cuba

• republic of cuba, country in the caribbean on the island of cuba (south of florida); largest island in the west indies; name of several cities and towns in the united states; village in the state of new york (usa); family name; (roman mythology) goddess of infants
the republic of cuba is a country in the caribbean. it was a spanish colony until 1898. dr fidel castro ruz became prime minister in 1959, when he overthrew the government of general batista. the cuban communist party (pcc) became the sole legal party. in 1961 an invasion of cuba, backed by the usa, failed at the bay of pigs. in 1962 the presence of soviet missile bases caused the cuban missile crisis between the usa and the ussr. cuba is the second largest producer of sugar in the world.