60th Anniversary of the Missile Crisis Finds Cuba in Deepest Crisis Since the Start of the Revolution in 1959

ORLANDO, Fla. - Oct. 12, 2022 - PRLog -- In October of 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the World to the brink of nuclear disaster. Sixty years and 11 U.S. presidents later, Vladimir Putin is threatening to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Last week President Joe Biden said, "We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis."

Putin's Cuban allies appear to face imminent regime implosion. Cuba's coffers are empty, and the communist regime cannot provide the population with basic needs, including food, medicine, electric energy, public transportation, and even trash removal. Long neglected, Cuba's infrastructure is in disrepair, and the collapse of inhabited buildings has become an almost daily occurrence.

On July 11, 2021, thousands of Cubans took to the streets in an unprecedented wave of island-wide protests triggered by the government's inadequate response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A deepening economic crisis and severe oil shortages have led to even larger demonstrations throughout the communist island since August of this year.

"When it comes to Cuba, it is always hard to predict, but we may be witnessing the start of the regime's demise. The government continues to respond with a heavy hand, beating, arresting, and sentencing hundreds to long prison terms for simply engaging in peaceful protests," said Cuban born American Historian Dr. Luis Martínez-Fernández.

Despite its continuing repression, the government appears overwhelmed by the new wave of protests that are continuing daily. Hurricane Fiona in September caused severe damage to the ailing infrastructure, producing long periods of blackout. The Cuban masses appear to have lost the fear that had paralyzed them for over six decades.

Dr. Luis Martínez-Fernández can discuss the following topics:

• Why is the current situation different from previous crises
• The increasing unpopularity of President Miguel Díaz-Canel
• Subsidized Russian oil and its impact on Cuba's foreign policy
• The effectiveness of the Biden administration's Cuba policy
• The current wave of Cuban exiles is the largest ever

About Dr. Luis Martínez-Fernández

Pegasus professor of history at the University of Central Florida and nationally syndicated columnist, Martínez-Fernández is the author of Revolutionary Cuba: A History and the forthcoming book, When the World Turned Upside Down: Politics, Culture, and the Unimaginable Events of 2019-2022 to be released in December. Martínez-Fernández has been recognized by NPR, Univisión, CNN, Time, and the national news wire services of Spain, France, and Germany and more, as one of the World's leading experts on Cuba and the Caribbean. More information can be found on Wikipedia and on his website, Cultural Translations.