The Cuba Truth Project
Questions & Answers
Q. Why do so many people leave Cuba and go to the United States?
A. Actually, by percentage, few Cubans actually leave Cuba, and there are many issues involved. Firstly, before the Cuban Revolution the United States gave very few Cubans visas to come to the United States, but after the revolution the doors were opened wide. Secondly, the United States has held an unjust trade embargo against Cuba for five decades (which has been condemed several times in the United Nations by almost every country in the world) which has caused the people of Cuba to suffer. Finally, the United States enacted the 'Cuban Adjustment Act', the only act of its kind anywhere in the world, which grants residency to anyone, no matter if they are a criminal or not, who leaves Cuba and reaches the United States in any fashion. Imagine if the same act applied to all of Latin America! How many people from other countries would leave for the United States? How many people leave places like Mexico and the Dominican Republic now?
Q: Isn't Cuba a dictatorship?
A: No. There is a one party government in Cuba, but that does not mean that democracy doesn't exist there. In fact, there are more differences in the Communist Party in Cuba than there are between the Democrats and Republicans in the United States! The Cuban people are very active in their work places through their unions, in mass organizations (such as the Federation of Cuban Women) and in local and national elections, where normal working people are nominated and elected by a vote of 50% of more. In the U.S. you need large amounts of money to run for office, and canidates are often elected by only 20% of the electorate. In Cuba 99% of eligable people vote, in the United States less than 50% normally do.
Indeed, this "dictatorship" in Cuba is very strange, because everyone calls the president by his first name, like when they see him in the street, the highest government officials play baseball in their short sleeves with the rest of the people, the entire population is armed, everyone knows how to read, decisions are made by common consent, prostitutes are sent to school and taught another occupation, government officials meet with the workers to discuss salaries and production and the people interrupt the prime minister's speeches to criticize certain ministers or officials!
For more info see: Is Cuba democratic?, Let's talk about Cuban democracy, and The truth about Cuba.
Q. What about human rights in Cuba?
A. As a part of its propaganda campaign, the United States Government and its agencies have continually accused Cuba of human rights abuses. But when the accomplishments of the Cuban revolution are compared to the actions of the U.S. Government, the truth becomes quite clear.
Amnesty International claims that 72 prisoners of conscience are detained in Cuban jails. The truth is that these people were all tried and found guilty of being agents of a foreign power - the U.S. government.
On the other hand, the International Red Cross has reported that up to 40,000 people are detained without charge by U.S.-led occupation forces in Iraq.
Let's also not forget that 5 Cuban anti-terrorists are being held as political prisoners in the U.S. right now.
The five Cubans were sent to Miami as foreign agents to penetrate the exile groups who had been carrying out terrorist acts against Cuba; including blowing up an airplane full of innocent people, and bombing resorts in Cuba.
In June of 1998, the Cuban government presented the FBI with evidence relating to the terrorist activities of these exile groups, which was collected and compiled by the five Cubabs. But instead of arresting the terrorists, the U.S. arrested the five Cubans! They were held in solitary confinment for 17 months, before being accused of "committing acts of espionage," and a number of other sham charges, and sentenced to a number of prison terms from 15 years to two life terms plus fifteen years. The Cuban five sit in high security prisons today, and are denied the right to visits from their family.
But what are small facts in the face of a big lie? In 2003, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said, "I agree with anything that means the condemnation of Cuba."
Revealingly, Cuba is a founding member of the United Nation's Human Rights Council and the United States is not. Cuba has been repeatedly elected to that very same Human Rights Council, while the U.S. hasn't even dared to run as a candiate. In the most recent elections, Cuba was elected to the Council with the overwhelming support of 135 countries, more than two-thirds of the UN General Assembly.
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro himself put it best when he asked, “On what moral grounds can the rulers of a nation in which millionaires and beggars exists; Indians are exterminated; Blacks are discriminated against; women are prostituted; and huge numbers of Chicanos, Puerto Ricans, and other Latin Americans are scorned, exploited, and humiliated, speak of human rights?
“How can the representatives of a capitalist and imperialist society based on the exploitation of man by man, combined with egoism, individualism, and a complete lack of human solidarity, do this?
“How can those that train and provide military supplies to the bloodiest, most reactionary, and most corrupt governments in the world, such as those of Somoza, Pinochet, Stroessner, the gorillas in Uruguay, Mobutu, and the shah of Iran, just to name a few, mouth this slogan?
“How can the leaders of a state whose intelligence agencies organized assassination attempts against the leaders of other countries and whose armies dropped explosives in Vietnam equivalent to hundreds of atom bombs, such as those that exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and who murdered millions of Vietnamese without even deigning to apologize to the country or pay indemnity for the lives lost – the leaders of a state that has traditionally intervened in Latin America, subjects the people of this part of the world to its exploiting yoke, and is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of children every year due to illness and starvation – how can they speak of human rights?
“In short, how can the imperialist government that forcibly maintains a military base in our territory and subjects our people to a criminal economic blockade speak of human rights?”
For more information, see: The truth about Cuba, What is Cuba's human rights record really like? (PDF), ‘End the Blockade, Lies and Aggression against Cuba’, Exit U.S., Enter Cuba and Meet the Cuban Five imprisoned in the U.S..
More questions?
For answers to more questions, see the "Writings and speeches" section of this website, or: What has the Cuban revolution meant for women? (PDF), What does the United Nations think about Cuba?, Why is the U.S. blockading Cuba?, Is Fidel Castro a dictator? & How has the US trade and economic blockade affected the Cuban economy? (PDF).
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