[Cincinatus' Wife]

Gulf widens between Cuba's haves and have-nots ***My travel companion's mugging in a desolate Havana neighborhood summed up Cuba's plight. A boy, perhaps 13, had tried to snatch her money belt. He failed, but she was badly bruised and scraped. At a hospital, she received immediate attention. The visit was free, of course. But it took stops at two pharmacies to fill prescriptions for an antibiotic and ibuprofen. Even with its own biotechnology industry, Cuba still suffers from shortfalls of basic drugs.

The next day, as we waited for a cab, a man idling on a corner befriended us and asked my friend about her injuries. His concern seemed genuine. But when we got into a cab, he hopped in, too. He insisted on staying with us to make sure there would be no more trouble. It wouldn't cost much, he said. When we declined his offer, he shrugged and exited the cab. It was worth a try. Such constant asking must take a toll on the collective soul of Cubans. As neighbors of the United States, they are also reminded ad nauseam of Americans' voracious consumption of the luxuries they are denied by the embargo.***

[Cincinatus' Wife]

If Bush seeks a wise path on Cuba .….. Pressure EU and OAS*** The hard-liners in the exile community want the Bush administration to end direct flights and put a stop to $1 billion a year that Cuban-Americans send to their relatives on the island. The moderates want to leave the family contacts alone and offer more help to what's left of the dissident movement and expansion of Radio and TV Marti, whose signals constantly get jammed by the Cuban government. The liberals and farm-state conservatives in Congress are actually talking about ending the travel ban on Cuba as if the communist government should be rewarded with tourists after this latest crackdown on dissent.

As early as today, President George W. Bush will spell out what his administration plans to do. The wisest course would leave U.S. policy alone and concentrate diplomatic efforts on nations in Europe and Latin America that now trade with Cuba without regard to its dismal human-rights record.

Tightening the U.S. embargo by making family remittances or direct travel to Cuba illegal would only encourage people to go through third countries to reach family. Most Cuban-Americans want more family contacts, not less.

No, the best U.S. course is to focus on Mexico, Chile, Spain, France, Italy, Canada and all the other countries with businesses on the island. Most of their leaders, including Mexico's President Vicente Fox, already have given the dissidents credibility by meeting with them while visiting the island. European diplomats in Havana, particularly those from Spain, often invite dissidents to partake in their national celebrations. That has put Cuban officials on notice that creating a civil society that values diverse viewpoints is not a U.S.-manufactured plot but a universal goal, spelled out in the United Nations' own declaration of human rights.

If Bush focuses on what's best for the Cuban people, he would mount a diplomatic campaign for the European Union and the Organization of American States to put pressure on Cuba and free the dissidents.

Cuba's crackdown on dissent merits more than world condemnation, more than protests against the communist regime in Spain or France or, as are planned for this weekend, in New York and Washington. The Europeans and Latin Americans wield the big stick of trade if they care to use it. If not now, then when?***