Cuando salí de Cuba

Aparentemente, con los petrodólares de Chávez, Castro ya no necesita del turismo en la isla:

The situation has deteriorated and continues to do so. People are more angry, depressed and desperate than ever. During the ''Special Period,'' when the Soviet Union left Castro high and dry, people had money but there was nothing to buy with it. Nada. Not even food. One day, or so it seemed, all the cats in Havana disappeared. Now, it's the inverse: There are lots of things, but no money with which to buy them. If you think about this for a minute, it is easy to see how this is even worse. The people are tormented on a daily basis -- seeing things, food and clothing that they cannot buy.

Why is it worse? It's the decline in tourism and tourist dollars, much of which went directly into the hands of the Cuban people. With newfound oil reserves, Hugo Chávez and China, the government of Cuba no longer needs tourism, which it always accepted reluctantly anyway. Now tourism is actively discouraged. I mentioned the 20 percent fee on money. In addition, police are cracking down heavily on Cubans associating with foreigners. Cuban women being seen with tourists, no questions asked, are being put away for two to six years.