Compass World: Straight Up Not Havana Good Time
A street in Havana. (Flickr)
A brief introduction:
Welcome back to Compass World for yet another riveting article on the world's international affairs, romantic and otherwise. Last week I took a break to let one of the rookies get some PT. But not this week! I am reinvigorated and ready to hammer out an article.
Hopefully, when you’re reading this, it will be Election Day in the U.S. So, if you haven’t already, go out to your local polling place and deliver your vote in the safest way possible. In our endeavor to provide you with our best coverage on the election, we placed our Compass Elections Editor, Kyle, under house arrest and cut off his power so he could concentrate solely on writing his magnum opus, the Iliad of all Caravel articles, for this crazy day. Behold, the Caravel’s guide to the 2020 U.S. Election.
Anyway, back to the most important topic at hand: me! While the Compass World Staff as a whole has covered a wide range of topics and countries, I like to map out all the places that I’ve heavily featured in my articles. This semester, I have covered or heavily mentioned the countries shaded below:
A huge variety, I know. Notably, four out of the eight countries covered are in the Latin American & Caribbean region. I guess I have a bias toward it.
Will my article today focus on someplace new? For example, Europe, where I have covered exactly zero countries this semester? The answer: No. As my grandmother once said, if you’re good at something, stick with it. That is why I am proud to announce that, today, I will be bringing to you the best Latin American & Caribbean coverage the Caravel can provide. Let’s talk about Cuba.
Insert Joke About the Double Meaning of “Sanction”
President Donald Trump announced that his administration would be imposing a series of new sanctions against the island country at the end of September, prohibiting Americans from importing Cuban cigars and rum and from staying in hotels funded by the Cuban government. Trump stated at a White House event that these measures are “part of our continuing fight against communist oppression.”
While the sanctions are designed to pressure the Cuban government to cut its support for the Maduro regime in Venezuela, they also appear to be an attempt to appeal to the large Cuban-American constituency in Florida. This tactic seems to be working: a recent poll shows the president leading thirty-four points over Former Vice President Biden, his challenger, among Cuban-American voters.
Sanctions are nothing new for Cuba. This recent round follows measures announced by the Trump administration in 2019 aimed at reducing travel to Cuba from the U.S. by banning cruise ships, private yachts, fishing vessels, and group educational and cultural trips from visiting the island. And in 2017, Trump reinstated the travel and business restrictions which the Obama administration had loosened in 2016, policies which Trump said “do not help the Cuban people—they only enrich the Cuban regime.”
These embargoes have cost Cuba a record $5.6 billion over the last year, and have exacerbated shortages of basic goods, plunging the island into one of its worst food shortages in nearly 25 years. It seems, however, that the Cuban government hasn’t taken these sanctions lying down.
A Crime Told in Rhyme
In 2015, the U.S. Embassy in Havana reopened to much delight. After 54 years of closure, the future was looking bright! Although neither country appointed an ambassador, the top U.S. diplomat stationed was truly the right caliber. Very soon though, things would go awry, as U.S. diplomats became ill as if smited from the sky. President Trump thought, “Enough is enough! It must be Cuba, and I’ve gotta act tough!” So in 2017, as soon as they came, diplomats were withdrawn, with Cuba allegedly to blame.
The U.S. Embassy in Havana, 2012. (Wikimedia Commons)
(You are very welcome. I created that little story to appeal to a wider demographic. If you want to build a loyal readership, you have to start them younger. That’s why I would like to take this time to thank Mrs. Murphy’s third grade class from Okay, Oklahoma, for tuning in. Go Cougars!)
Anyway, back to the story. This illness has been a serious problem for the Trump administration. These alleged attacks were first reported in late 2016 at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, where at least 22 American government workers were injured by the so-called ‘Havana Syndrome,’ where victims experience headaches, hearing loss, memory loss, and nausea that could lead to concussions and brain damage. Despite a lengthy investigation and FBI visits to the island, the U.S. still could not identify a culprit or device. On the issue, Trump stated in 2017, “I do believe Cuba’s responsible. I do believe that.”
Zubat, Use Screech!
Unfortunately, these mysterious attacks have not been limited to the Embassy in Havana. Diplomats, CIA officers, and scientists suspect a weapon producing microwave radiation capable of damaging victims' brains as the cause of the attacks. As for who is responsible, though, it is less clear. When asked whether a foreign actor was responsible for the attacks, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated there were still “multiple theories.”
Former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2017. (Wikimedia Commons)
Not only have diplomats been targeted, but so have CIA agents and even high-ranking U.S. officials. In August 2019, during former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s trip to London, an aide experienced an attack similar to those experienced in Havana.
In the fall of 2019, two top CIA officials, while in their hotel rooms in Australia, were hit by a similar attack: the strange sound, the pressure in their heads, the ringing in their ears. After traveling to Taiwan, they again experienced an attack in their hotel rooms on the island. Once a novel occurrence, attacks have become increasingly daring. CIA officials have been hit in Poland, Georgia, Australia, and Taiwan. Attacks have even occurred against Americans on U.S. soil.
Evidence points to Russia masterminding these attacks, given that America and Russia are not on easy terms and that much of the scientific literature on the biological effects of microwaves was published in the Soviet Union and Russia. Even more convincing evidence can be found in publicly available mobile phone geolocation data. In each attack in Poland, Georgia, Australia, and Taiwan, Russian agents were in close proximity to the CIA officers at the time of the attack, sometimes even in the same hotel. Although this connection is not a smoking gun, this data links the Russian government to the attacks on CIA officers.
The Future of Cuba
While Cuba may not be responsible for the attacks, they may be complicit: after all, they failed to protect Americans in Havana. The U.S. Presidential election will have a great impact on the lives of Cubans on the island. Should Trump win reelection, the policy of choking the communist-ish economy to force reform will continue. A Biden presidency will likely reverse course, reverting back to Obama-era detente; Biden has stated that the current policies “have inflicted harm on the Cuban people and done nothing to advance democracy and human rights.” After the ballots have been cast, like all of the United States, Cubans will have to wait and listen. Hopefully, they don’t hear any screeching noises.