In the last week, Transport Minister Ewart Brown has announced that he has held talks with the Cuban government about sending old cars and buses from Bermuda to the Caribbean island and selling some of the old ferries there too.

On Friday, it was reported that Tourism and Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb was in Cuba to see a cultural exchange involving Bermudian and Cuban musicians.

Dr. Brown's announcement also included news that more charter flights may be laid on between the two islands and there was the possibility of a scheduled direct flight as well.

Certainly it would be better for buses and disused cars to be sent somewhere rather than being dumped. But it seems exceptionally generous of Dr. Brown to offer the buses for free. It is worth remembering that both the buses and the ferries were purchased with taxpayers' money and it is incumbent on the Government to get the best possible price for them. Whether that will come from Cuba is unknown.

As for more flights between Bermuda and Cuba, one wonders just who will benefit as a result. There has been significant growth in the number of Bermudians visiting Cuba, so easier travel for that reason might make sense. The likelihood of Cubans coming the other way remains slight now and in future, so this would mean Bermuda-earned dollars leaving here, rather than any great increase in foreign exchange coming to Bermuda.

Some years ago, a German charter company, Condor, tried to develop a flight between Germany, the Dominican Republic and Bermuda. It failed, and the chances of a similar arrangement with Cuba and a European destination succeeding seem equally low.

What seems to be more promising are the chances for Bermudian businesses establishing subsidiaries in Cuba. A number have already done so, and if and when the US drops its ban on direct travel to Cuba, there is every likelihood that its tourism industry will take off. If Bermudian businesses benefit, then so does Bermuda.

But it must be remembered that any success Cuba has as a tourist destination means another competitor for Bermuda.

That is what makes Ms Webb's visit so surprising. There is little to be gained by Bermuda's Tourism Department working with Cuba's. And what is especially remarkable is that Ms Webb was there at the same time that a vital conference was taking place in Bermuda on hotel and tourism investment.

This was, rightly, trumpeted as an endorsement of Bermuda and by all accounts, it was a valuable and important experience for all who attended. But Ms Webb, who has not been Minister for that long, did not.

All of the above deals with the economic pros and cons of dealing with Cuba, as if it was a full member of the international community. It is not. And while the US policy towards Cuba is wrong-headed (there is good reason to believe that the influence of US visitors and goods in Cuba would end Castro's tenure faster than the current boycott), there are good reasons not to cosy up to Cuba.

Cuba has a dreadful human rights record, and there are currently 80 dissidents undergoing show trials, many of them for simply disagreeing with the Castro government.

The tools of oppression used by left and right wing dictatorships are about the same; but one would imagine that Ms Webb and Dr. Brown would be the first condemn the links they are now promoting if the Cuban government was a right wing dictatorship instead of a communist one.