The nominal reason that Michael had Fredo bring the $2 million to Havana was so that he could keep stringing Roth along until he could find out who was the traitor in his family. Now I’m thinking that Michael didn’t need the money to keep Roth on a string—so he might have had another motive. I’d like your opinions:

Roth had arranged for his allies in the Cuban government (probably SIM, known as “Batista’s Gestapo”) to take Michael to his hotel after the Presidential New Year’s Eve party in a military car, for his “protection,” and to assassinate him. Roth needed Michael dead because Michael had been horning in on Roth’s gaming empire ever since he had Moe Green whacked. Roth tried to have Michael killed at Tahoe, after Anthony’s party—and the $2 million wasn’t even on the table at that point. Havana—where Michael was outside his Tahoe fortress, and unprotected by Rocco, Neri and their troops—was Roth’s last, best chance to have Michael killed. Getting the $2 million would have been a big bonus, but Roth’s plan had to move ahead when and how it was arranged, with or without the money.

Michael, knowing how—and when—Roth planned to have him killed, didn’t need the money to keep Roth on a string. He knew exactly how much time he had left—and when he had to act. The clock was ticking on both his and Roth’s plans, and the $2 million was important but not essential to both.

So, why did Michael have the $2 million brought to Havana? I’m guessing that he was signaling to Batista’s successors—including Castro—that he was willing to pay to be the new Mr. Big in Cuban gambling. He and every other American who read the newspapers knew that Batista didn’t have much time left. Tourism—anchored by gambling and prostitution—was Cuba’s third-biggest industry after mining and sugar. Castro had not yet declared himself a Communist, and had been saying in interviews from his hideouts that he loved Americans, winning him a big cheering section in the US. It was logical for Michael and other businessmen with interests in Habana to conclude that whoever ruled Cuba after Batista would keep the casinos and brothels open. Michael was obsessed with being the biggest legal gambling czar in the Western Hemisphere. I don’t think he was going to let a change of government interfere with his plans.

Your views?