Leonardo Padura (Havana, 1955) is very cautious. The writer refuses to venture predictions for Cuba or to answer whether he sees any middle ground between the current regime and a U.S. intervention that would lead to a status of protectorate or colony for the island. “I have no idea what might happen,” says the winner of the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature in 2015, visiting Paris to promote the French version of Going to Havana and for a colloquium at the Cervantes Institute. The author, tired of the media’s insistence for him to take a stand, acknowledges that the Spanish transition could be an inspiring source, like many others, “but it depends on other decisions that are beyond my reach, not even able to outline them.” “Speculating about any future is very risky; speculating about Cuba’s future is madness,” he apologizes.