What's the land-speed record for a diplomatic "breakthrough" crashing into a concrete wall? We don't know for sure, but Fidel Castro's veto of brother Raúl's earlier pledge to put "everything" on the table in negotiations with the U.S. is surely a contender.

Recall that last Thursday President Castro (that would be Raúl) gave a speech in Venezuela in which he said "we have sent word to the U.S. government in private and public that we are willing to discuss everything -- human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners, everything." To which a clearly pleased President Obama replied, "that's a sign of progress."

But when it comes to Communist regimes, there is always a Big Brother. Writing in yesterday's edition of the newspaper Granma, Fidel said that "without a doubt, [President Obama] misinterpreted Raúl's statement." The release of political prisoners, he insisted, was contingent on the U.S. release of "five Cuban antiterrorist heroes." Those "heroes" are currently serving jail time in the U.S. after their convictions in 2001 for espionage.

Nor would Fidel -- who, as the Communist Party's First Secretary, remains the country's real "Líder Máximo" -- contemplate any change to the tax his regime imposes on remittances sent to Cubans by their family members living abroad. Mr. Obama had cited that as an example of the way the Cuban government could prove its bona fides. Instead, Fidel accused Mr. Obama of being "superficial," adding for good measure that he occupied an "inglorious office."

We've long argued that lifting the trade embargo on Cuba is in everyone's interest. But Fidel's outburst is as good a reminder as any of the real cause of Cuba's misery.

 

The Wall Street Journal                                                                                  Review and Outlook                                                                                    April 23, 2009