Cutting Castro's Costs

The Soviets are fed up with the cost of shipping oil all the way from the U.S.S.R. to Cuba. Or so they have evidently told Venezuela's Lorenzo Fernandez, the candidate of the ruling Social Christian Party in next December's presidential elections. During a visit to Moscow, Fernandez was informed that the Soviets would be delighted to pay the bill if Venezuela would sell oil directly to Cuba. Such a move would not only eliminate the expense of shipping the oil; it would also be the first major breach in the economic wall that the U.S. and the Organization of American States have built around Cuba. No deal has so far been worked out, but the fact that certain people in Fernandez's campaign are spreading the story suggests just how much importance they are attaching to maintaining a defiant attitude toward Washington.

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