I have a buddy who's been to Cuba twice, the first being about 12 years ago on a "humanitarian mission" (it was just a vacation) cleared through the US Consulate.............someone with connections pulled some strings. They flew directly on a charter to Cuba via Miami on both trips, and the had a Cuban government assigned an escort for each couple on both trips. The second trip was about 5 years ago and this escort wasn't nearly as persistent, allowing them to move around at times without being accompanied. On the first trip, this escort was with them every minute that they were not inside their hotel room.
During the last several days on the earlier trip, their escort had become somewhat comfortable talking with them about taboo topics. He confirmed that their hotel room was bugged, but that it was unlikely that anyone was listening. He said that 20 years earlier (32 years ago), the government would have certainly been listening. He also confirmed that the government was quite involved in prostitution, and the Feds took 50% of the cut. When a prostitute was hired (which my friend did not), she expected to be entertained with dancing and cocktails and sometimes dinner. They all wanted to go dancing before the deed was done. You may recall George W. Bush telling the World that the Cuban government is involved in prostitution. Castro strongly denied this, calling Bush a liar.
During the last several days on the earlier trip, their escort had become somewhat comfortable talking with them about taboo topics. He confirmed that their hotel room was bugged, but that it was unlikely that anyone was listening. He said that 20 years earlier (32 years ago), the government would have certainly been listening. He also confirmed that the government was quite involved in prostitution, and the Feds took 50% of the cut. When a prostitute was hired (which my friend did not), she expected to be entertained with dancing and cocktails and sometimes dinner. They all wanted to go dancing before the deed was done. You may recall George W. Bush telling the World that the Cuban government is involved in prostitution. Castro strongly denied this, calling Bush a liar.
