Who's Bugging Castro in Cuba?

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The United Nations, which in a stunning display of bad timing re-elected Cuba to its human-rights commission last month, has given Castro little more than a slap on the wrist for the arrests and executions. The same is true for Cuba's Latin American neighbors. But many political and cultural leaders in Europe, once home to legions of Castro apologists, have turned their back on him. The E.U. has postponed negotiation of an economic-aid package for Cuba. Portugal's Nobel-prizewinning novelist, Jose Saramago, once a Castro admirer, wrote in a stinging editorial last month, "This is as far as I go" with Cuba's revolution. Other famous politicians and artists have followed suit.

At the same time, Paya, who was widely cheered during a visit to Miami this year, has helped bring that city's once rabidly anti-Castro politics toward a potentially more constructive center. Wresting the Cuba debate away from the pro-and anti-Castro extremists may be Paya's most helpful accomplishment. "This isn't about warmongering anymore," he says. "It's a duel between power and spirit." For now, Castro's power has the upper hand; but for four decades, Paya's spirit has been indomitable--and he insists he's not about to give up. --With reporting by Perry Bacon Jr./Washington