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Cuba at a
Glance
(Source: CIA World
Factbook)
• History: Controlled by Spain until 1898, when the United States took over. Independent from 1902 to 1959, when Fidel Castro led a successful Communist rebellion. In recent years, many Cubans have tried to flee to the United States using homemade rafts and other techniques.
• Government: Communist dictatorship. Cuba has undertaken limited reforms in recent years to increase enterprise efficiency and alleviate serious shortages of food, consumer goods, and services.
• Population: 11 million.
• Religion: 85 percent Catholic before Castro took over.
• Geography: Slightly smaller than Pennsylvania, Cuba separates the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean 94 miles south of Key West, Fla.
This information was part of a series of articles that first appeared in the May 2-5, 2004, issues of The Durango Herald. It is reproduced here by permission of Herald Publisher Richard Ballantine