THE CUBAN REVOLUTION AND THE CARIBBEAN

Abstract

Cuba has historically interacted with a variety of regional actors and powers, both Caribbean and American. Political links with revolutionaries throughout the Caribbean before 1959 influenced Cuba's susbequent role in the region. The postcolonial Caribbean and Cuba developed a synergic relationship, although not one without contradictions. The Grenadian and the Sandinista revolutions renovated Cuban ideology, diminishing the influence of Soviet Marxism and atheism. The tragic end of the Grenadian Revolution contributed to the process of rectifying Cuban errors initiated in 1985, and was a main factor in a new Cuban strategic defensive system which was based not on the supposed alliance with the USSR but on territorial militias. Cuban wars in Southwest Africa in the 1970s and 1980s deepened Cuba's ties and prestige within the Caribbean. In the post-Cold War era, cooperation and diplomatic relations strengthened these ties, creating a new political environment within the region. Beyond trade and tourism, Cuba and the Caribbean share a common interest in areas such as education, public health, social policy, fighting drug traffic, civilian defence against hurricanes, national and public security, and protection of cultural industries and the environment. Improved relations between the US and Cuba would benefit the whole Caribbean region.