Plus if the embargo is lifted, the fine people of Cuba won't be denied Mo's excellent cannollies :-)
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:-)
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Are we talking in the food sense or... ummm nevermind :-)
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:-)

Ed just wants a Cuban Grand Prix
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GREAT read.
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I have a friend who's in the collectible arms business, and has traveled several times to the former Soviet Union on arms-buying expeditions. He has consistently said that Cuban cigars bought over there were among the worst he's ever had.

Reading about Castro's treatment of his Soviet overlords was actually pretty amusing...frequently he was threatening to either expose the latest Soviet military technology, which Castro was offering as assistance to other nations when he wasn't supposed to, or supplying military aid that could ultimately be traced back to the USSR when Moscow didn't want to be caught up in trouble. You could almost imagine the Soviet ministers in the Kremlin and KGB HQ pounding their desks in fury.
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I am talking about 1960-80s, before USSR fell apart. Back then CCs were cheap and plentiful, actually the only cigars you could buy and "fake" was unheard of since prices for CCs were so cheap it didn't make sense to make fakes. My first memory of CCs was back in 1971, a box of R&J and I can still recall the smell of those cigars (was too young to smoke in '71).

Do a search and read my posts on Cuban cigars in today's Russia, ~99% fake, main reason they are "worst your friend ever had" since they are not even "Cuban" and are produced by some fly-by-night outfits operating in Southern Russia where they grow tobacco. Once USSR fell apart Russia has no reason to deal with Cuba for the most part and although still gives Cuba some money the trade is just a very small fraction of what it used to be. Whatever trickles in from Cuba (trade wise) stays mostly with the "in" crowd, politicians and such, never hitting the retail shelves. Night clubs sell pretty bad fakes that can be easily detected by cursory view from 15 feet away, although sales are esthetically pleasing since they are done via semi-nude young models. Prices are stupid, though, and would be even for real CCs.
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This is what I meant by "starve the beast". Once a dictator runs out of money he will succumb to reforms, as proven by Eastern Europe/USSR and China already. Without USSR era subsidies Cuba starves.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...i125201D83.DTL

Now, make sure that whoever invests money there (save for the locals) cannot do business with us (USA) and see how quickly Raul starts adopting more changes when the monies he is expecting do not come in.
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