US food sales to Cuba reach $500 million per year

Wait a minute, isn’t there a horrible bloqueo? Well let us see what the castroite apologists have to say, starting with the reporter who filed the story, Russ Mitchell.

Life for most Cubans is a bare bones existence. The average wage is about $13 a month. But health care and education are free, and no one goes hungry because every Cuban receives a food ration.

Mr. Mitchell, too many mojitos and too little time to really research the real story behind the ration books, eh?

And here is the other idiot!

"I think it's substantial," said Kirby Jones of the U.S.-Cuba Trade Association, in response to a question about U.S. food sales to Cuba. "I think in the $100's of millions or billions of dollars."

Jones, a lobbyist and deal-maker, represents dozen's of U.S. companies in Cuba.

"The impression in the United States is that Cuba is stagnant — locked into some rigid communist ideology and structure," said Jones. "Cuba is totally different,
hundreds of companies do business with Cuba."

Even dissidents are sometimes off kilter. Since 2002 American companies have been selling food to Cuba, how much democracy has that brought the country?

But two Cuban dissidents who spoke to CBS News say trade with the United States could be beneficial to their cause.

"I agree with companies of United States here in Cuba because investment comes with people, and people have ideas," Oscar Espinosa Chepe told Mitchell. "These will be injections of ideas, democratic ideas."

In 2003, Espinosa Chepe was charged with sedition and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was recently released because of poor health. His wife, Miriam Leiva, is a journalist.

"I think little by little this could bring about democracy in Cuba," said Leiva.

Oh, I almost forgot, along with the story there is a video. Watch it [here].