The Cuban Mafia

In the twenty-first century, modern media tends to solely highlight Cuba as the former Communist State and Soviet ally that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. However, Cuba was not always the Soviet Union’s golden child, nor was it always an enemy to the United States of America. In the early years of Cuban independence, Cuba was actually America’s golden child who was economically exploited by the United States government. In between these two periods however, there was a third in which an organization, rather than a country, ran Cuba from behind the scenes. The Mafia began to slowly take over Cuba starting in 1933, peaking in 1955 with the full legalization of gambling, and steadily controlling the Country until the reign of

Nightclubs were also rampantly built by many Mafia associates, as well as a variety brothels led by the Trafficante Crime Family (Cuba, Ted A. Henken, Chapter 4: Page 140). Head Mafia figures and families were now in complete control of tourism in Cuba as well, pampering it to be dubbed “Las Vegas of the Caribbean.” Money and business seemed as if it would no longer be an issue for anyone in the organized crime industry every again By this point in time, Batista was receiving monthly payments of $1.28 million dollars to the Presidential Palace, which would later be transferred to a Swiss bank account set up for him by none other than Meyer Lansky ( How the Mob Owned Cuba-- and Then Lost It to the Revolution, T.J. English, Pages 210-211). The Mafia was at the height of their power, literally having the President of the Cuba on their payroll. In essence, they officially operated their own country, controlled their economic and political stability, and the United States Government could not do anything about it. However, there was one thing the Mafia could not do, and that was literally take over everything for themselves. They could alter minimal laws that expanded their business, but take anything away from the United States and it would surely mean trouble. With active investments in telecommunications, sugar, cattle, minerals, and more,

Although the Mafia’s influence in music has seemed to have lasted all these years, the Mafia’s reign and control of Cuba did not. On January 1st, 1959 Fidel Castro officially succeeded in ousting the corrupt Batista, taking between an estimated $100 to $300 million in corrupt money with him (The World and Cuba: U.S. Culture in Cuba, Richard Mcgrath Skinner, Page 2135). It was not long before the Mafia would be ousted as well due to Fidel’s widely known Communistic thinking and hatred for corruption, so they Mafia members in Cuba decided to cut their losses and either return to the shores of America or settle down in Italy. The United States at this point had given up all hope for a Capitalist Cuba and proceeded to cease the shipment of arms and other supplies to a Batista run government months before Fidel’s takeover in an effort to appease him. However, unfortunately for America and her interests, Fidel’s passion for Communism and equality was too great and he began to seize assets of high American invested and decided to publicize them in April of 1960 near the end of Eisenhower 's tenure as President (Relations with Latin America and the Caribbean, 1945–1970, Max Paul Friedman, Page 331). It was not long before the American Government, like the Mafia was eventually ousted from Cuba. Fidel’s economic aid was replaced why the Soviet support, and the Mafia’s behind the scene power vacuum was also filled by Mother Russia. Suffering massive losses and the threat of a World War