Cuban Propaganda – I don’t think so.

The Average Cuban person has few worries but also few opportunities to change their station in life. Socialism is tough but Cubans get free housing, free healthcare, and free education. Their biggest expense is food which is subsidized. Cuba has apparently some great doctors and medical personnel. Doctors however might also be your waiter or bartender because tourism provides a way for them to supplement their medical profession wages.

The only entrepreneurs even in 2015 are restauranteurs and taxi drivers. The only people who have discretionary dollars to spend are tourists from Western populations.

It was very interesting to hear about the Cuba vs. Miami Beach story from a Cuban resident. He has no axe to grind by the way. The following account reminds me of terrorism in 2015.

In September 1998, five Cuban men were arrested in Miami by FBI agents. The US government never accused them of actual espionage, nor did it affirm that real acts of espionage had been carried out. The actual mission of the Cuban five in the US , as many believe , was monitoring the activities of the groups and organizations responsible for terrorist activities against Cuba. After the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959, Cuba had been the victim of more terrorist attacks than any other country in the world, killing 3,478 and injuring 2,099. The vast majority of those attacks allegedly originated in southern Florida, by groups tolerated and partly financed by the US government.

It was fascinating to see that horses were a popular mode of transportation especially as you moved farther away from Havana. A different era – that’s all.

How lucky for these travelers – they do not have to answer their cell phones.