Relationship dossier
Cuba
Panama
Relationship assessment
Relations have combined a major diplomatic rupture with later restoration and practical medical cooperation.
Cuba toward Panama
+15Cuba restored diplomatic relations with Panama in 2005 after the 2004 rupture. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba sent medical personnel to assist Panama, a concrete instance of bilateral cooperation.
Panama toward Cuba
+15Panama restored diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2005. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Panama accepted Cuban medical personnel, enabling a concrete form of bilateral cooperation.
Overall relationship
+10The relationship includes a serious diplomatic rupture over Panama's 2004 pardon of four Cuban exiles, followed by restoration of relations in 2005 and practical cooperation through Cuban medical assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The known record supports a mixed relationship with some concrete cooperation, rather than a close or consistently adversarial partnership.
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
Cuba and Panama have experienced both diplomatic confrontation and practical cooperation. Relations were severed in 2004 after Panama pardoned four Cuban exiles convicted in a plot against Fidel Castro, then restored in 2005. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Panama accepted Cuban medical personnel, providing a concrete example of bilateral cooperation.
Areas of tension
- The 2004 diplomatic rupture followed Panama's pardon of four Cuban exiles convicted in a plot against Fidel Castro.
Key developments
Cuba severed diplomatic relations with Panama after Panama pardoned four Cuban exiles convicted in a plot against Fidel Castro.
Cuba and Panama restored diplomatic relations.
Cuban medical personnel assisted Panama during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and duration of pandemic-era medical cooperation are unclear.
- The extent of bilateral cooperation beyond diplomatic restoration and medical assistance is unclear.