official carl meacham says america had to take a stand. he says it will have an objective. carl meacham: it will widen the cracks within the coalition and i think that highlighting these problems and going after the individuals they did helps to create a bigger problem for the coalition. richard: the sanctions have been slammed by other leaders. some criticize them as a fish toward regime change. this economist agrees. he heads a think tank that is sympathetic to venezuela. >> he responded to the sanctions and he said this reminds us of the darkest hours of our america when we received invasions and dictatorships from imperialism. richard: where does the outreach to cuba to fit in? meacham: cuba is no longer what it was during the cold war. it is developing a close relationship with united states, which is the biggest market. richard: it is all about cuba being offered a caret instead of a stick. but that distinction does not mean mch. >> the beginning of normalization with relations with cuba was not a change in policy toward latin america by the united states because they