Cuba will have to get $$$ from a third country's government or bank to pay for US goods.
They say, [those who are in the know], that the real reason to keep the embargo on is to stop Cuba from getting millions of $$$US from the IMF/World Bank to rebuild the country. (With Castro still in power).
Cuba can trade with many countries, but not with the US, so the argument that people in Cuba can not get this or that is somehow weak. However, the real issue is lack of $$. Once subsidies from the former USSR were finished... no more $$$.
Also, did you notice the block on US tourism to Cuba as long as Castro is alive
Tourism, sugar cane, and tobacco, are potentially, Cuba's main source of hard currency. Tourism is particularly important given the fact that Cuba is closer to the US, (90 miles), plus the still natural beauty of the place.
In addition, tourism is a "product" through which ideas can be exchanged, that is, people will communicate with each other, hence real change can begin. Castro does not want that. Does the US want that ? (I would assume yes, but then again....)
It makes you wonder, really who wants to keep the embargo in place. These days, Old Fart Castro needs the American Villain alive in order to keep himself in power. Ironically, it is possible that both the radical Cuban-Americans AND Castro want the same thing, --to keep the embargo alive.
In addition, do not forget that one of the original reasons why the embargo was imposed was due to the Cuban government confiscation of American property and interests in Cuba.
"Human Interest" is just a mascarade to the real reasons...
A "time line of events"
cigars.about.com
Are Cuban cigars as good as they used to be?
They, [people who smoke them], say yes.
I received a lecture, (by an Argentinean salesman, so I am a little suspect), about the manufacturing of an original Cuban Cigar. They are hand rolled and they use several leaves to make them. Quality also depends on the part of the leaf that they use. Strength in its flavor is also a variable, but that depends on personal taste.
My personal interest in Cuban cigars is due to the fact that they make a great gift for those who appreciate them. Although I do not smoke, I love their smell, my father used to smoke them and brings lots of good memories.
I almost bought a box ($425.00 US for 25), and received a few "suggestions" as to how to "bring them home". I declined. Which also makes me wonder whether I would be getting the real thing. (Dominican Cigars, from the Dominican Republic --NOT the island of Dominica), are supposed to be of fair quality, but still, not as good as Cuban.
Like wines, the enjoyment of cigars is dependant upon your own taste, (as stated earlier), since there are various degrees of "strength". So, it really depends on what you like (or whomever you are gifting the cigars).
Here are a few tips on how to spot a "Cuban fake" (aside from Dorolato Darktwinky
cubatravel.com.mx
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When visiting Havana, I am constantly badgered by young men on the street promising me "Buen tobacco, cheap, cheap." Many times out of curiosity and hoping to score a deal for myself I have followed these fellows to the typical sweltering small room in a run-down tenement. He would leave for a moment and return with two or three other men and several boxes of difficult to find large size cigars. I would take a quick look and decline by saying the cigars were "falsos"(fake) and not worth five dollars. The young man and several vocal supporters would swear most sincerely that the cigars were indeed very real, but stolen from the cigar factory by their dear Aunt Carmen who works there. In truth, the boxes were stolen, but the cigars were made of inferior leaf found somewhere on the black market and produced by shoddy rollers working out of private homes.
The fake cigar scenario is bigger than ever these days with so many new smokers looking for Cuban cigars. Add to this the fact that many counterfeiters are becoming more sophisticated and manufacturing boxes that look very real. The newest fad on the streets of America are Cuban cigars called "second quality". I can assure anyone that there is no such thing as a factory second in Cuba. If the cigar is flawed, it doesn't leave the country. Any sub-par cigar rolled by students or containing defects is distributed within the country to be smoked by Cubans.
Before you try and spot fraud cigars it helps if you understand how Cuban cigars are produced and distributed. All authentic Cuban cigars are called Habanos, and are controlled by a government corporation of the same name. Cigars are collected each day from the various factories and sent to the Habanos warehouse to await distribution. Located throughout the world are authorized Habanos dealers who get a large portion of these cigars, yet only a small portion of what they desire. A much smaller portion is divided amongst the twenty or so domestic cigar stores around the island. Almost all of these stores are located in Havana.
Every week or two the numerous stores in Havana receive an allotment of cigars, mostly small cigars but also a few of the more popular large cigars (Robustos, Churchill's, Torpedoes, Double Coronas) that everybody is looking for. You cannot fly over to Havana on a whim and buy any cigar you want. Large size cigars are very difficult to find. Relatively few are produced and only a fraction are sold in Cuba. Spread these precious few around to all the people vying for them and their respective countries and you can understand why few store bought Cuban cigars reach America.
People smuggle cigars to make money, and for most smugglers the preferred method is to buy a box of counterfeit cigars for $30 in Havana and sell it for $400 in the States. Even if they wanted to buy legitimate Habanos they couldn't, since there aren't enough available. Store prices have risen 40% in the last year in Cuba, forcing even more smugglers to the dark side in an attempt to maintain large profit margins. Consequently, the counterfeit cigar business is booming. There are hundreds of street hustlers in Havana approaching anyone who doesn't look Cuban and asking if they want to buy cigars.
The more sophisticated smugglers have large operations not unlike a private factory turning out thousands of boxes of your favorite brands. The tobacco quality and construction of these cigars will never approach strict quality standards of a real factory. The Cuban police try and control the situation, but so far they are losing the battle. Some of these illicit cigar factories have sprung up in Central America where there is an abundance of good rollers and tobacco. The cigars are shipped to the U.S. as non-Cubans and repacked in counterfeit Cuban boxes. The Cuban cigar craze in America has spawned a whole underground industry, and unfortunately, the "bad guys" are getting better at making fake cigars appear real.
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there is lots more... |
