When U.S. Congressman Jeff Flake visited Havana recently, promoting legislation to let Americans travel freely to Cuba, Fidel Castro had his top aides meet with Flake to ask whether the measure could really pass. "Yes," Flake said, "and tell Castro that if he doesn't behave, we're going to bring down the whole darn embargo!"
Everyone laughed, but it wasn't altogether a joke. The not so well-kept secret in Havana is that Castro, 75, has always been a fan of the 40-year-old U.S. trade embargo against his communist island. El bloqueo, as Cubans call the "blockade," has helped Castro deflect blame for...