Good point about Michael's story of the rebel blowing himself up. Michael bringing that up was unusually injudicious. I think that was one last dagger at Roth, with Michael figuring that even if he doesn't survive he might have scared off some investors and cost Roth some $$$.
I think this is something that deserves more attention. Clearly, Roth was upset with the conclusion of this conversation. However, while it was going on, when Michael noted that the soldiers were paid while the rebels weren't, Roth prompted Michael by asking "What does that tell you?". That's when Michael responded "They (the rebels) could win." but why would Roth ask that question, right there, with everyone paying attention? What kind of an answer was he expecting from Michael?
A possible explanation: Once Michael landed in Cuba, Roth could have had him killed at any time. But, Roth was greedy for the $2 million, and Michael knew Roth wouldn't have him killed until Michael handed over the money. Michael's overarching need was to string Roth along until he could find out who was the traitor in his family; hence his continual stalling and raising doubts about the rebels.
To Oli's much earlier point about Michael entering the lion's den: The Tahoe shooting proved to him that Roth would stop at nothing to have him killed--even if Kay or his kids got shot up in the process. But, Michael was the target. By removing himself from the Tahoe compound, he was removing the target from proximity to his family. Roth's greed for the $2 million, and Michael's foreknowledge of when and how Roth planned to have him killed, were his only weapons in Cuba. He showed real
coglioni, and a cool head.
