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Cuba

Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress

Posted Thu, 07/02/2009 - 00:00

Trafficking in people for prostitution and forced labor is one of the most prolific areas of international criminal activity and is of significant concern to the United States and the international community. The overwhelming majority of those trafficked are women and children. According to the most recent Department of State estimates, roughly 800,000 people are trafficked across borders each year. If trafficking within countries is included in the total world figures, official U.S. estimates are that some 2 to 4 million people are trafficked annually.

Closing the Guantanamo Detention Center: Legal Issues

Posted Tue, 06/16/2009 - 00:00

Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Congress passed the Authorization to Use Military Force
(AUMF), which granted the President the authority ?to use all necessary and appropriate force
against those ... [who] planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks? against the
United States.? As part of the subsequent ?war on terror,? many persons captured during military
operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere were transferred to the U.S. Naval Station at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for detention and possible prosecution before military tribunals.

Costa Rica: Background and U.S. Relations

Posted Tue, 06/02/2009 - 00:00

Costa Rica is a relatively politically stable and economically developed nation with a long tradition of civilian democracy. Former president (1986-1990) and Nobel-laureate Oscar Arias of the National Liberation Party was elected President in 2006. Throughout his term, Arias has focused on expanding the countrys social safety net and increasing free trade. He faced strong opposition to the countrys inclusion in the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), but eventually secured its ratification and implementation.

Cuba: Issues for the 111th Congress

Posted Wed, 02/25/2009 - 01:00

Cuba, which remains a hard-line communist state with a poor record on human rights,
commemorated the 50th anniversary of its revolution on January 1, 2009. Cuba?s political
succession from the long-ruling Fidel Castro to his brother Ral in 2006 was characterized by a
remarkable degree of stability. Fidel stepped down from power temporarily in July 2006 because
of health reasons, and Ral assumed provisional control of the government until February 2008,
when he officially became President.