I’m watching the Fox News Channel and this story is just in. Apparently Castro is undergoing intestinal Surgery and has for the first time in 47 years relinquished power to his brother until he recovers. Well, word has it that even Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s emerging Castro wannabe, is worried about Castro’s health. Of course for him, if Castro goes, so do his dreams of a new Venezuelan dictatorship.

For us, a free Cuba would mean an end to the embargo and the return of Cuban tobacco to the US. An initial surge in demand would mean that habanos quality would probably go to the dogs for a while, with a huge spike in prices. A thought that American aficionados would prefer to the current prohibition.

So, shall we stock up on habanos just yet? Well, that’s always a good idea. But the point is that relinquishing power to his brother is a very risky move that Castro is only willing to make in exceptional circumstances. According to experts, if his brother were to remain in power for more than a couple of months, no doubt a revolution would take place shortly thereafter that would overthrow the dictatorship and establish democracy.

Well, maybe my habanos collection will be worth a lot of money in the near future… uhhh… if I don’t get to them first!