“What exactly does Cuba export? Cigars? Sugar cane? Misery?”
They were exporting doctors and military to Venezuela, but I don’t know what now that Maduro has pretty much drained the country of anything valuable.
Well, years ago they exported at least one doctor to Bolivia. But I think they got him back.
They were exporting doctors and military to Venezuela, but I don’t know what now that Maduro has pretty much drained the country of anything valuable.
Cuba's main export is doctors
It brings in about $11 Billion/year, whereas their export of commodities, i.e. sugar, nickle, tobacco, liquor, etc. brings in only about $1.2 Billion/year. Link
The Cuban doctors are tired of being treated like slaves Link and are often leaving medicine to become cab drivers which is 100 X more lucrative in Havana. Tourism may now be in decline, however with the Trump administration. I visited Cuba and unfortunately arrived the day Castro died which caused a week of mourning and no music and very limited alcohol sales which was a real bummer.