We gathered 12 fun facts about Cuba, highlighting the near 100% literacy rate and the fact that Cuba never cashes the checks from the U.S. for Guantánamo Bay.
As an American student growing up in the early 2000s, my only memories of Cuba were learning about just how close the world came to complete destruction due to the Cuban Missile Crisis. That, and the Cuban cigars my uncle always bragged about.
It wasn’t until I met travelers who had visited Cuba that I learned there was a lot more to the island nation than Fidel Castro, Mutually Assured Destruction and Cuban cigars. Let’s take a look together at some of the interesting facts about Cuba.
12 Fun Facts About Cuba
- The CIA tried to assassinate Fidel Castro over 600 times, allegedly
- “Yank Tanks” are the vintage cars at the heart of post-trade embargo Cuban culture
- Cuba has the highest doctor-to-patient ratio in the world
- “Cuba boasts a near 100% literacy rate, one of the highest in the world
- The United States pays Cuba for the use of Guantánamo Bay every year, but Cuba never cashes the checks
- Cuba had a unique dual currency system
- Cuba is home to the “Galápagos of the Caribbean”, Jardines de la Reina
- Isla de la Juventud in Cuba inspired “Treasure Island” and “Peter Pan”
- Santiago de Cuba was the birthplace of the Cuban Revolution
- Cuba is home to the world’s smallest bird
- Cuba has nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites including natural wonders like Viñales Valley
- Cuba is the largest island and third most populated island in the Caribbean and Latin America
1. The CIA tried to assassinate Fidel Castro over 600 times, allegedly
Fidel Castro survived over 600 assassination attempts throughout his life, most of them attributed to the CIA. It’s no secret that the U.S. was NOT a fan of Fidel Castro. 600 attempts, however, starts to seem a bit excessive. Some of the more “innovative” attempts on Fidel Castro’s life include:
- Spraying LSD in the air of a broadcast studio to attempt to make Fidel Castro lose composure and ruin his career with a bad speech.
- Sabotaging a diving suit with tuberculosis in an attempt to kill Castro slowly using his love for diving.
Although you can applaud the ingenuity, the success rate of the CIA’s plans was not great. Fidel Castro continued to live on to the age of 90, dying in Havana, Cuba from undisclosed reasons. It makes you wonder whether the real secret to a long life is having the CIA interested in assassinating you.
2. “Yank Tanks” are the vintage cars at the heart of post-trade embargo Cuban culture
Cubans still drive an estimated 60,000 vintage American cars, often referred to as “Yank Tanks”. One can only assume the name derives from Yankees and that American cars are quite large, like tanks. After the 1959 revolution, the U.S. embargo prevented any car manufacturer from importing cars and parts to Cuba. The communist government of Cuba only allowed the sale of cars made before the revolution.
The ban on purchasing new cars lasted until the early 2010s. The only cars available were the 160,000 American cars that already existed. The vintage cars remain a time capsule to the 1950s but also symbolize the history of severe restrictions on personal freedom.