Cuba: The Greying Pearl

The news that filters out of Fidel Castro's Cuban dictatorship is told two ways. The stream of disillusioned refugees who make their way to haven in Florida describe the police-state control, the hardships, the hunger, the flight. A second version is the face Castro shows the few U.S. visitors allowed inside Cuba. Last week TIME'S Caribbean Correspondent Sam Halper flew out of Cuba after a guided two-week tour. His report:

The traveler to Cuba may be prepared to find it in Communist hands, but is surprised by the astonishing speed and thoroughness of the takeover. Barely an hour out of...

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