Cuba: Fewer dollars creates a siege

HAVANA, May 16 (Anna Rosa Veitía / www.cubanet.org) - A week after the government decreed changes in the way dollar stores, in many ways the lifeline of Cuban consumers, operate, the prevailing mood is still uncertainty.

The heavy police presence at the stores and the slowly-cruising patrol cars reinforce the feeling of a city under siege.

An employee at the Ultra store, in Central Havana, acknowledged that they don't know when they will reopen, and added that they have been ordered to remove all alcoholic beverages and cigarettes from the shelves.

At the same time, Western Union offices, through which many here get their remittances of dollars from abroad, have been closed these last few days.

It looks as though GWB's Cuba initiative will bring down Castro's government.