HAVEN'T THE CUBAN PEOPLE SUFFERED ENOUGH...:

20bn barrel oil discovery puts Cuba in the big league (Rory Carroll, 10/18/08, The Guardian)

The government announced there may be more than 20bn barrels of recoverable oil in offshore fields in Cuba's share of the Gulf of Mexico, more than twice the previous estimate.

If confirmed, it puts Cuba's reserves on par with those of the US and into the world's top 20. Drilling is expected to start next year by Cuba's state oil company Cubapetroleo, or Cupet.

"It would change their whole equation. The government would have more money and no longer be dependent on foreign oil," said Kirby Jones, founder of the Washington-based US-Cuba Trade Association.

...without being cursed by oil? Governments that don't have to rely on taxes are unanswerable to their people.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 17, 2008 8:09 PM