PRESIDENT MOBUTU SESE SEKO. (Archive Photos. Reproduced by permission.)

The Conflict

Cuba, a Communist country just ninety miles off the coast of the United States, has a long history of conflict with the United States. Cuban immigrants in the United States have, with the support of its government, attempted to invade Cuba and overthrow its president, Fidel Castro. The United States has a long-standing economic embargo of Cuba. In 1999 a small group of people attempted to escape Cuba; most drowned on their voyage. But a small boy, Elian Gonzalez, lived, and the resulting legal and political maneuvers highlighted the continuing conflict between Cuba and the United States

Political

• The United States is vehemently anti-Communist.
• Cuba is anti-Capitalist, though without a protector due to the disintegration of the Soviet...