I have no love for Castro (maybe some contempt), but I think Marquez here is approximately as culpable as Shostakovich, which is to say not. He was a writer, not a reporter, and if we try to pull an artist down to the level of politics it's a lose-lose if we're successful.
On one hand, I largely agree with you, about the utility of holding someone responsible for what they didn't do, which would have been at great personal cost.
On the other hand, I believe Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn would like to have a word with you. Out back, in the alley.
