Cuba closes stores, restaurants; blames closures on new U.S. policy

BY NANCY SAN MARTIN

nsanmartin@herald.com


Cubans awoke Tuesday to shuttered stores and fast-food chains that sell goods in U.S. dollars following a government announcement that many sales in greenbacks would be suspended indefinitely.

The government blamed the new measure, first announced on television Monday night and repeatedly broadcast throughout the day Tuesday, on the Bush Administration's decision last week to tighten trips and cash remittances to the island.

Notices posted on the government-owned stores and restaurants that do business only in dollars all said the same thing: ``Closed for inventory.''

Although the exact details of the new measure remained unknown, analysts said it could have serious ramifications for daily life for some of the island's 11 million people.

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Decides To Go After Them Damn Commies Too.'