Military Units to Aid Production

Military Units to Aid Production or UMAP?s were established by the Cuban government in 1965 as a way to eliminate "bourgeois" and "counter-revolutionary" values in certain segments of the Cuban population.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Homosexuality and religious conviction was seen by Fidel Castro as a corrupt byproduct of capitalism and the moral decay it causes and counter-revolutionary. Between 1965 and 1968, homosexual men and others who were considered to be "counter-revolutionary" were incarcerated in UMAP (Military Units to Aid Production) forced labor camps in an attempts to turn them into "real" men. Castro claimed that this policy was necessary for those "people who have committed crimes against revolutionary morals."

Related Topics:
Homosexuality - Fidel Castro - 1965 - 1968

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Supplied with information from local CDR?s (Committees for the Defense of the Revolution), Cuban police arrested tens of thousands of men that Castro had labeled "the scum of society". The official reason the men were detained was to check the validity of personal ID cards. The names and locations homosexuals, Catholics, Jehovah Witnesses and members of other Protestant religions were recorded. Between 1965 and 1968, these individuals were then incarcerated in UMAP forced labor camps. The Cuban government, and Castro in particular, believed that hard work would rid these individuals of their bourgeois, individualistic, and counter-revolutionary tendencies.

Related Topics:
Catholics - Jehovah Witnesses - Protestant - 1965 - 1968 - Bourgeois

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The camps were closed down in 1968 following protests to the government by the Cuban Writers and Artists Federation although these individuals were banned from most areas of employment in Cuba.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~