Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean; it is slightly smaller than the state of Pennsylvania.  It is located just 90 miles off the coast of Florida.  In 1959 Fidel Castro led a political revolution in Cuba.  The United States has had a volatile relationship with Cuba since Fidel Castro took power, following this event the U.S. broke off all relations with the Cuban government and enacted an embargo in 1961.  Several tense standoffs have taken place between the United States and Cuba.  Including, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Bay of Pigs.  Cuba’s government claims that the United States Central Intelligence Agency has attempted to assassinate Fidel Castro at least 637 times.  The U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to the U.S. and is the only mutual agreement between the two nations.  Castro exploited the U.S. Soviet Cold War and for decades he received strong Soviet backing.  Cuba received between 4 and 5 billion dollars in annual aid from the United Soviet Socialist Republic.  The disappearance of aid following the collapse of the USSR forced Cuba to introduce tight rationing of energy, food, and consumer goods. It also sent the country into a recession. 

Cuba’s’ official name is the Republic of Cuba.  11 million people live in the country.  Spanish is the national language.  Fidel Castro is the leader of Cuba he holds the offices of president of the Council of State and President of the Council of Ministers.  However, on July 31st, 2006 Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother Raul Castro due to an ongoing heath problem.  He has not returned to office.  According to the United States Cuba is the only communist country in the Western Hemisphere, its capital is Havana.  Cubas’ Gross Domestic Product is 45 million dollars.  Their annual budget includes 35 billion dollars in revenues and 36 million in expenditures.  They export 3 million dollars in sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, and coffee with the Netherlands, Canada, China, and Spain.  Cuba imports 10 billion in petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, and chemicals.  Their main partners are China, Spain, Canada, the U.S., Germany, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, and Japan.  .9 Cuban pesos equal one US Dollar.  However, Cuba has three currencies:  the Cuban peso, the convertible peso, and the US dollar. 

Cuba has a tropical climate, with a dry season from November to April, and a rainy season from May to October.  The terrain is mostly flat and rolling plains with rugged mountains in the southeast.  The east coast of Cuba is subject to hurricanes from August to November.  The country averages about one hurricane per year.