History and Background
Since Fidel Castro took control of Cuba in 1958, allegations of human rights abuses have been made against his regime.
Religious institutions, for instance, have suffered persecution at least in the first years. Not only did Castro severely limit their activities, but in 1961 he confiscated their all property held by religious organizations without compensation. In that same year hundreds of member of the clergy, including a bishop were permanently expelled from the nation. Cuba was officially athiest until 1992 when the Communist Party of Cuba agreed to allow religious followers to join the party. In 1998, Pope John Paul II visited the island and was allowed to conduct large outdoor masses. During his visit, the Pope strongly condemned Castro and his human rights record. That same year, Cuba approved visas for nineteen foreign priests to take up residence in the country.
Although exact numbers are hard to determine, several scholars have attempted to estimate the number of political killings committed by Fidel Castro’s regime. R.J. Rummel, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Hawaii, list the number of 73,000 as victims of the democide of the Castro regime. Dr. Armando Lago, Harvard Economist, cites the following numbers in "The Human Cost of Social Revolution"
- 15,000 to 18,000 executed for counter revolutionary activities
- 1,000 extrajudicial assassinations
- 250 disappeared
- 500 died in prison for lack of medical attention
- 500 murdered in prison by guards
- 150 extrajudicial assassinations of women
Lago calculated these numbers "using old news accounts, U.S. and Organization of American States records and family histories" [1] but given the reliance on records of the US government and OAS they may be suspect. The 15,000 to 18,000 number given by Lago is inconsistent with claims by conservative researcher David Horowitz who claims there have been 80,000 political prisoners in Cuba, all but 10,000 of which have "taken the path of rehabilitation". This would mean that the number of those executed is a subset of that 10,000 which would make the number far lower than Lago's claim of 15,000 to 18,000.
According to Amnesty International there are now "several hundred" political prisoners in Cuba. The Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation placed the number at "around 400" in 1998.
Cuba placed a moratorium on the use of capital punishment but this ended after three years when three Cubans were executed in 2003 for hijacking a boat.
In 1960, poet Armando Valladares was working at the Cuban Postal Savings Bank agents of the Ministry of Communications handed him a card bearing a communist slogan and told him to put it on his worktable. The 23-year-old Valladares refused. Astonished, the agents asked him if he had anything against Castro. Valladares answered that if Castro was a communist, he did.
Armando Valladares was sentenced to 30 years in prison. he claims to have been tortured and humiliated. One of Valladares' fellow prisoners was a young man named Roberto Lopez Chavez. While on a hunger strike to protest prison abuses, Valladares claims the guards denied him water until he became delirious, and proceeded to urinate in his mouth and on his face, Chavez died shortly after. Valladares was released from prison after twenty-two years due to the intervention of France's Socialist President François Mitterand.
From 1959 through 1993, some 25,000 Cubans managed to escape from the island, mostly by sea in small boats and fragile rafts. At times this exodus was tolerated by the Cuban government as a "realase valve", at other times they have impeded it. Many, if not most, of these migrants left for economic reasons rather than political reasons. Others fled by way of the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, which is encircled on the Cuban side by barbed-wired fences and heavily mined. It is estimated that only one of every three or four Cubans who have attempted to escape has been successful. Thousands have died in the attempt or have been captured and imprisoned.
In 1989, General Arnaldo Ochoa. Once proclaimed "Hero of the Revolution" by Castro, and several other high-ranking officers were brought to trial for drug trafficking. This offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, yet Ochoa and the others were convicted of treason, and promptly executed largely based on the use of secret evidence. Outside of Cuba, there was skepticism about the arrest of Ochoa and summary execution. In the opinion of former Brig. Gen. Rafael del Pino who had been a close personal friend of Ochoa since the early days of the revolution, and defected from Cuba in May 1987, said the arrests and executions of Ochoa was a attempt to keep another high ranking Cuban official from defecting.
On August 28, 1998, a Havana court sentenced Reynaldo Alfaro García, a member of the Democratic Solidarity Party, to three years for "spreading enemy propaganda" and "rumour-mongering".
In March 2003, the government of Cuba arrested dozens of journalists, librarians, and human rights activists and charged them with sedition due to their alleged contacts with James Cason, head of the US interest section in Havana. After being tried the accused were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 28 years. In all, 78 journalists, librarians, and dissidents were given average sentences of 17 years each. Among those sentenced are poet and journalist, Raul Rivero, economist, Martha Beatriz Roque, and Christian activist, Oscar Elías Biscet.
Indirect Repression
Castro's critics contend that repression also operates through a system that encompasses every aspect of an individual's life: employment, education, housing, health care, food distribution and other necessities. In a country with no independent civil institutions, the government is in almost complete control over nearly every function of its citizen’s lives.
Cuba's constitution of 1976 makes human rights subservient to the state's political aims. Article 62 states:
- None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can be exercised contrary to what is established in the Constitution and by law, or contrary to the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism. Violations of this principle can be punished by law
In Cuba, it has been a crime to buy food from unauthorized sources. Established as early as 1962, food rationing has been one of the Cuban government's most powerful forms of control, since people who rely on the Cuban government for food subsidies can have those subsidies stopped if they are suspected of counter-revolutionary activities. The Supply or Ration Book has controlled the amount and the frequency with which food may be purchased. In recent years, however, a black market and grey market has arisen that is largely tolerated. Also, economic reforms have been instituted that allow farmers to sell a portion of their production in markets. These changes have loosened the previous regime of rationing.
From the age of 16, every citizen must carry an Identity Card at all times. This passport-like I.D. contains a complete personal history, showing present and past addresses, work history, marital status, and number of children. It is color coded to indicate degree of "ideological integration." Permission from the government is required to move to another home or change jobs. Travel abroad is highly restricted. Castro opposition leader Osvaldo Paya has not been allowed to travel abroad, while independent journalist Yndamiro Restano, permitted to leave Cuba to receive an award, has not been allowed to return.
Castro's opponents argue that organizations such as the local CDR's (Committees for the Defense of the Revolution), the Women's Federation, the Young Pioneers, and student organizations coerce adults and youth into paticipating. Many of these organizations require their members to perform "voluntary work" in the fields, take up sentry duties, and attend political meetings and rallies. Others argue that no one is forced to join these organizations but that with the emergence of a nomenklatura in Cuba, membership in these organisations confer certain social advantages thus some may feel "pressured" to join if they wish to get ahead.