I met Fidel Castro in Havana in 1995 as part of a human rights delegation and, after six gruelling hours of negotiation, gained his commitment to release six political prisoners. We were hardly the first or last visitors to do so. Jesse Jackson convinced Mr Castro to release 26 political prisoners in 1984, Bill Richardson secured the release of three in 1996 and Jimmy Carter's 2002 visit prompted the release of one. The most successful, of course, was Pope John Paul II, who obtained the release of more than 70 jailed dissidents in 1998.

While the prisoners' release was worth celebrating, none of these visits altered the underlying reality of Castro's Cuba. There invariably would be more political prisoners to release when the next visitor showed up. Repression continued and many observers concluded that real improvements would come only after Mr Castro left the scene.