Most people who know Cuba think Raul [Castro] would like to make more changes but has not done so yet because his brother, who is ideologically opposed to them, is still alive. What he will do when Fidel dies remains to be seen.
We know next to nothing about the relationship between Chavez and Raul Castro. One thing, though, is certain. The Cuban military and political elite do not regard Chavez as a logical successor to Fidel Castro in Latin America.
Younger Cuban Americans who have decided to go to the island always come back telling me "that isn't the country my grandparents have told me about."
The Castro government is disproportionately white given the color of the island. It doesn't look like Cuba.
As long as Fidel Castro is alive we [the American Government] will not normalize relations with Cuba. We don't want it, and he certainly doesn't.
Latin American countries are part of the West and that it is reasonable to expect a certain degree of openness in their societies that we do not demand of, say, China or Vietnam.
I cannot personally imagine any U.S. president normalizing relations with him [Fidel Castro], as opposed to his brother, but I may prove wrong on this score.
Cuba will find its own way, regardless of what the U.S. wants. This has always been the case, not just since 1959.
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