Background:
The native Amerindian population of Cuba began to decline after the
European discovery of the island by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 and
following its development as a Spanish colony during the next
several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to
work the coffee and sugar plantations and Havana became the
launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from
Mexico and Peru. Spanish rule was severe and exploitative and
occasional rebellions were harshly suppressed. It was US
intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 that finally
overthrew Spanish rule. The subsequent Treaty of Paris established
Cuban independence, which was granted in 1902 after a three-year
transition period. Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959;
his iron rule has held the regime together since then. Cuba's
Communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout
Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The
country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession in
1990, following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4
billion to $6 billion annually. Cuba portrays its difficulties as
the result of the US embargo in place since 1961. Illicit migration
to the US - using homemade rafts, alien smugglers, air flights, or
via the southwest border - is a continuing problem. Some 2,500
Cubans attempted the crossing of the Straits of Florida in 2003; the
US Coast Guard apprehended about 60% of the individuals.

Geography Cuba

Location:
Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida

Geographic coordinates:
21 30 N, 80 00 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 110,860 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 110,860 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

Land boundaries:
total: 29 km
border countries: US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay 29 km
note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains
part of Cuba

Coastline:
3,735 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate:
tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April);
rainy season (May to October)

Terrain:
mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in
the southeast

Elevation extremes:
l