Q&A with a Cuban expert on the island nation’s anti-gun laws

By Lee Williams

Havana, Cuba. (Photo from licensed Shutterstock account).by Lee WilliamsDuels were once commonplace in Cuba. Political opponents fought each other with pistols or swords up until the 1940s. University students and others who were politically active carried handguns for self-defense. Back then, there was a different tradition about firearms, one expert says.“But from when Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, one of the first things he said in Havana was the rhetorical question: Guns for what? Who do we need guns to protect ourselves against? Guns were the first thing the regime took away. They started eliminating gun ownership throughout the country. The only people who could have guns were the government,” said Daniel I. Pedreira, PhD.Pedreira is a true Cuban expert who is currently teaching at the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs, part of the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus in Miami, Florida.A bilingual Miami native, Pedreira has a PhD and a master’s degree in political science, and a graduate certificate in Latin American and Caribbean studies from Florida International University. He also holds a master’s degree in peace operations from George Mason University and a

Source: The Gun Writer