Havana
Cuba agreed to buy $66 million worth of soybeans, corn, rice, and Splash tropical drinks from U.S. companies this week after the largest American trade show since Fidel Castro took power was held in Havana. U.S. firms that have lobbied for open trade with the Caribbean nation hawked everything from California wines to soy milk to M&M’s. The U.S. has squeezed the communist island with trade sanctions for 40 years, but a law passed two years ago permits direct sales of food and farm products, provided Cuba pays in cash. The Bush administration and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had said the expo would buttress a repressive regime, and they urged Americans not to go. Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura said the U.S. was “not a dictatorship” and went to drum up business for his state.
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