From the October issue: When President Barack Obama declared almost a year ago his intention to restore diplomatic ties with the Cuban government, there was great excitement among American developers and investors about the possibility that the Caribbean island, crushingly underdeveloped and long isolated from the bounties of capitalism, would deliver a gold mine of opportunities.
The initial euphoria, fueled by visions of a crumbling Havana transformed into a glamorous, latter-day Miami Beach, soon gave way to harsher realities. Despite a considerable loosening of restrictions on commerce, investments and travel between the two countries, some announced just in September, the United States’ 53-year-old economic embargo on Cuba remains firmly in place, and Republicans in Congress have vowed to keep it there while they can. [more]