Nine months later both countries reached an agreement to provide Cuba with a research reactor for experimental and teaching purposes, as well as assistance in assembling and operating the equipment.

[4] In 1976 Cuba and the Soviet Union signed an agreement to construct two 440-megawatt nuclear power reactors (VVER-440 V318) in the south central province of Cienfuegos, near the village of Juraguá.

The V318 model was the newest 440 MWe Soviet-model and it was based on V213, an improvement in safety standards over the older V230 reactors, which lacked an Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS).

The Cuban model (V318) was also designed to have full containment with a steel-lined concrete dome structure to inhibit the release of radioactive particles in the event of a severe accident.

[8] However, the collapse of the Soviet Union disrupted construction at Juragua, as a market economy established new economic ties and Russia began providing technical assistance to Cuba on a commercial basis.

[10] At the behest of the Russian Federation, Cuba negotiated with European firms such as Siemens, Cegelec and Skoda to provide Instrumentation and Control equipment to upgrade the safety standards of the plant.

[10] On September 5, 1992, Cuban President Fidel Castro announced a suspension of construction at Juragua due to Cuba's inability to meet the financial terms set by Russia to complete the reactors.

[13] United States opposition to the project had existed since the 1980s, but upon Soviet Union's withdrawal, concerns over Cuba's ability to safely operate the plant surfaced.

[7] In 1995 the Russian Ministry of Atomic Energy announced that it intended to resume the construction of Cuba's reactors in 1998 with financing provided by an international consortium involving Siemens, Ansaldo and Électricité de France.

However, the aforementioned companies dismissed the claims and it was reported that the announcement could have been part of a political stance against United States threat to cut aid to Russia.