Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, 150 km south of Key West, Florida Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of the Dominican Republic Central America and the Caribbean Central America and the Caribbean slightly smaller than Pennsylvania slightly less than three times the size of Rhode Island tropical; moderated by trade winds; dry season (November to April); rainy season (May to October) tropical marine, mild; little seasonal temperature variation mostly flat to rolling plains, with rugged hills and mountains in the southeast mostly mountains with coastal plain in north; precipitous mountains to the sea on west coast; sandy beaches along most coastal areas cobalt, nickel, iron ore, chromium, copper, salt, timber, silica, petroleum, arable land some copper and nickel; potential for onshore and offshore oil the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common periodic droughts; hurricanes soil degradation and desertification (brought on by poor farming techniques and natural disasters) are the main environmental problems; biodiversity loss; deforestation; air and water pollution soil erosion; occasional droughts cause water shortages; industrial pollution largest country in Caribbean and westernmost island of the Greater Antilles important location along the Mona Passage - a key shipping lane to the Panama Canal; San Juan is one of the biggest and best natural harbors in the Caribbean; many small rivers and high central mountains ensure land is well watered; south coast relatively dry; fertile coastal plain belt in north large population clusters found throughout the country, the more significant ones being in the larger towns and cities, particularly the capital of Havana population clusters tend to be found along the coast, the largest of these is found in and around San Juan; an exception to this is a sizeable population located in the interior of the island immediately south of the capital around Caguas; most of the interior, particularly in the western half of the island, is dominated by the Cordillera Central mountains, where population density is low white 64.1%, mulatto or mixed 26.6%, black 9.3% white 75.8%, black/African American 12.4%, other 8.5% (includes American Indian, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, other Pacific Islander, and others), mixed 3.3% Christian 59.2%, folk 17.4%, other .4%, none 23% Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant and other 15% 2.138 million HAVANA (capital) 2.451 million SAN JUAN (capital) republican form of government with separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches; unincorporated organized territory of the US with local self-government Note: reference Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act, 2 March 1917, as amended by Public Law 600, 3 July 1950 15 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 special municipality* (municipio especial); Artemisa, Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Cienfuegos, Granma, Guantanamo, Holguin, Isla de la Juventud*, La Habana, Las Tunas, Matanzas, Mayabeque, Pinar del Rio, Sancti Spiritus, Santiago de Cuba, Villa Clara none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 78 municipalities (municipios, singular - municipio) at the second order; Adjuntas, Aguada, Aguadilla, Aguas Buenas, Aibonito, Anasco, Arecibo, Arroyo, Barceloneta, Barranquitas, Bayamon, Cabo Rojo, Caguas, Camuy, Canovanas, Carolina, Catano, Cayey, Ceiba, Ciales, Cidra, Coamo, Comerio, Corozal, Culebra, Dorado, Fajardo, Florida, Guanica, Guayama, Guayanilla, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Hatillo, Hormigueros, Humacao, Isabela, Jayuya, Juana Diaz, Juncos, Lajas, Lares, Las Marias, Las Piedras, Loiza, Luquillo, Manati, Maricao, Maunabo, Mayaguez, Moca, Morovis, Naguabo, Naranjito, Orocovis, Patillas, Penuelas, Ponce, Quebradillas, Rincon, Rio Grande, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San German, San Juan, San Lorenzo, San Sebastian, Santa Isabel, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Utuado, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Vieques, Villalba, Yabucoa, Yauco 20 May 1902 (from Spain 10 December 1898; administered by the US from 1898 to 1902); not acknowledged by the Cuban Government as a day of independence none (territory of the US with commonwealth status) Triumph of the Revolution (Liberation Day), 1 January (1959) US Independence Day, 4 July (1776); Puerto Rico Constitution Day, 25 July (1952) civil law system based on Spanish civil code civil law system based on the Spanish civil code and within the framework of the US federal system 16 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal; note - island residents are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections Cuban Communist Party or PCC [Raul CASTRO Ruz] National Democratic Party [Charlie RODRIGUEZ] ACP, ALBA, AOSIS, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IAEA, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS (excluded from formal participation since 1962), OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, Petrocaribe, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO AOSIS (observer), Caricom (observer), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, UNWTO (associate), UPU, WFTU (NGOs) Ambassador Jose Ramon CABANAS Rodriguez (since 17 September 2015) none (territory of the US with commonwealth status) five equal horizontal bands of blue (top, center, and bottom) alternating with white; a red equilateral triangle based on the hoist side bears a white, five-pointed star in the center; the blue bands refer to the three old divisions of the island: central, occidental, and oriental; the white bands describe the purity of the independence ideal; the triangle symbolizes liberty, equality, and fraternity, while the red color stands for the blood shed in the independence struggle; the white star, called La Estrella Solitaria (the Lone Star) lights the way to freedom and was taken from the flag of Texas five equal horizontal bands of red (top, center, and bottom) alternating with white; a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side bears a large, white, five-pointed star in the center; the white star symbolizes Puerto Rico; the three sides of the triangle signify the executive, legislative and judicial parts of the government; blue stands for the sky and the coastal waters; red symbolizes the blood shed by warriors, while white represents liberty, victory, and peace royal palm; national colors: red, white, blue Puerto Rican spindalis (bird), coqui (frog); national colors: red, white, blue petroleum, nickel, cobalt, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, construction, steel, cement, agricultural machinery, sugar pharmaceuticals, electronics, apparel, food products, tourism sugar, tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, potatoes, beans; livestock sugarcane, coffee, pineapples, plantains, bananas; livestock products, chickens petroleum, nickel, medical products, sugar, tobacco, fish, citrus, coffee chemicals, electronics, apparel, canned tuna, rum, beverage concentrates, medical equipment petroleum, food, machinery and equipment, chemicals chemicals, machinery and equipment, clothing, food, fish, petroleum products Cuban pesos (CUP) per US dollar - more than 30 TV stations operating; cable TV subscription services are available; roughly 125 radio stations Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, FAR): Revolutionary Army (Ejercito Revolucionario, ER, includes and Production and Defense Brigades), Revolutionary Navy (Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria, MGR, includes Marine Corps), Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Forces (Defensas Anti-Aereas y Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria, DAAFAR); Paramilitary forces: Youth Labor Army (Ejercito Juvenil del Trabajo, EJT), Territorial Militia Troops (Milicia de Tropas de Territoriales, MTT), Civil Defense Force.
Since late 2000, Venezuela provided petroleum products to Cuba on preferential terms, supplying at times nearly 100,000 barrels per day. As a result of the destruction, many Puerto Ricans have emigrated to the US mainland.Government owns and controls all broadcast media: five national TV channels (Cubavision, Tele Rebelde, Multivision, Educational Channel 1 and 2,) 2 international channels (Cubavision Internacional and Caribe,) 16 regional TV stations, 6 national radio networks and multiple regional stations; the Cuban government beams over the Radio-TV Marti signal; although private ownership of electronic media is prohibited, several online independent news sites exist; those that are not openly critical of the government are often tolerated; the others are blocked by the government; there are no independent TV channels, but several outlets have created strong audiovisual content (El Toque, for example); a community of young Youtubers is also growing, mostly with channels about sports, technology and fashion; Christian denominations are creating original video content to distribute via social mediaUS Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased to US and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the facility can terminate the leaseincreasing numbers of illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage to Puerto Rico each year looking for work Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, the island was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 following Christopher COLUMBUS' second voyage to the Americas. Hurricane Maria struck the island on 20 September 2017 causing catastrophic damage, including destruction of the electrical grid that had been cripled by Hurricane Irma just two weeks before. In Puerto Rico, that number is 501 km.
It was the worst storm to hit the island in eight decades, and damage is estimated in the tens of billions of dollars. More than 500,000 Cuban workers are currently registered as self-employed.The Cuban regime has updated its economic model to include permitting the private ownership and sale of real estate and new vehicles, allowing private farmers to sell agricultural goods directly to hotels, allowing the creation of non-agricultural cooperatives, adopting a new foreign investment law, and launching a "Special Development Zone" around the Mariel port.Since 2016, Cuba has attributed slowed economic growth in part to problems with petroleum product deliveries from Venezuela. While it is not known for sure who designed the later flag, the two flag designs reflect the close ties between pro-independence activists from both countries who continued their work from the relative safety of New York City.Copyright 2020 American Social History Productions, Inc. The air travel (bird fly) shortest distance between Cuba and Puerto Rico is 1,227 km= 762 miles. Distance from Cuba to Puerto Rico is 1,227 kilometers. Tourism has traditionally been an important source of income with estimated arrivals of more than 3.6 million tourists in 2008.