The majority of the suffering in Cuba is due to being cut off from the world's largest economy. The population is largely happy, but have had to survive on little due to the compounded effects of many decades of US embargo. The people are well-educated, have a rich culture, good medical system, but live in an economy that has been strangled by an outdated US policy that causes immense suffering. The Castro's obviously have problems, but the effects of the embargo are as much, if not more significant.