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It emphasizes Cuba's geographical proximity to the Western World.

Just 0 kilometers from West Germany, there used to be a country with "strict exit visas", too. You can't get closer than that.

Used to be.

I would think a quarter century qualifies as "long ago" in the timescale of a single human life.

The name of the country is not nearly as important as its proximity to the US.

It is very effective writing.

I think they're intimately related in this context and disagree that it's proximity is important beyond it's identification, which, as stated above, is obvious.

For dramatic effect, which is good, since language is a construct for human expression.