Human rights overview Multi-party democracies remain stable throughout most of Latin America and the Caribbean, with the notable exception of Cuba, where the government of Fidel Castro celebrated its fortieth anniversary in power with no sign of a significant political opening on the horizon. But while elected government may be a precondition for human rights to be respected, the region's dismal record shows that it is by no means sufficient. Indeed, serious human rights violations plague the region, effecting countries as diverse as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. In far too many places, massacres, extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture, police brutality, and inhumane prison conditions endure. Forty years after the revolution, Cuban president Fidel Castro maintains control through intimidation, repressive laws, and by imprisoning dissidents.
Cuban laws deny basic rights, including the freedoms of expression, association, and movement.
Cuba's government-controlled courts, in which defendants suffer severe restrictions on the rights to a fair trial and defense, offer no safeguard against such abuses. Prison conditions in Cuba remain harsh. After forty years, the embargo has failed to bring about improvements in human rights in Cuba. Under current law, the embargo cannot be lifted, in whole or in part, until a transition government that includes neither of the Castro brothers is in place. By dividing the international community and enabling Castro to justify repression on anti-imperialist grounds, the embargo has become counterproductive to the promotion of human rights.