Som en skrøbelig republik forsøgte Cuba i 1940 at styrke sit demokratiske system, men stigende politisk radikalisering og sociale stridigheder kulminerede i et [[statskup]] i 1952 og efterfølgende diktatur under [[Fulgencio Batista]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/Cincinnati-OH_19601006-Democratic-Dinner.aspx |title=Remarks of Senator John F. Kennedy at Democratic Dinner, Cincinnati, Ohio |publisher= John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum – Jfklibrary.org |date=6. oktober 1960 |access-date=14. februar 2017}}</ref> Åben korruption og undertrykkelse under Batistas styre førte til hans afsættelse i januar 1959 af [[26. juli-bevægelsen]], som bagefter etablerede et kommunistisk styre under ledelse af [[Fidel Castro]].<ref name=britannica-castro>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Fidel-Castro|title=Fidel Castro|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=26. juni 2017|quote=Castro created a one-party government to exercise dictatorial control over all aspects of Cuba's political, economic, and cultural life. All political dissent and opposition were ruthlessly suppressed}}</ref><ref name=gonzalo-castro>{{cite book|last=Fernández|first=Gonzalo|year=2009|title=Cuba's Primer – Castro's Earring Economy|isbn=9780557065738|quote=The number of individuals who have been jailed or deprived of their freedom in labor camps over the 50 years of Castro's dictatorship is estimated at around 200,000}}</ref><ref name=dw-castro>{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.com/en/fidel-castro-cubas-hero-and-dictator/a-36532751|title=Fidel Castro – Cuba's hero and dictator|date=26. november 2016|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>
Politik