[Cincinatus' Wife]

Castro's $250 Million "Charm offensive" hasn't worked: It's same old cruel regime *** In a desperate financial gamble, Castro recently raided the $250 million set aside to pay hard currency debt to European, Latin American, and Asian countries for essential imports. Instead, he used it to buy US farm products for cash. He was apparently calculating that he could persuade the US Congress to enact legislation freeing up additional exports to Cuba, and approving a flood of tourists to Cuba. The ploy hasn't worked. Nor, given the crackdown on dissenters, does the outlook look good for improving US-Cuban ties. President Bush is threatening new punitive measures.***

[T. Buzzard Trueblood]

Castro has veered between measures at times designed to persuade critics that liberalization is in train in Cuba, followed by periods of repression to curtail any movement toward reform that might actually jeopardize the stability of his cruel regime.

There will never be a "liberalization" in Cuba until there is first a Regime Change.