translate English to French: Elites of the big neighbour are often led by their own previous violence to suspect that a small neighbour may 'betray' them, allowing its territory to be used by a rival great power (the 'Cuba-crisis syndrome').
Conscientes de la violence passée, les élites du grand voisin soupçonnent souvent l'ancien vassal de vouloir le "trahir" en permettant à une grande puissance rivale d'utiliser son territoire ("syndrome de Cuba").