NCJ Number
196916
Journal
Crime & Justice International Volume: 18 Issue: 61 Dated: April 2002 Pages: 5-6,27
Date Published
April 2002
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article offers a look at Cuba’s law enforcement practices, as well as its structure and organization under the strict rule of Fidel Castro.
Abstract
In this article, the author describes the organization and function of the police force in Cuba. The author explains that currently law enforcement and internal security are handled by the Ministry of the Interior, which is broken into three separate divisions: the Vice Ministry for Security, Vice Ministry for Internal Order and Crime Prevention, and Technical Vice Ministry. The author details the history of these divisions as he explains how law enforcement in Cuba operates to suppress uprisings against the government. The author explains how one arm of the secret police, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR's), operates similar to a neighborhood watch group. CDR operatives permeate society in order to report any anti-revolutionary activities to the secret police. These revolutionary activities include not living up to the ideals of the revolution, low productivity, hoarding food, and holding personal grudges. The author goes on to state that Cuba, through its repressive law enforcement activities, systematically violates individuals’ fundamental civil and political rights. The Cuban law of Penal Procedure even allows civil liberties to be denied anyone suspected of opposing the “decision of the Cuban people to build socialism.” In conclusion, the author notes that Cuba is policed by one of the most repressive forces in the world and that basic human rights are continually trampled in Castro’s effort to maintain strict control over Cuba. 6 Notes, 5 references