ABSTRACT
Marina Alvarez was furious. She had just returned to Havana the previous evening after spending two days in Matanzas province with David Diamond. Having come to detest the norteamericano thoroughly, she was looking forward to being away from him for several days. “Lo merezco. Yes,” she repeated as if trying to convince someone. “I deserve it.” But now, Thursday morning, her superior at MINREX instructed her to arrange another excursion for Diamond starting on Monday. The trip had been proposed by Comrade Carlos Salsamendi, assistant to Comrade Carlos Rafael Rodriguez, which meant of course that it had to be acted upon. The new trip would take them through the eastern half of the island, all the way to Santiago de Cuba. She knew she would need the rest of the day and probably Friday as well to set up the trip's logistics and arrange interviews with local officials, if they were to leave by Monday morning.
