The Cuban authorities are accusing US diplomat Mike Parmly of passing money from Cuban terrorists living in the USA to Cuban mercenaries living in Cuba. I knew Mike in Sarajevo. Tough operator.

As with diplomats in Zimbabwe trying to operate during that country’s madness, Western diplomats in Cuba have to make the best of a bad job and establish informal links with pro-democracy groups. But they will be closely watched.

In Milosevic’s Serbia it was rather different. A lot of rather obvious official EU/US support went to different organisations opposing Milosevic, whose representatives were able to operate freely and travel overseas – Milosevic helpfully believed he was invincible and did not crack down.

In Zim and Cuba it is harder. Hence these latest noisy accusations that the US Government are helping pass things to and fro.

The only questions that matters are these. Is there a policy actively to work to bring down the regime? And if so, how best to do it?

The EU alas has no policy to wobble Cuban communism. Maybe the Americans are made of sterner stuff.

Go it, Mike