Rum, Cigars and a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

Ah Qooba. How far are you from having your exile ended? Not too far if Barry keeps going the way he is.

Speaking at the Organization of American States (OAS), Obama said he was willing to hit the bar with Raul Castro and discuss human rights, free speech, drugs, migration and economic issues in between downing Jaeger bombs. Castro was pretty happy to reciprocate saying, "Your place or mine?". Its been so refreshingly astounding for Latin American leaders that even the one who froths most at the mouth amongst them, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, seemed to forget the smell of sulphur that emanates from any American and thought it was JC himself back to absolve man's sins. What else could lead to such a facial expression?



Much of the American antipathy towards Cuba is because Cuba was once the prodigal foster son of the US. It produced rum-a-plenty, the finest cigars in the whole world and had the best casinos when Las Vegas still consisted of one horse-watering hole. It was the perfect vacation spot whether you were in Florida or off in bitterly cold New York. It was so coveted as an island state that blood and guts Teddy Roosevelt ran up a hill with a volunteer brigades scaring the hell out of the Spanish. The rise of Castro was not so bad until he nationalized the state and allied himself with the Soviets, an unacceptable slap in the face for the US. If ever a country had been betrayed by one it fought for, nurtured and exploited in equal parts here it was.

And now with Barry at the helm, it may all just be consigned to the rubbish bin that is history. Decades of embargoes have left Cuba more impoverished than it was in 1959 but it has led to no political upheaval. Increased remittances, visits of Cuban-Americans back home will lead not just to further development of Cuba but may also plant the seeds of upheaval should the government not further liberalize. The obvious model to follow is that of the Chinese with a strong grasp maintained over the press and political freedoms while slackening the hold on free enterprise. It may buy the Castros some more time in power but at least the American policy of hurting the people for their leaders' actions will be repealed. Of course, this is only possible once some initial agreements are made or the 50 year old embargo will stand.

Hopefully this is some intricate ploy of Barry's to reform the Monroe Doctrine. He started making his promises early on ready to hurt the sentiments of political advisers who thought rapprochement with Cuba was ringing your death knell in the most sacred of states, Florida (try looking past the rather quick fulfillment of a campaign promise). Black caucus members of Congress made a visit just a few weeks ago praising the hospitality of Cubans everywhere who have ever existed. This contrived love fest has driven away GOP hardliners but big deal they were already sharp-shooting. The key benefit is the look of lust on Chavez's face. A few more such events and the Western Hemisphere will sit in America's back pocket again and Monroe's name will be replaced by Barry's.