level visits to Cuba and began inviting dissidents to its national day celebrations in Havana. The Cuban government was infuriated and froze contacts with European diplomats in a dispute dubbed the "cocktail war." Castro accused the EU of caving in to pressure from his archenemy the United States. At the request of Spain's new Socialist government, the EU lifted its diplomatic sanctions in January and reverted to a policy of engagement that will be reviewed in June. --SP 2243 Local Time 1943 GMT
