,000 meters (6,000 ft.) in the southeast.
Climate: Tropical, moderated by trade winds; dry season (November-April);
rainy season (May-October).
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Cuban(s).
Population: 11 million; 70% urban, 30% rural.
Avg. annual growth rate: 0.41%.
Ethnic groups: Spanish-African mixture.
Language: Spanish.
Education: Years compulsory-6. Attendance--92% (ages
6-16). Literacy--95%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--7.2/1,000. Life expectancy--78
yrs. for women, 73 yrs. for men.
Work force (4.5 million): Government and services--30%.
Industry--22%. Agriculture--20%. Commerce--11%.
Construction--11%. Transportation and communications--6%.
Government
Type: Communist state; current government assumed power January
1, 1959.
Independence: May 20, 1902.
Constitution: February 24, 1976.
Branches: Executive--president, council of ministers. Legislative--National
Assembly of People's Government. Judicial--People's Supreme
Court.
Political party: Cuban Communist Party (PCC).
Suffrage: All citizens age 16 and older, except those who have
applied for permanent emigration. National Assembly elections
were held in 1998.
Administrative subdivisions: 14 provinces, including the city
of Havana, and one special municipality (Isle of Youth).
Economy
GDP (1997 est.): Purchasing power parity $16.9 billion.
Real annual growth rate (1997): 2.5%.
Per capita income: $1,540.
Natural resources: Nickel, cobalt, iron ore, copper, manganese,
salt, timber.
Agriculture: Products--sugar, citrus and tropical fruits,
tobacco, coffee, rice, beans, meat, and vegetables.
Industry: Types--sugar and food processing, oil refining,
cement, electric power, light consumer and industrial products.
Trade: Exports--$1.9 billion (FOB, 1997 est.): Sugar and
its by-products, nickel, seafood, citrus, tobacco products, rum.
Major markets--Russia 25%, Canada 15%, Netherlands 11%.
Imports--$3.3 billion (CIF, 1997 est.): petroleum, food,
machinery, chemicals. Major suppliers--Spain 14%, Russia
12%, Mexico 9%.
Official exchange rate: 1 Cuban peso=U.S.$1 (official rate). 23
Cuban pesos=U.S.$1 (internal exchange rate).
PEOPLE
Cuba is a multiracial society with a population of mainly Spanish and African origins. The largest organized religion is the Roman Catholic Church. Santeria, a blend of native African religions and Roman Catholicism, is the most widely practiced religion in Cuba. Officially, Cuba has been an atheist state for most of the Castro era. However, a constitutional amendment adopted on July 12, 1992 changed the nature of the Cuban state from atheist to secular, enabling religious believers to belong to the Cuban Communist Party (PCC).
HISTORY
Spanish settlers established sugar cane and tobacco as Cuba's primary products. As the native Indian population died out, African slaves were imported to work the plantations. Slavery was abolished in 1886.
Cuba was the last major Spanish colony to gain independence, following a 50-year struggle begun in 1850. The final push for independence began in 1895, when Jose Marti, Cuba's national hero, announced the "Grito de Baire" ("Call to arms from Baire"). In 1898, after the USS Maine sunk in Havana Harbor on February 15 due to an explosion of undetermined origin, the United States entered the conflict. In December of that year Spain relinquished control of Cuba to the United States with the Treaty of Paris. On May 20, 1902, the United States granted Cuba its independence, but retained the right to intervene to preserve Cuban independence and stability under the Platt Amendment. In 1934, the amendment was repealed and the United States and Cuba reaffirmed the 1903 agreement which leased the Guantanamo Bay naval base to the United States. The treaty remains in force and can only be terminated by mutual agreement or abandonment by the United States.
Until 1959, Cuba was often ruled by military figures, who either obtained or remained in power by force. Fulgencio Batista, an army sergeant who established himself as Cuba's dominant leader for more than 25 years, fled on January 1, 1959, as Castro's "26th of July Movement" gained control. Castro had established the movement in Mexico, where he was exiled after the failed July 26, 1953, attack on the Moncada army barracks at Santiago de Cuba. Within months of taking power, Castro moved to consolidate his power by imprisoning or executing opponents. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled the island.
Castro declared Cuba a socialist state on April 16, 1961. For the next 30 years, Castro pursued close relations with the Soviet Union until the advent of perestroika and the subsequent demise of the U.S.S.R. During that time Cuba received substantial economic and military assistance from the U.S.S.R.--generally estimated at $5.6 billion annually--which kept its economy afloat and enabled it to maintain an enormous military establishment. In 1962, Cuban-Soviet ties led to a direct confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over the installation of nuclear-equipped missiles in Cuba, resolved only when the U.S.S.R. agreed to withdraw the missiles and other offensive weapons. Soviet subsidies ended in 1991 with the end of the Soviet Union. Former Soviet military personnel in Cuba--numbering around 15,000 in 1990--were withdrawn by 1993.
Russia still maintains a signal intelligence-gathering facility at Lourdes and has provided funding to preserve the still uncompleted thermonuclear plant at Juragua.
GOVERNMENT
Cuba is a totalitarian state controlled by President Fidel Castro, who is Chief of State, Head of Government, First Secretary of the Communist Party (PCC), and commander in chief of the armed forces. Castro exercises control over all aspects of Cuban life through the Communist Party and its affiliated mass organizations, the government bureaucracy, and the state security apparatus. The Ministry of Interior is the principal organ of state security and control. In addition to the routine law enforcement functions of regulating migration, controlling the Border Guard and the regular police forces, the Ministry's Department of State Security investigates and actively suppresses organized opposition and dissent.
From January 1959 until December 1976, Castro ruled by decree. The 1976 constitution, extensively revised in 1992, enshrines the PCC as "the highest leading force of the society and state." In addition to Fidel Castro and his brother Raul Castro, the center of party power is the 24-member Politburo. There are 149 members in the Central Committee.
Executive and administrative power is vested in the Council of State and the subordinate Council of Ministers, over which Fidel Castro presides, supported by six vice presidents. Legislative authority rests with the National Assembly of People's Power, which meets annually for about five days, and is state-controlled. When not in session, the Assembly is represented by the Council of State. Fidel Castro is president of the Council of State, and his brother, Raul Castro, is first vice president, which places him first in the line of succession. Raul Castro is also the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.
The Communist Party is constitutionally recognized as Cuba's only legal political party. The party's Politburo and Central Committee together include most of the country's military and civilian leaders. The party monopolizes all government positions, including judicial offices. Though not a formal requirement, party membership is a de facto prerequisite for high-level official positions and professional advancement in most areas, although non-party members are sometimes allowed to serve in the National Assembly.
In 1992, the National Assembly amended the 1976 constitution, abolishing references to the former Soviet bloc, outlawing discrimination for religious beliefs, permitting foreign investment, giving Fidel Castro new emergency powers, and allowing direct elections to the National Assembly of candidates approved by "mass organizations" controlled by the Communist Party.
Although the constitution grants limited rights of assembly and association, these rights are subject to the requirement that they may not be "exercised against … the existence and objectives of the socialist State." The government denies citizens the freedom of association. The Penal Code specifically outlaws "illegal or unrecognized groups." Cubans do not have the right to change their government, to freedom of expression, or freedom to travel to and from Cuba without restriction. The government and party control all electronic and print media. Since 1992, the Cuban Government has eased the harsher aspects of its repression of religious freedom. In preparation for the visit of Pope John Paul II in January 1998, the government further relaxed its restrictions on religion, especially toward the Roman Catholic Church.
Although the constitution theoretically provides for independent courts, it explicitly subordinates them to the National Assembly and to the Council of State. The People's Supreme Court is the highest judicial body. Due process is routinely denied to Cuban citizens, especially in cases involving political offenses. The constitution states that all legally recognized civil liberties can be denied to anyone who opposes the "decision of the Cuban people to build socialism."
The Cuban Government's human rights record is abysmal. It systematically violates fundamental civil and political rights of its citizens. The government uses incessant harassment in the form of detention, threat of long-term imprisonment, exile, physical injury, and search and seizure of private property to intimidate pro-democracy and human rights activists. There are hundreds of political prisoners. Since 1994, when it invited the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit, the Cuban Government has refused permission for international human rights monitors, including the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, to visit Cuba.
National Security
Under Castro, Cuba became a highly militarized society. From 1975 until the late 1980s, massive Soviet military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities and project power abroad. 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 missile crisis. In 1990, Cuba's air force, with about 150 Soviet-supplied fighters, including advanced MiG-23 Floggers and MiG-29 Fulcrums, was probably the best equipped in Latin America. In 1994, Cuba's armed forces were estimated to have 235,000 active duty personnel.
Cuban military power has been sharply reduced by the loss of Soviet subsidies. Lack of fuel has resulted in reduced training and military exercises. Lack of spare parts and new material has resulted in the mothballing of planes, tanks, and other military equipment. Today, the Revolutionary Armed Forces number about 60,000 regular troops. The country's two paramilitary organizations, the Territorial Militia Troops and the Youth Labor Army, have a reduced training capability. Cuba also adopted a "war of the people" strategy that highlights the defensive nature of its capabilities. The government has, however, maintained a large state security apparatus, under the Ministry of Interior, to repress dissent within Cuba.
Principal Government Officials
President, Council of State and Council of Ministers, First Secretary
of the Communist Party, and Commander in Chief--Fidel Castro
First Vice President, Council of State and Council of Ministers,
Second Secretary of the Communist Party, General of the Army and
Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR)--Raul Castro
Minister of Foreign Relations--Roberto Robaina
Ambassador to the United Nations--Bruno Rodriguez
ECONOMY
Under the slogan "Socialism or Death," the Cuban Government continues to proclaim Cuba a socialist or communist nation with an economy organized under Marxist-Leninist precepts. Most means of production are owned and run by the government. About 75% of the labor force is employed directly by the state.
Responsibility for running the economy and for economic policy rests with the Council of State, although the government has devolved some authority to ministries and enterprises in recent years.
Minimal public services are provided by the state, either free of charge or for nominal fees. Access to education generally is adequate, but urban housing and medical facilities have deteriorated, as has transportation.
In 1997, the Cuban Government created the Cuban Central Bank to play a role in monetary policy similar to that of a central bank in a market economy. The National Bank of Cuba continued as a commercial bank, and the Cuban Government is creating additional commercial banks. Some foreign banks have begun limited operations in Cuba.
The major sectors of the Cuban economy are tourism, nickel mining, and agriculture, especially sugar and tobacco. Sugar, long the mainstay of the Cuban economy, was surpassed by tourism in the late 1990s as the main source of foreign exchange. Remittances from abroad, estimated at $500 - 800 million annually, are a major source of income in Cuba, and help sustain many families. An estimated 40% of the population have access to dollars. The Cuban Government stopped producing its annual statistical survey on the Cuban economy in 1990.
The Cuban Government defaulted on most of its international debt in 1986, and remains outside of international financial institutions such as the World Bank. To finance imports, the government relies heavily on short-term loans. Because of its poor credit rating, an $11 billion hard currency debt, and the risks associated with Cuban investment, interest rates have reportedly been as high as 22%.
The Cuban economy suffered a 35% decline in gross domestic product between 1989 and 1993 because of the loss of Soviet subsidies. In October 1990, Castro announced that Cuba had entered a "special period in time of peace" and that the economy would function as if in time of war until the crisis had passed. Most goods are now rationed, and many previously imported from the Soviet Union simply have disappeared.
Economic growth resumed in the mid-1990s after the Cuban Government launched a concerted program to attract foreign tourism and investment. The Cuban Government estimated growth in 1997 at 2.5%. Estimated per capita income in 1997 was $1,540. Living conditions in 1998 are well below the 1990 level.
To deal with the severe shortages brought on by the end of Soviet subsidies and the failure of socialist economic policies, the Cuban Government in the mid-1990s permitted Cubans to offer certain services privately under strict government regulation and scrutiny. It appears that employment in this sector peaked in 1996 at around 206,000 and fell in 1997 to about 170,000. In 1997, the Cuban Government introduced heavy taxes on this sector which forced many out of business. In 1994, the government introduced agricultural markets at which state and private farmers could sell at market prices what they have produced above the quota required by the state. This has helped to alleviate grave food shortages and nutritional problems.
A popular example of this kind of venture has been small restaurants in private homes, known as "paladares." These seek to serve international visitors, but are subject to rules limiting employment of anyone outside of the owner's immediate family and forbidding sales of lobster or shrimp. Such rules are frequently violated, but restaurants and other entities are often closed for minor infractions.
While continuing to limit private investment by Cuban citizens, the Cuban Government is actively courting international investment. It has attracted investment from Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Spain, France, and other countries. Foreign entities can own up to 100% of the equity of an investment. Estimates of the amount of international investment paid in vary widely, but it is thought to be between $1.1 billion to $1.4 billion since 1990.
Cuban officials said early in 1998, there were a total of 332 joint ventures. Many of these are loans or contracts for management, supplies or services, normally not considered equity investment in Western economies. Nevertheless, Cuban officials said in early 1998, that they intend to be more selective in the investment they permit in Cuba. Investors are constrained by the U.S. Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (also known as the Libertad or Helms-Burton Act) which provides for sanctions for those who "traffic" in property expropriated from U.S. citizens. As of March 1998, 15 executives of three foreign companies have been excluded from entry into the U.S. Over a dozen companies had pulled out of Cuba or altered their plans to invest there due to the threat of action under the Libertad Act.
Tourism, a top Cuban official said, is the "heart of the economy." The Cuban Government is stressing its beaches and has actively encouraged sex tourism to attract Europeans, Canadians, and Latin Americans. Cuban officials expect 1.4 million tourists in 1998, an increase of 20% over 1997. The Cuban Government forecasts 1998 gross revenue from tourism as $1.8 billion.
In 1993, the Cuban Government made it legal for its people to possess and use the U.S. dollar. Since then, the dollar has become the major currency in use. Many businesses, including many run by the Cuban Government, and individuals do not accept Cuban pesos.
Those with access to dollars can purchase imported goods at government-run dollar stores that are not accessible to average Cubans with pesos who must shop in understocked peso stores. Thus, those jobs that can earn dollar tips from foreign tourists and business travelers have become highly desirable. It is not uncommon to meet skilled doctors, teachers, engineers, and scientists working in restaurants or as taxi drivers.
Sugar remains an important part of the Cuban economy, with large amounts of land, labor, and other resources dedicated to its production. Sugar production in 1989 was over 8 million tons, but fell to about 3.5 million tons in the 1994-1995 sugar harvest, one of the worst on record. With increased fertilizers and management attention, the 1995-1996 harvest improved, according to official Cuban estimates, to about 4.4 million tons. Cuba was unable to sustain this level of output, however, and the 1996-1997 harvest declined. The threat of U.S. actions against those who finance the sugar harvest--where there are extensive numbers of confiscated properties--had a major impact on the 1996-97 harvest. Prospects for future harvests are considered poor unless the Cuban Government undertakes substantial reform of the sugar industry, something it has not been willing to do.
Cuba is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It signed the Treaty of Tlatelolco, a Latin American regional non-proliferation regime, but has not ratified the treaty and brought it into force. Cuba has entered into an agreement with the IAEA to apply safeguards to individual nuclear facilities, including the partially completed Juragua nuclear power plant. The reactors that would be installed are of the VVER-400 type, an advanced model of the Soviet pressurized water reactor. There are serious concerns about the safety of the plant. However, since the plant does not appear to be economically viable, no international investors have been willing to provide funds for completion of the facility.
Cuban failure to launch serious economic reforms has led to the development of a large black market and growing corruption.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Cuba's once-ambitious foreign policy has been scaled back and redirected as a result of economic hardship and the end of the Cold War.
Cuba aims to find new sources of trade, aid, and foreign investment, and to promote opposition to U.S. policy, especially the trade embargo and the 1996 Libertad Act. Cuba has relations with over 160 countries and has civilian assistance workers--principally medical--in more than 20 nations.
Cuba has largely abandoned the support for guerrilla movements that typified its involvement in regional politics in Latin America and Africa. In 1959, Cuba aided armed expeditions against Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. During the 1960s and 1970s , Guatemala, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia faced Cuban-backed guerrilla insurgencies. Although these movements failed to take control of governments, they inflicted heavy loss of life and economic damage in each of the countries. Cuba's support for Latin guerrilla movements, its Marxist-Leninist government, and its alignment with the U.S.S.R., contributed to its isolation in the hemisphere. In January 1962, the Organization of American States (OAS) suspended Cuba. Cuba now has diplomatic or commercial relations with most countries in Latin American and the Caribbean.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Cuba expanded its military presence abroad--deployments reached 50,000 troops in Angola, 24,000 in Ethiopia, 1,500 in Nicaragua, and hundreds more elsewhere. In Angola, Cuban troops, supported logistically by the U.S.S.R., backed the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in its effort to take power after Portugal granted Angola its independence. Cuban forces played a key role in Ethiopia's war against Somalia, and remained there in substantial numbers as a garrison force for a decade. Cubans served in a non-combat advisory role in Mozambique and the Congo. Cuba also used the Congo as a logistical support center for Cuba's Angola mission.
In the late 1980s, Cuba began to pull back militarily. Cuba unilaterally removed its forces from Ethiopia; met the timetable of the 1988 Angola-Namibia accords by completing the withdrawal of its forces from Angola before July 1991; and ended military assistance to Nicaragua following the Sandinistas' 1990 electoral defeat. In January 1992, following the peace agreement in El Salvador, Castro stated that Cuban support for insurgents was a thing of the past.
U.S.-CUBAN RELATIONS
The United States recognized the new Cuban Government on January 7, 1959. However, bilateral relations deteriorated rapidly as the regime expropriated U.S. properties and moved toward adoption of a one-party Communist system. In response, the United States began imposing economic sanctions in 1960, culminating with a comprehensive economic embargo in 1962. The United States broke diplomatic relations on January 3, 1961. Tensions between the two governments peaked during the abortive "Bay of Pigs" invasion by anti-Castro Cubans supported by the United States on April 7, 1961, and the October 1962 missile crisis.
In 1975, U.S.-Cuban normalization talks ended when Cuba launched a large-scale intervention in Angola. However, the U.S. and Cuba established interests sections in their respective capitals on September 1, 1977. Currently, the U.S. interests section in Havana and the Cuban interests section in Washington, DC, are under the protection of the Swiss embassy.
The deployment of Cuban troops to Ethiopia and the discovery of Soviet troops in Cuba in 1979 led President Carter to establish the Caribbean Joint Task Force Headquarters in Florida and warned that Cuban troops would not be allowed to move against neighboring countries.
In April 1980, 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian embassy in Havana seeking political asylum. Eventually, the Cuban Government allowed 125,000 Cubans to illegally take to boats to go to the United States from the port of Mariel, or the "Mariel boatlift." Quiet efforts to explore the prospects for improving relations were initiated by the United States in 1981-82, but ceased as Cuba continued to intervene in the Latin region. In 1983, the United States and regional allies liberated Grenada, forcing the withdrawal of Cuban forces stationed there.
In 1984, the United States and Cuba negotiated an agreement to resume normal immigration, interrupted in the wake of the 1980 Mariel boatlift, and to return to Cuba persons who had arrived during the boatlift who were "excludable" under U.S. law. Cuba suspended this agreement in May 1985 following the U.S. initiation of Radio Marti broadcasts to Cuba, but it was reinstated in November 1987. In March 1990, TV Marti transmissions began to Cuba. Since its inception, Cuba has jammed TV Marti and blocked Radio Marti on the AM band. Radio Marti on short wave has a large audience.
The principal U.S. concerns regarding Cuba are its undemocratic system and lack of respect for human rights, and the potential danger of future mass exoduses. The principal objective of U.S. policy toward Cuba is to promote a peaceful transition to democracy and respect for human rights. U.S. policy seeks to do this by maintaining pressure on the Cuban Government; supporting the Cuban people; forging a multilateral effort to press for democratic change; and keeping migration in safe, legal, and orderly channels. President Bush set free and fair elections under international supervision, respect for human rights, and an end to efforts to subvert its neighbors as the conditions for improving relations with Cuba. In October 1992, the Cuban Democracy Act (CDA) was enacted, codifying portions of the embargo and providing for measures in support of the Cuban people and for improved telecommunications with Cuba and sale of medicines. Other provisions ban most U.S. subsidiary trade with Cuba and exclude any vessel which stops in Cuba from entering U.S. ports for 180 days. It provides for humanitarian donations by U.S. non-governmental organizations to Cuba. Since its enactment, more than $2 billion worth of humanitarian assistance for Cuba has been licensed, including $275 million in medical items. Since 1992, 50 licenses have been issued for sale of medicines or travel to Cuba by representatives of pharmaceutical companies. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved five U.S. carriers to provide direct telecommunications service between the U.S. and Cuba.
In 1994, regular immigration talks were initiated between the United States and Cuba, prompted by another mass exodus of Cubans that summer. The two governments agreed in September 1994 to direct Cuban migration into safe, legal, and orderly channels. The U.S. committed itself to admit a minimum of 20,000 Cuban immigrants each year, and Cuba pledged to discourage irregular and unsafe departures. Under a May 1995 agreement, the United States began returning Cubans interdicted at sea or entering the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, and Cuba agreed to reintegrate the returnees into Cuban society, with no action to be taken against the returned migrants as a consequence of their attempt to immigrate illegally. The U.S. Interests Section verifies Cuban compliance with that provision through regular visits to the homes of returnees throughout Cuba. Interdicted Cubans who can demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution in Cuba are resettled in third countries, rather than returned to Cuba.
While the United States engaged in efforts to promote democratic change, the development of an independent civil society, and support for the Cuban people, in February 1996 the Cuban Government moved aggressively against 140 groups of pro-democracy and human rights activists who were seeking to hold a meeting under the auspices of their umbrella organization "Concilio Cubano." The Cuban Government never responded to Concilio's request to legally hold a meeting, and in mid-February began an island-wide crackdown against dissidents--arresting, interrogating, and harassing them. On February 24, 1996, the day the meeting was to be held, the Cuban Government ordered the shootdown of two unarmed civilian aircraft in international airspace. Three U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident, all members of the Miami-based exile organization Brothers to the Rescue, were killed when their planes were shot down by Cuban MiGs.
On February 26, 1996, President Clinton ordered five punitive measures in response to the shootdown. He suspended direct charter flights to Cuba; sought to obtain international condemnation of Cuba's actions; committed to reach agreement with Congress on the pending Helms-Burton legislation; announced that some form of justice was due to the families of the victims and ordered that funds be transferred from the Cuban Government's blocked accounts in the United States to the families; and set restrictions on the movement of Cuban diplomats in the U.S.
On March 12, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (also known as the Libertad or Helms-Burton Act). The Libertad Act has four main parts:
In accordance with the provisions of the Act, the President suspended the Title III lawsuit provisions because he determined suspension to be necessary and in the national interest and that it will expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.
On March 20, 1998, President Clinton announced measures intended to respond to the historic visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba in January and to support the Cuban people. The measures include: resuming direct humanitarian charter cargo and passenger flights to Cuba; reinstituting legal remittances by Cuban Americans and Cuban families living in the United States to their close relatives in Cuba at the level of $300 per quarter (such remittances were suspended in August 1994 in response to the migration crisis); simplifying and expediting the issuance of licenses for the sale of medicines and medical supplies to Cuba. The President also said he would work with Congress to develop bipartisan legislation on the transfer of food and expansion of humanitarian assistance to the Cuban people.
Support for the Cuban people has been a key element of U.S. policy beginning with the CDA and strengthened by President Clinton's initiatives in October 1995 to encourage groups in the U.S. to develop contacts on the island. The 1995 initiatives included licensing U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to assist Cuban NGOs; allowing sales and donations of communications equipment to Cuban NGOs; establishing news bureaus; increasing academic, cultural, and educational exchanges; and allowing under a general Treasury license once-a-year visits to relatives in Cuba in cases of humanitarian emergencies.
The measures announced March 20 enhance this policy of support for the Cuban people. They support the religious opening, expand humanitarian assistance, and assist development of independent civil society. The measures are in response to the Cuban people, not to anything the Cuban Government has done. Hundreds of political prisoners remain in Cuban jails, including the four leaders of the Dissident Working Group. The U.S. Government has repeatedly made clear, however, that it will consider responding reciprocally if the Cuban Government initiates fundamental democratic change.
Interests Sections
Havana: U.S. Interests Section
Calzada between L and M, Vedado
(tel. (53) (7) 33-3551 through 33-3559).
Principal Officer--Michael Kozak
Deputy Principal Officer--John Boardman
Consul--Ronald Kramer
Public Affairs Adviser--Douglas Barnes
Washington, DC: Cuban Interests Section
2630 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel. 202-797-8518).
Principal Officer--Fernando de Remirez
Deputy Principal Officer--Felix Wilson
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program provides Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on immigration practices, currency regulations, health conditions, areas of instability, crime and security, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. posts in the country.
Public Announcements are issued as a means to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas which pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Free copies of this information are available by calling the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 202-647-5225 or via the fax-on-demand system: 202-647-3000. Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets also are available on the Consular Affairs Internet home page: http://travel.state.gov and the Consular Affairs Bulletin Board (CABB). To access CABB, dial the modem number: (301-946-4400 (it will accommodate up to 33,600 bps), set terminal communications program to N-8-1 (no parity, 8 bits, 1 stop bit); and terminal emulation to VT100. The login is travel and the password is info (Note: Lower case is required). The CABB also carries international security information from the Overseas Security Advisory Council and Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Consular Affairs Trips for Travelers publication series, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954; telephone: 202-512-1800; fax 202-512-2250.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays, call 202-647-4000.
Passport Services information can be obtained by calling the 24-hour, 7-day a week automated system ($.35 per minute) or live operators 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday-Friday ($1.05 per minute). The number is 1-900-225-5674 (TDD: 1-900-225-7778). Major credit card users (for a flat rate of $4.95) may call 1-888-362-8668 (TDD: 1-888-498-3648).
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at (404) 332-4559 gives the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.
Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this publication).
U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous areas are encouraged to register at the U.S. embassy upon arrival in a country (see "Principal U.S. Embassy Officials" listing in this publication). Registering with the embassy may help you to replace lost identity documents or help family members contact you in case of an emergency.
Further Electronic Information:
Department of State Foreign Affairs Network. Available on the Internet, DOSFAN provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information. Updated daily, DOSFAN includes Background Notes; Dispatch, the official magazine of U.S. foreign policy; daily press briefings; Country Commercial Guides; directories of key officers of foreign service posts; etc. DOSFAN's World Wide Web site is at http://www.state.gov.
U.S. Foreign Affairs on CD-ROM (USFAC). Published on an annual basis by the U.S. Department of State, USFAC archives information on the Department of State Foreign Affairs Network, and includes an array of official foreign policy information from 1990 to the present. Contact the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. To order, call (202) 512-1800 or fax (202) 512-2250.
National Trade Data Bank (NTDB). Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTDB contains a wealth of trade-related information, including Country Commercial Guides. It is available on the Internet (www.stat-usa.gov) and on CD-ROM. Call the NTDB Help-Line at (202) 482-1986 for more information.
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