In January 2025, incoming President Donald Trump reversed a Biden-era policy and placed Cuba on a list of countries that sponsor terrorism.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel calls Trump’s move “arrogant” and a setback for the Cuban people. However, Díaz-Canel said Cuba would endure and ultimately thrive despite the renewed U.S. pressure.
For several decades, Cuba has faced economic hardship due to its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, which restricts foreign aid and military assistance to the country. In addition to Cuba, countries like Iran, Syria, and North Korea remain on the lis,t while Sudan and Iraq were removed.
The U.S. government places countries on the terrorism list based on their support for international terrorism, imposing heavy restrictions on foreign assistance, arms sales, and international trade.
Cuba and Guantanamo Bay
Since the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the up-and-down relationship between Cuba and the United States has been mostly down.
Communism has failed almost everywhere in the world. The fact that it still works in Cuba, which is in America’s backyard, irks many people in power. On the other side of the Gulf of Mexico, people in power peer at the United States and see the same imperialist bully that invaded its neighbors when it sensed that American assets may be at risk.
When the Castros ceded power to President Miguel Díaz-Canel, it looked like Cuba may be on the road to becoming a plural democracy. But things changed when Díaz-Canel brutally suppressed demonstrations in 2021, and, in the eyes of many, he proved to be just another Communist dictator.
Amidst all these recent ups and downs, Guantanamo Bay has remained precariously perched inside Cuba, much like West Berlin was a tiny island of democracy in a sea of Communism.
Shortly after 9/11, then-President George W. Bush created a prison inside the naval base. His legal advisors told him that prisoners could be held there indefinitely, as federal courts had no habeas corpus jurisdiction over foreign nationals in Cuba.
Facilities were expanded to include at least a half-dozen prison camps. At one point, almost 700 prisoners were held there. As the War on Terror died down and legal and political issues mounted, the number of inmates dropped. As of January 2025, only fifteen remain.
Contractors at Gitmo
Much of the aforementioned legal and political drama concerned poor physical conditions at Guantanamo Bay. Furthermore, also as mentioned, unrest between the United States and Cuba is an ongoing problem. Private military contractors usually fill such needs, especially in a place like Guantanamo Bay, which isn’t exactly a prized landing spot for regular servicemembers.
The DoD almost always privatizes non-emergency construction duties. Generally, contractors are onsite managers who keep projects moving forward on time and under budget. These goals are challenging at Guantanamo Bay, mostly because workers are in such short supply. The usual model calls for local residents to do most of the hammering and nailing. But many locals don’t want to work with American imperialists. So, construction contractors must think outside the box.
Sometimes, contractors offer input into construction design plans. For example, if the DoD wants to expand the harbor facilities at Gitmo, contractors weigh in on the size and other construction specifics since, in many cases, contractors will work on the ships that land there.
Security, another important contractor function at Guantanamo Bay, is tailor-made for private military contractors, many of whom are former law enforcement officers. These contractors compassionately and forcibly guard prisoners. That combination is almost impossible to find among regular servicemembers. Furthermore, contractors provide perimeter security. They verify IDs at entrances and prevent any unrest on the island from spilling over into Gitmo.
Frequently, these duties overlap. Construction sites are a tempting target for thieves looking for copper wire and other valuables. A construction project at Galveston Bay requires little security other than perhaps a fence and a few cameras. But a construction project on Guantanamo Bay must be much more closely guarded.
Contractor Injuries
Construction contractors often risk occupational diseases, such as repetitive stress disorder. Sudden trauma injuries are a much greater threat. These injuries include:
- Electrocutions: On busy construction sites, it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between a live electric wire and a dead one. A simple touch exposes a victim to a power surge that is hotter than the sun’s temperature. Furthermore, because such electrical surges usually trigger involuntary muscle contractions (the no-let-go response), this exposure is dangerously prolonged.
- Struck By: This category of construction injuries usually includes falling object injuries and pedestrian injuries. If a small object, like a hammer, is dropped from a height, the impact seriously injures anyone unfortunate enough to be in the object’s path. Pedestrian injuries are common at construction sites as well. Many construction vehicles are very large, like cement mixers, or very hard to handle, like forklifts.
Speed is usually the top priority at construction sites. Unfortunately, speed isn’t always consistent with safety.
Motor vehicle crashes may be the most common injury among security contractors. Driver error often substantially causes these wrecks. The two major kinds of driver error are:
- Operator Impairment: Alcohol impairment, the most dangerous kind of operator impairment, begins with the first drink. Alcohol slows reaction times and clouds judgment. Fatigue has basically the same effects. Operator fatigue is especially common early in the morning or late at night when most people are naturally drowsy.
- Aggressive Driving: Cuba’s roads are not the best. Therefore, a slight amount of aggressive driving, like a little extra speed, often has devastating consequences. Other kinds of aggressive driving include turning unsafely and ignoring a traffic control device.
Even if driver or worker error causes injury, a Defense Base Act lawyer can still obtain full benefits, as outlined below. These benefits usually include lost wage replacement and medical bill payment.
Injury Compensation Available
The claims process usually begins with a settlement conference. That name is misleading because very few claims settle at this point. Usually, settlement officers only have access to medical records.
Medical records are deceiving because any injury can be disabling in the right context. For a private military contractor, a strained tendon in a trigger finger is disabling because it prevents the victim from working. Medical records are also incomplete. They don’t help determine the victim’s AWW (average weekly wage), which is the basis for the lost wage replacement benefit.
The environment is much different at an Administrative Law Judge appeal hearing. At this trial-like hearing, a Defense Base Act lawyer introduces evidence, challenges evidence, and makes legal arguments.
For more information about Defense Base Act benefits, contact Barnett, Lerner, Karsen, Frankel & Castro, P.A.