Go ahead and call me a pinko for being gay on this side of the political spectrum - that being said I am not sure how many of you are truly old enough to remember what happened in the late 50's. Trading one dictator  for another does not mean that one was better than the other or that either one should be praised or panned. Yes - Castro killed thousands. But so for that matter did Batista. The fact that the U.S. was willing to look the other way for Batista (probably) has as much to do with mafia influence as the spectre of a communist nation in the Western Hemisphere.
The Gold telephone from 'The Godfather 2' was not a fiction nor was the idea of carving up the country to the moneyed elite.
The last paragraphs say it all:"A certain amount of diplomatic hypocrisy is sometimes required". No it is not - at least not if the almighty dollar doesn't rule your world. Call it what it is - greed rules, capitalism is greedy and cowards only go after those they can - hence China's carte blanche