Publisher's Synopsis
Cuba is a relatively small country, but with the foreign policy of a major league international player. It has carried out such a policy since the start of Castro's 1959 revolution. Because of its close alliance with the Soviet Union, by the early to mid 1960's it had the external resources, internal conditions, and lack of significant US opposition to begin to visibly impact conditions throughout the world; from Latin America, to Africa and Asia. At times, the close relationship to the USSR (and corresponding partnership with Communist Bloc countries) made many perceive its autonomy in foreign affairs as close to zero. Viewed from the perspective of analysts in the American Department of State, it is easy to see Castro's Cuba as an unofficial province of the Soviet Union. In this book, Dr. Cespedes sees a Cuban foreign policy that has been both aggressive ideologically, militaristic, yet highly pragmatic. The Castro brothers saturated the media with altruistic images of themselves in a campaign to justify and encourage, or directly spread, radical change. A totalitarian state was created where Fidel Castro could claim "unanimous support" for revolutions which could defy the United States and its allies. Participation in the state-orchestrated exportation of Marxism quickly became a requirement for existence in a Cuba that prohibited all forms of dissent. Devoted leftists who aided Castro's rise, but later resisted disastrous economic policies and challenged the one-party state, found themselves silenced, imprisoned, or executed. Using previously unexplored sources, Dr. Cespedes constructs a compelling and detailed expose which focuses on Cuban political subversion throughout the world, either through direct military intervention, or disguised as development aid for health, economic, and civic programs. This is a must read for history students and those wishing to study for the IB Americas Paper 3 Exam written by a prominent historian, IB examiner and content contributor, Dr. Juan R. Cespedes."
