Relationship dossier
Chile
Cuba
Relationship assessment
Restored diplomatic ties and cooperation coexist with political and human-rights differences.
Chile toward Cuba
+15Chile restored diplomatic relations with Cuba after the return to democracy and has repeatedly voted at the United Nations against the United States’ embargo of Cuba. Chilean leaders have also criticized Cuba’s political system and human-rights record.
Cuba toward Chile
-5Cuba maintained relations with Chile’s democratic governments after diplomatic ties were restored. During Chile’s dictatorship, Cuba supported armed opposition to the Chilean government, a hostile feature of the relationship’s history.
Overall relationship
+5The enduring relationship combines restored diplomatic engagement and Chilean opposition to the U.S. embargo with continuing political differences. Cuba’s support for armed opposition during Chile’s dictatorship is a major historical source of hostility, but the post-dictatorship relationship has been conducted through restored state ties.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Chile and Cuba restored diplomatic relations after Chile’s return to democracy and have maintained government-to-government ties. Chile has repeatedly opposed the United States’ Cuba embargo at the United Nations, while Chilean leaders have also criticized Cuba’s political system and human-rights record. The relationship has a sharply different history under Chile’s dictatorship, when Cuba supported armed opposition to the Chilean government.
Areas of tension
- Differences over Cuba’s political system and human-rights record.
- Cuba’s support for armed opposition to Chile’s dictatorship.
Key developments
Chile and Cuba restored diplomatic relations after Chile’s return to democracy.
Cuba supported armed opposition to the Chilean government during the dictatorship.
Chile has repeatedly opposed the United States’ Cuba embargo in votes at the United Nations.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of current bilateral agreements are unclear.
- The extent of recent government-to-government cooperation beyond diplomatic engagement is unclear.