The Cuban Missile Crisis brought the USA and USSR to the brink of war in 1962. Ultimately, attack was avoided when each country agreed to remove weapons from the others doorstep. The USA removed missiles from Turkey and the USSR removed them from Cuba.

Cuba’s complicity did not bode well for relations between itself and the USA.

The Soviet Union is long gone but Russia is again looking at Cuba as a place to utilize in its military expansion. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin suggested last week that Cuba should be used to re-fuel Russia’s nuclear-capable bombers.

According to a Reuters report, this move is in response to US plans to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe. (read article here)

What does this mean for Cuban cigars? George W. Bush has made it clear that he will not negotiate with the Cuban government while it keeps its current policies. Bush believes that the Cuban regime is oppressive to the Cuban people and these are his grounds. Military escalation seems unlikely to encourage the US to end the trade embargo against the island nation.

With presidential elections soon approaching in the US, candidates have had to state positions on Cuba negotiation. Neither candidate appears to want to change policy in the near term. If Cuba continues to position itself as and adversary of the US it seems unlikely that the embargo will be lifted soon.

Raul Castro took over as President of Cuba in February 2008. His presidency has brought some minor reforms to the country but with this latest news, negotiation seems to have been pushed farther into the future.

- Colin Ganley