As with Alice, down is up, and up is down. One pill makes you fatter. It is the only pill. Trump trumpets on the dismal human rights record of the Castro Brothers. But we all know that if his extensive Saudi business interests were mirrored in Havana, he would be embracing any Cuban orb in sight.
The policy objective is to starve the government, and help the people. The policy does the opposite. The embargo has actually starved the people leading to thousands of deaths, before Venezuela stepped in to provide aid. Clearly any policy that gave Venezuela a foot hold 90 miles from our shore was questionable. The new policy will renew the Russian presence.
Under the Trump proposal, group tours will continue, but independent travel will be blocked. Tours book government hotels, fly on government owned airlines, and are organized by government owned agencies. Prices are absurd, one thousand dollars, and up, per couple per day.
Independent travelers spend more of their dollars directly with Cubans. With hotels overpriced, and pre-booked by tour groups, independent travelers stay in cases particulares, the Cuban equivalent of B&Bs. Such travelers are also more apt to eat at family owned restaurants.
His billionaire friends like Cuban cigars and rum. Both industries are completely owned by the government. Rich friends matter. Those traveling to Cuba may bring back unrestricted amounts of each, subject only to duty limits.
Only partly visible, Putin has a cheshire cat grin. Russia plans to open a military base in Cuba. With dollars going down the rabbit hole, Castro will need rubles.
Larry Stein, author of '4 Americans in Cuba: A Traveler on a Rope Guidebook'
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