Abstract
The complex processes unfolding in Venezuela since the later years of the twentieth century have been the subject of much discussion. From a wide variety of perspectives, the reality of the Latin American country can be perceived and has been presented under different lights, sometimes astonishingly different from each other. The role played by Venezuela in the imagination of millions in the region and the world is similar to that played by Cuba, albeit the latter has been in that place for over sixty years. Both countries, their leaderships and their policies have been connected in many senses for over two decades. Their governments supported each other at international fora, and they both were the targets of hostilities and sanctions from the same sources, mainly the United States (US). This paper aims to contribute to the interpretation of the role played by the US and its policies in the recent historical evolution of Venezuela and Cuba, as well as its influence on the bilateral relations between the two countries. It is not intended as an alternative explanation, nor as a comprehensive explanation: it explores a dimension that adds to the wider analysis of such realities.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
This a common trait in social sciences in general.
- 2.
Geopolitics is typically a concept in international relations. However, when defined broadly, it could be applied to domestic affairs as well. Although it will not be used in that sense in this text, this is a path worth exploring.
- 3.
The common acceptance of the term “capitalism” and its generalized usage by individuals of all political colors is a relatively recent development. In the 1940s, Maurice Dobb decided to dedicate a full chapter of his Studies on the Development of Capitalism to justify the term itself (Dobb, 1946). As recently as 2017, Harvard University Press published a book on inequality, and ten of its chapters, written by different authors from different fields, addressed issues as primordial as the definition of capital and the political economy of capitalism and capital (Boushey et al., 2017). Thus, at a conceptual level, capitalism and its main components are still subject of debate. An interesting discussion on the subject appears in Ingham (2008). In this text, I understand capitalism as a historically determined mode of production (Banaji, 2010), with a set of specific features that act as organizational principles for the cultural complexuses (Dominguez Lopez, 2014) in which it dominates, inclusive of market structures—the market, political structures—the Nation-Sate—and symbolic structures.
- 4.
For the concept, theoretical models and methodologies of World-systems analysis, see Chase-Dunn (1998).
- 5.
National security as understood by American elites and governments is not limited to the security of its territory and population. It includes the extension of their interests, as far as they may reach. This is observable in the National Security Strategies published by each administration of the last 4 decades (President of the United States, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2017). This is in line with a geopolitical interpretation of national security for a major power.
- 6.
A secret memorandum from US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs Lester Mallory to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs stated that the only foreseeable means to reduce and potentially eliminate the Cuban people’s support for the government emerged from the revolution was through “disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship” (Mallory, 1960).
- 7.
The most famous of these were the landing of an invading force of Cuban émigrés, organized, armed and trained by the CIA in Bay of Pigs in 1961—an application of the method used in Guatemala in 1954–, and hundreds of assassinations attempts on Fidel Castro.
- 8.
Cuba’s expulsion from the Organization of American States was the clearest outcome of this line of policy.
- 9.
This occurred in a context in which the future of the Panama Canal was in debate, as the end of the concession would end in 1999, after the Torrijos-Carter treaty.
- 10.
For example, all military activities in Africa ended in 1991, after the successful conclusion of the war in Angola—key factor in the collapse of the Apartheid regime in South Africa.
- 11.
National Security Advisor of President Jimmy Carter and a central figure in United States’ foreign policy intelligentsia. Of Polish origin, he was decidedly anti-Soviet.
- 12.
However, they are very different in many aspects: Cuba has had an economy controlled by State-owned companies for a long time, unlike Venezuela, where privately owned companies are far more numerous; Cuba has a single-party system with a communist party at its core, while Venezuela has a multi-party system, with an ideologically diverse socialist party in government, in alliance with other smaller forces. Yet, they are often presented under the same light.
- 13.
The conditions for these operations are such that in a number of technically allowed areas, like medicines, there has been zero or near zero purchases.
- 14.
In recent years, with the official recognition of Juan Guaidó as president of Venezuela, instead of Maduro, by the United States, the United Kingdom, Colombia and some other countries, Venezuela-owned companies abroad and Venezuela’s gold reserves have been seized, and officially transferred to “Guaidó’s government”. Effectively, Venezuela lost those resources, severely limiting its ability to import necessary goods, also in the midst of the pandemic.
References
Armitage, R. L., & Nye, J., Jr. (2007). CSIS commission on smart power: A smarter, more secure agenda. Center for Strategic & International Studies.
Arrighi, G., & Silver, B. J. (1999). Chaos and governance in the modern world system. University of Minnesota Press.
Ayerbe, L. F. (2012). Los Estados Unidos y la América Latina. La construcción de la hegemonía. Fondo de Cultura del ALBA.
Bacevich, A. J. (2002). American Empire: The realities and consequences of U.S. diplomacy. Harvard University Press.
Bagley, B., & Defort, M. (Eds.). (2014). ¿La hegemonía norteamericana en declive? El desafío del ALBA y la nueva integración latinoamericana del siglo XXI. Universidad Icesi.
Bailyn, B., & Denault, P. L. (Eds.). (2009). Soundings in Atlantic history. Latent structures and intellectual currents, 1500–1830. Harvard University Press.
Banaji, J. (2010). Theory as history: Essays on modes of production and exploitation. Brill.
Barrera Rodríguez, S., & Iturriaga Bartuste, M. J. (2020). Las sanciones de Estados Unidos a Cuba (2001–2020). Politica Internacional, 8, 30–40.
Bethell, L. (1990). Historia de America Latina (16 Vols.). Crítica.
Blum, W. (1995). Killing hope: U.S. Military and CIA interventionism since World War II. Common Courage Press.
Bobbio, N., & Matteucci, N. (1983). Diccionario de política. Siglo XXI S.A.
Bolender, K. (2010). Voices from the other side: An oral history of terrorism against Cuba. Pluto Press.
Bolender, K. (2012). Cuba under Siege: American Policy, the revolution, and its people. Palgrave Macmillan.
Boushey, H., DeLong, B. J., & Steinbaum, M. (Eds.). (2017). After Piketty, The Agenda for Economics and Inequality. Cambridge, MA & London: Harvard University Press.
Brzezinski, Z. (1998). El gran tablero mundial. La supremacía estadounidense y sus imperativos. Paidós.
Brzezinski, Z. (2007). Second chance: Three presidents and the crisis of American superpower. Basic Books.
Bulmer-Thomas, V. (2010). La historia económica de América Latina desde la Independencia. Fondo de Cultura Economica.
CAFTA-DR. https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/cafta-dr-dominican-republic-central-america-fta/final-text. Accessed 4 January 2022.
Chase-Dunn, C. (1998). Global formation. Structures of the world economy (Updated). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
Correa, R. (2005). Construyendo el ALBA. “Nuestro Norte es el Sur”. Lauki.
D’Angelo, G. (2014). Ciclos económicos en Venezuela de 1945 a 1990. Cultura Latinoamericana, 20(2), 231–269.
Dávalos Fernández, R. (2012). ¿Embargo o bloqueo? La instrumentación de un crimen contra Cuba. Capitán San Luis.
Dobb, M. (1946). Studies on the development of capitalism. Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Domínguez López, E. (2014). Ciencia y complexus cultural: un ensayo. https://www.bioethics.miami.edu/_assets/pdf/ethics/Documents/Cuba/pdf/Lopez-Ensayo.pdf. Accessed 23 August 2019.
Domínguez López, E. (2015). El diálogo Estados Unidos-Cuba en el sistema internacional. Revista de Estudios Estratégicos, 3.
Domínguez López, E. (2016). Factors determining dialogue: Cuba in the U.S. strategic plan for the 21st century. In M. Crahan & S. M. Castro Mariño (Eds.), Cuba-US relations: normalization and its challenges (pp. 83–104). Institute of Latin American Studies-Columbia University.
Domínguez López, E. (2018a). De Obama a Trump. La nueva política de Estados Unidos hacia Cuba. Anuario de la Integracion Region de America Latina y el Caribe, 14, 33–52.
Domínguez López, E. (2018b). La relación geoestratégica: Cuba en la política global de Estados Unidos. In O. R. González Martín & E. Domínguez López (Eds.), Cuba, Estados Unidos y el 17 D. Cambios y continuidades (pp. 19–66). Editorial UH.
Domínguez López, E. (2019). Florida en el fiel de la balanza. El Sunshine State en las elecciones presidenciales. Norteam, 14(1), 119–150.
Domínguez López, E. (2021). De Bush 43 a Biden: cambios en las correlaciones de fuerzas en el sistema-mundo y ajustes de política exterior en Estados Unidos. Política Internacional, 3(2), 27–43.
Dominguez Lopez, E., & Barrera Rodríguez, S. (2018). Estados Unidos en transición. Cambios, resistencia y realineamientos. Ciencias Sociales.
Domínguez López, E., & Borges Pías, J. (2016). Estados Unidos y Rusia en el siglo XXI: de la cooperaciónreticente a la confrontación abierta. Revista Mexicana de Analisis Politico y Administracion Pública, 5(1), 93–118.
Domínguez López, E., González Delgado, D. (2017). Los factores del proceso de cambio: rupturas y persistencias entre los cubanos del norte. Revista de Estudios Estrategicos, 4, 81–104.
Dominguez Lopez, E., & Yaffe, H. (2017). The deep, historical roots of Cuban anti-imperialism. Third World Quarterly, 38(11), 2517–2535.
Engdahl, W. F. (2018). Manifest destiny: Democracy as cognitive dissonance. mine.Books.
Erisman, M. H., & Kirk, J. M. (Eds.). (2006). Redefining Cuban foreign policy: The impact of the “special period”. University Press of Florida.
Feinberg, R. B. E. (2020). The geopolitics of Cuba–Venezuela-U.S. relations: An informal note. In Venezuela and Cuba: The ties that bind (pp. 19–30). Wilson Center Latin America Program.
Foner, E. (2011). Give me liberty! An American history (3rd ed.). W. W. Norton.
Fonseca, B., & Polga-Hecimovich, J. (2020). Two nations, one revolution: The evolution of contemporary Cuba-Venezuela relations. In Venezuela and Cuba: The ties that bind (pp. 1–17). Wilson Center Latin America Program.
González Delgado, D., & Domínguez López, E. (2018a). El congreso de Estados Unidos en la época de Trump y la política hacia Cuba. In S. M. Castro Mariño & M. Crahan (Eds.), Donald J. Trump y las relaciones Cuba-Estados Unidos en la encrucijada (pp. 153–176). Ortila.
González Delgado, D., & Domínguez López, E. (2018b). El Congreso de Estados Unidos y la política hacia Cuba, de Obama a Trump. Revista de Estudios Estratégicas, 6, 7–34.
González Delgado, D., Domínguez López, E., & Gorpinchenko, J. (2021). El Congreso federal de Estados Unidos y la política hacia a Cuba. Revista Universidad de La Habana, 292.
Gordon, J. (2011). Smart sanctions revisited. Ethics & International Affairs, 25(3), 315–335.
Gordon, J. (2016). Extraterritoriality: Issues of over breadth and the chilling effect in the cases of Cuba and Iran. Harvard International Law, 57, 1–12.
Gordon, J. (2019). The not so targeted instrument of asset freezes. Ethics & International Affairs, 33(3), 303–314.
Guerra Vilaboy, S. (2000). El dilema de la independencia. Felix Varela.
Human Rights Watch. (2021). World Report 2021. Events of 2020. Human Rights Watch.
Ingham, G. (2008). Capitalism. Polity Press.
Kearns, G. (2009). Geopolitics and empire: The legacy of Halford Mackinder. Oxford University Press.
Kennedy, P. (1987). The rise and fall of the great powers: Economic change and military conflict from 1500 to 2000. Random House.
Kirk, J. M., & Erisman, M. H. (2009). Cuban medical: Internationalism origins, evolution, and goals. Palgrave Macmillan.
Kissinger, H. (2002). Does America need a foreign policy? Toward a diplomacy for the 21st century. The Free Press.
LeoGrande, W. M. (2019). Pushing on an open door? ethnic foreign policy lobbies and the Cuban American case. Foreign Policy Analysis, 16(3), 438–456.
López, E. D., & Rodríguez, S. B. (2020). La conformación de la política de Estados Unidos hacia Cuba: las sanciones como política pública. Estudios del Desarrollo Social: Cuba y América Latina, 8, 172–198.
Mallory, L. (1960). Memorandum to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Secret). https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1958-60v06/d499. Accessed 14 September 2021.
McCusker, J. (1997). Essays in the economic history of the Atlantic world. Routledge.
McPherson, A. (Ed.). (2013). Encyclopedia of U. S. military interventions in Latin America. ABC-CLIO.
Miranda Bravo, O. (2003). Cuba/USA. Nacionalizaciones y bloqueo. Ciencias Sociales.
Monroe, J. (1823). Seventh annual message. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/seventh-annual-message-1. Accessed 4 January 2022.
Morgan, K. (2014). Slavery, Atlantic trade and the British economy, 1660–1800. Cambridge University Press.
Mountjoy, S. (2009). Manifest destiny: Westward expansion. Chelsea House.
Nau, H. R. (2002). At home abroad: Identity and power in American foreign policy. Cornell University Press.
North American Free Trade Agreement. (NAFTA). https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/nafta-alena/fta-ale/index.aspx?lang=eng. Accessed 4 January 2022.
Nossel, S. (2004). Smart power. Foreign Affairs, 83(2). https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2004-03-01/smart-power. Accessed 14 November 2015.
Nye, J. S. (2002). The paradox of American power: Why the world’s only superpower can’t go it alone. Oxford University Press.
Nye, J. S. (2003, January 10). Propaganda isn’t the way: Soft power. International Herald Tribune.
Nye, J. S. (2004). Soft power: The means to success in world politics. Public Affairs.
Nye, J. S. (2008). The powers to lead. Oxford University Press.
Nye, J. S. (2011). The future of power. Public Affairs.
Obama, B. (2014). Statement by the president on Cuba policy changes. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/12/17/statement-president-cuba-policy-changes. Accessed 14 January 2015.
Oliva, C. (2007). El ALBA y Unasur: entre la concertación y la confortación. Anuario De La Integracion Regional De America Latina y El Caribe, 6, 71–86.
Oxford Analytica. (2015). US ties with Cuba and Venezuela set to diverge. Exp. Brief. https://doi.org/10.1108/OXAN-ES198051. Accessed 23 October 2021.
Oxford Analytica. (2017). US sanctions on Venezuela may prove counterproductive. Exp. Brief. https://doi.org/10.1108/OXAN-ES223537. Accessed 23 October 2021.
Oxford Analytica. (2019). New US sanctions may not shift Venezuela’s Maduro. Exp. Brief. https://doi.org/10.1108/OXAN-ES245616. Accessed 23 October 2021.
Pérez Jr, L. A. (2014). Cuba en el imaginario de Estados Unidos. Ciencias Sociales.
Perkins, B. (1993). The Cambridge history of American foreign relations. Vol I: The creation of a Republican Empire, 1776–1865. Cambridge University Press.
Pew Research Center. (2017). The Partisan divide on political values grows even wider sharp shifts among democrats on aid to needy, race, immigration. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2017/10/05/the-partisan-divide-on-political-values-grows-even-wider/. Accessed 16 October 2018.
President of the United States. (2002). The national security strategy of the United States of America 2002. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/63562.pdf. Accessed 29 November 2015.
President of the United States. (2006). The national security strategy of the United States of America 2006. https://www.comw.org/qdr/fulltext/nss2006.pdf. Accessed 29 November 2015.
President of the United States. (2010). The national security strategy of the United States of America 2010. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/national_security_strategy.pdf. Accessed 29 November 2015.
President of the United States. (2015). The national security strategy of the United States of America 2015. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2015_national_security_strategy.pdf. Accessed 30 December 2015.
President of the United States. (2017). The national security strategy of the United States of America 2017. https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2017_national_security_strategy.pdf. Accessed 8 March 2018.
Prieto Rozos, A. (2014). Visión Íntegra de América. Ciencias Sociales.
Roosevelt, T. (1904). Fourth annual message. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/fourth-annual-message-15. Accessed 4 January 2022.
Salazar Torreon, B., & Plagakis, S. (2021). Instances of use of armed forces abroad, 1798–2020 (Report for Congress). Congressional Research Service, https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/setails?prodcode=R42738. Accessed 27 December 2021.
Spykman, N. J. (1944). The geography of the peace. Harcourt Brace.
Strange, S. (1988). States and markets (2nd ed.). Pinter.
US Congress. (1992). Cuban Democracy Act of 1992. Public Law 102-484, 106 Stat. 2315.
US Congress. (1996). Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996. Public Law 104-114, 110 Stat. 785.
Weisbrot, M. (2017). What’s behind Trump’s sanctions on Venezuela? Green Left Weekly, 1151, 19.
Wilson, E. J., III. (2008). Hard power, soft power, smart power. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616, 110–124.
Yánez, H. (2005). The Cuba-Venezuela alliance: “Emancipatory Neo-Bolivarismo” or totalitarian expansion? https://scholarship.miami.edu/discovery/fulldisplay/alma991031447782702976/01UOML_INST:ResearchRepository. Accessed 29 December 2021.
Yun Casalilla, B. (2019). Iberian world empires and the globalization of Europe, 1415–1669. Palgrave.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
López, E.D. (2023). Venezuela, Cuba and United States: Power and Geopolitics in the Great Caribbean. In: Latouche, M.A., Muno, W., Gericke, A. (eds) Venezuela – Dimensions of the Crisis. Contributions to Political Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21889-7_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21889-7_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-21888-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-21889-7
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)