WASHINGTON INSIGHT

CUBAN CONTINGENCY: The Clinton Administration is drawing up secret plans to be ready to exploit political and economic troubles in Cuba spawned by the demise of Fidel Castro’s Communist patrons in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The move comes amid signs that Castro’s 34-year grip on power is loosening. . . . U.S. officials are cheered by intelligence reports of tiny acts of defiance by Cuba’s increasingly beleaguered public. After years in which many Cubans genuinely supported Castro--and the rest were so intimidated by the secret police that they pretended to do so--bits of anti-regime graffiti have turned up on walls in Havana, and small bands of demonstrators have thrown a few rocks at government operatives. . . . But for the time being, no change is contemplated in Washington’s policy of isolating Cuba and keeping the pressure on Castro. The Administration’s ability to react to changing conditions is severely limited by laws requiring a hard-line policy and by the political clout of the Cuban exile community.