Cuban curiosity

I 'stumbled' into a full blown security detail here at the Kapok hotel here this morning.
Cuban President Raul Castro is here for a conference and was refused accommodation at the Hilton because the Hilton is a U.S. company - so he ended up at the Kapok. In fact, they had to move the conference as well because it was being held at the Hilton. It was a bit of a PR stumble for Trinidad resulting in an apology from the TRinidad Prime Minister. I was at the Kapok for an industry meeting.

My meeting ended 15 minutes before the security team escorted Castro through the lobby on his way out to start the day's itinerary. They were all waiting around for him to come out of the elevator.

I was conspicuous by my presence in the lobby. Profiling might suggest I could be a disgruntled US businessman out to settle a score with Cuba (or the Jack Ruby type). My briefcase looked too similar to the security team 'briefcases'.

Regardless, as far as they were concerned, I looked out of place. I ended up with two guys (really big guys) standing next to me while Castro came through the lobby. I kept my hands where they could see them and I resisted taking a picture (so this might actually be the first blog post I have made without a photo).

Given that guns attract guns, I should probably have moved away from the area but I was curious. My observations - Raul is much shorter than his brother, Fidel; he looks a lot healthier...and his security team are the guys in suits and white sweat socks.

B.