Country Profile: Cuba - American Memory - Library of Congress

Library of Congress – Federal Research Division Country Profile: Cuba, September 2006
Cuba has several dozen online regional newspapers. The only national daily paper is Granma,
the official organ of the PCC. A weekly version, Granma International, is published in English,
Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German plus is available online. Havana residents also have
their own weekly, Havana-oriented paper, Tribuna de La Habana. The weekly Juventud Rebelde
is the official organ of the Communist Youth Union. The biweekly Bohemia is the country’s only
general-interest newsmagazine. Cuba’s official news agency is Prensa Latina, which publishes
several magazines, including Cuba Internacional, directed at the foreign audience.
In 2005 Cubans had at least 3.9 million radio receivers and 3 million television sets, and the
country had 169 AM, 55 FM, and 58 TV broadcasting stations. The Cuban Institute of Radio and
Television serves as the government’s administrative outlet for broadcasting. Of the six national
FM radio stations, the top three are Radio Progreso, Radio Reloj, and Radio Rebelde, in that
order. Two other national radio networks that also provide news and entertainment are Radio
Musical Nacional (CMBF) and Radio Enciclopedia. Another station, Radio Taíno, promotes
tourism. The Cuban government also operates Radio Havana, the official Cuban international
short-wave radio service. The Cuban television system is made up of two networks: Cubavisión
and Tele Rebelde. Cuba’s restriction of foreign broadcast media is one reason the U.S.
government has sponsored radio and television broadcasting into Cuba through Radio and TV
Martí, much of which is jammed.
Internet access is restricted by prohibitive cost, by very limited accessibility, by the relatively
small (albeit rapidly expanding) number of personal computers, and by government efforts to
control information access. Local post offices provide public access to e-mail, but many facilities
do not provide international access. Access to the World Wide Web is mainly restricted to
government offices, research and educational institutes, and large companies.
Foreign Relations: With the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, Cuba
ended its long-time efforts to export Marxist revolution and adopted a pragmatic foreign policy
that is designed to expand Cuba’s international relations and trade, as well as tourism and
investment in Cuba. Cuba is no longer the major diplomatic player in the developing world that
it was during the Cold War, when it was able to send troops to support revolutionary movements
or regimes. Nevertheless, it still has the largest diplomatic representation of any Latin American
country: 177 embassies and three consulates worldwide, and it continues to play an active role in
its relations with the developing world, serving as host for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
Summit on September 11–16, 2006, and taking over chairmanship of the NAM from Malaysia.
Cuban relations with Russia remain cautious. Cuba’s diplomatic efforts are more focused on
deepening links with major trade partners, namely China and Venezuela. Cuba also has sought
closer ties with Vietnam and North Korea. As its trade ties with China and Venezuela have
increased, Cuba has shown declining interest in wooing the European Union (EU), which,
despite being an outspoken critic of the U.S. embargo on Cuba, is divided about cooperating with
Cuba because of the island’s poor human rights record and lack of democracy. Cuba has
continued to cultivate relations with individual EU member countries.
In the Americas, Cuba has used the election of a series of left-leaning presidents in countries
such as Brazil, Bolivia, and Venezuela to develop relations with those countries and the region in
general. Cuba also has continued to foster close political and commercial ties with Mexico and
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