Fleeing to Cuba

The Herald reported last Friday on a number of recent cases where persons accused of Medicare fraud are charged, released on bail, and flee to Cuba. Apparently they figure Cuba is not a bad place to live if you have a pile of money stashed away, and it’s out of reach of U.S. law enforcement. (An item on the case of the three Benitez brothers, from last October, is here.) The Herald quotes a federal judge, writing to other judges about the issue of flight risk, saying, “It seems to me that our thinking has to change – that someone from Cuba can flee back to Cuba just like someone from Mexico.”

This would seem to be another item to add to the U.S. list if the new Administration decides to start bilateral talks with Cuba.

On that score, Raul Castro spoke last week in a Cuban television interview; transcript in Spanish here, translated excerpts on the Herald’s blog here.