The Caribbean and Cuba, historic allies

Fecha de publicación:

8 December 2014

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On December 8, 1972 four countries of the Caribbean region -Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago- simultaneously established diplomatic relations with Cuba. In that moment, the island was isolated within the continent while it was determined to build a socialist nations that break the political standards imposed in a large pert of the world.

From that moment on, all the Caribbean states that attained independence from their colonial rulers, have tightened diplomatic ties with Cuba, giving way to an steady and growing collaboration in the political, economic, technical and cultural fields.

From that collaboration it was prompted the necessity to promote studies of the region from a multidisciplinary approach and to favor the formation of professional scholars of the Caribbean. With this purpose was created the Department of Studies of the Caribbean in the University of Havana, which was originally directed by writer Alejo Carpentier and Dr. Graziella Pogolotti, among others.

To mark the remarkable action of the four brother nations, December 8 was designated the Cuba-CARICOM Day on the day of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Cuba. In the words of Fidel Castro, the decision of the leaders of the Caribbean of establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba because they understood they were paving the way for waht would later be the Caribbean’s foreign policy, which has three main characteristics until today: Independence, courage and concerted action.