Thanks to Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev's successful takeover of Anheuser-Busch, Cuba might have gained a new ally or supportive voice in their contentious relationship with our US government, whose (anachronistic) attitude towards Castro and Cuba, that is economically isolating the tiny island from the rest of the world, might be one of the most consistent bipartisan policies of US over the past 40 some odd years. In spite of the growing availability of foreign goods in Cuba, banks and companies continue to receive reminders that the US government's stance towards Cuba is enforced, as UBS learned when in 2004, it paid a "$100m fine...for providing new banknotes to Cuba and Iran."
Against this background, The Economist notes that InBev:
...has a joint-venture with Cuba's government which claims 40% of the island's beer market. As a director of a European company with a big investment on the island puts it, the best strategy is to "try to stay under the radar and make damned sure you are here when the United States government finally sees sense."
A US policy change towards Cuba and ending the embargo is something I could drink to and would be almost as refreshing as an ice cold Stella.