As the months went by. a disenchantment swept the Americas as the realization came that the progress that was visible in Cuba was only skin deep. that the improvements Castro took credit for were merely for show and that Cuba was moving backward rather than forward. Cubans began to flee the repressive atmosphere that Castro had implanted in Cuba. Some days. as many as 600 Cubans waited patiently in line in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana to obtain visas to come to the United States. Since Castro has come to power more than 45.000 Cubans have fled Cuba. Castros great error has been his betrayal of the Cuban revolution.