Cuba bans alcohol during Castro mourning

Source: The Spirits Business

by Kristiane Sherry 

1st December, 2016

The Cuban government has banned the sale of alcohol as it continues a period of national mourning following the death of former leader Fidel Castro on 25 November.

According to multiple reports, authorities have banned the sale of alcohol during the nine-day lament.

Music and live performances are also prohibited during the time.

According to 14ymedio.com, a Cuban news site, the clampdown was introduced in part to quash any celebration of the controversial figure’s death.

Castro’s legacy is split: some see him as a revolutionary hero, others as criminal dictator.

The death of Cuba’s former leader coincides with US president-elect Donald Trump’s reassessment of relations between the two nations.

“If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the US as a whole, I will terminate deal,” Trump tweeted on 28 November.

The tweet refers to the relaxation of trading restrictions between the two nations, introduced by outgoing US president Barak Obama.

Any reverse of Cuban-US trading relations would be a blow to Pernod Ricard, which is seeking to launch its Cuban-made Havana Club into the US market.