| Chapter 2: | The Relations of Cuba with Latin America and the Caribbean: The Long and Winding Road of Reconciliation |
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political links with conservative sectors in the hemisphere. During the Cold War, Cuba absorbed the negative impact on its relations with the governments and power elites as the result of its support for numerous guerrilla and clandestine movements. This approach, an ideological and a political one, made no distinction between Cuba’s state-to-state relations and its contact with organizations on a party-to-party basis.
In previous works,1 I have argued that Cuba’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean can be understood as undergoing change over time. Also, it is necessary to speak of subregions when one analyzes the patterns of Cuba’s relations. Cuba’s relations with the Caribbean nations have been at a higher and more stable level than its relations with Latin American countries, which have fluctuated considerably based on the polices of both the Cuban government and its Latin American counterparts. There have been ruptures of the relations with countries in both parts of the region, but overall there is a strong tradition of collaboration between Cuba and its Caribbean neighbors based on the commitment to cooperation on both sides.2 In comparison to the South and Central American countries, the Cuban government never supported guerrilla organizations in the Caribbean nations, and following the end of the Cold War, greater contact between the countries became possible.
From the Triumph of the Cuban
Revolution to a Massive Rupture
in Relations with Cuba (1959–1979)
It must be understood that the triumph of the Cuban revolution and the subsequent reaction of the U.S. government created a political polarization that was unprecedented in the history of the hemisphere. Much has been written about this rupture, with a focus on the call by Fidel Castro for a continent-wide insurrection against the status quo. Equally important was the stance taken by the U.S. government almost immediately after the triumph of the revolution, in which the United States, using strong anti-Communist rhetoric, created a regional climate of hostility against Cuba. This climate of hostility can be compared to the violent