I have a pipe as well. Borkum Riff ftw. 
And the cigars that I order are only hand rolled Havannas.
That grade of connoisseur cigar fare is illegal in this country.
(... and MORE costly, when you can find them)
I think we are only punking ourselves with the "Cuban Embargo."
If we wanted to make a difference there, bring them out of third world status or what ever the fuck, we would remove the government, expanding slightly the Monroe Doctrine to include the rest of the globe.
The only real threat, though is probably the Russian/Venezuelan exercises. I know they are mainly doing this in response to our presence, but such a response is meant to incite. That display concerns me.
We should probably buy more of their oil, rather than dragging it all the way from the mid-east. We already import a great deal of their produce, but we still "run out" of certain things when Mexico, California, Brazil, etc. are out of season. It makes more sense to buy textiles from there over Malaysian areas, too.
We have dollars that work, but they hesitate to enter into any kind of trade agreement with us, preferring to show us a coalition with Russian navy.
I guess a waiting game, like our policy with Cuba, will eventually work.
Again ...
I use Borkum Riff as a spice for blending on occasion. A little goes a long way for my taste. I usually go more for the Turkish flavorings when I want to ramp up the flavors of my staple.
