Yesterday, August 27, Fidel Castro turned 90 years old. He is undoubtedly one of the most controversial figures of our time. Both hated and worshiped Castro has turned out to be a survivor. It has been 57 years since he took power, 54 years since the Cuban Missile Crisis which almost caused World War III and ten years since he turned over power to his brother Raúl due to a personal health crisis. In 2011 Castro stated, "I never thought I’d live so long. Soon my time will come just like everyone else.” He was 32 years old when he triumphantly marched into Havana after defeating an army of 80,000 men with a smaller guerrilla force and driving then dictator, Fulgencio Batista into exile. Over the years Castro has survived despite at least 634 plots to kill him and overthrow his government, according to Fabián Escalante, the ex head of Cuban Intelligence.

I remember that I had a entrepreneur friend, Roberto Arévalo, who in the 1970s purchased vintage cars in Argentina and then sold them in the United States for a big profit. He would have probably tried to do the same thing in Cuba if it had not been for the embargo. Cars from the 1940s and 1950s, still make up a significant form of transportation in Cuba. With the recent improvement of relations between the U.S. and Cuba, there is a fascinating is new a television series about the country's old cars. "Cuban Chrome is a groundbreaking new docu-series that explores the fascinating time warp that characterizes Cuban car culture. This is the first American television series to be produced entirely on location in Cuba and will be simulcast in English on Discovery Channel and in Spanish on Discovery en Español." "After the 1959 Cuban Revolution and the subsequent United States embargo, it has been illegal to import American cars to the island nation -- as a result, Cuba's vintage American vehicles are frozen in time. For Cubans, these cars are not just a means of transportation, but a way of life. Cuban Chrome will give viewers an intimate look…

By Matt Spetalnick, David Adams and Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON/HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba has released all 53 prisoners it had promised to free, senior U.S. officials said, a major step toward détente with Washington. The release of the remaining prisoners sets a positive tone for historic talks next week aimed at normalizing relations after decades of hostility, the officials said. They described the Cuban government’s release over the weekend of the last detainees on the list as a milestone but said they would keep pressing Havana to free more people the United States considers political prisoners. The officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, did not say how many prisoners were released over the weekend or identify them. But the White House will provide the names of all 53 to Congress and expects lawmakers to make them public, the officials added. There had been questions over whether Havana would release all 53 prisoners as part of the deal Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced on Dec. 17 to restore diplomatic ties that Washington severed more than 50 years ago.

The restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States unlocks new prospects for the island’s economy. Some steps, including the removal of the U.S. trade embargo, are prohibited by the Helms-Burton Act, adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. But the renewal of Cuba’s membership in the International Monetary Fund is a real possibility. Cuba was one of the IMF’s 40 original members. It was involved in much of the preliminary planning for the 1944 Bretton Woods conference, and had an active delegation there. As early as 1941, Cuba worked together with other Latin American countries in an unsuccessful attempt to establish a monetary role for silver, alongside gold. Later, it helped to secure greater voting rights for small states and a special status for Latin American countries on the IMF Executive Board. After Cuba joined the IMF (and the World Bank) in 1946, it played a positive role in the Fund for the next 12 years. In 1954, it became the 10th country to accept the full obligations of the Fund’s Article VIII, eschewing the use of foreign-exchange restrictions on international trade. In 1956, it took a routine loan from the Fund, repaying it the following year.…