There is a way to trade on this uncertainty. Tom Herzfeld's closed-end Caribbean Basin Fund (Cuba) rises or falls in reaction to the latest news flash concerning Cuba. This is because it invests in companies whose shares would be boosted by the embargo's elimination. The fund usually trades at a premium to its net asset value.

The closed-end fund's holdings include Western Union (WU), which operates in Cuba, and home builder Lennar (LEN), which Herzfeld says has a business plan for the island.

The closed-end fund's holdings include Western Union (WU), which operates in Cuba, and home builder Lennar (LEN), which Herzfeld says has a business plan for the island.

He avoids two Canadian companies active in Cuba -- Sherritt International (SHERF), which runs mines that Castro seized from Freeport McMoRan, and Leisure Canada (LCN.Canada), which develops properties on the island.

Freeport McMoRan (FCX) is one of his holdings because he believes that any thawing of relations will include recompense for its loss. Plus, the mining company will do well as the world's economy recovers and the demand for metals and gold increases.

The fund also has shares of Seaboard (SEB), which operates more shipping routes in the Caribbean than any of its competitors, and shares of Trailer Bridge (TRBR), a transport company in Jacksonville, Fla., whose ships have shallow drafts. (Only three of Cuba's 14 ports are deepwater.)

The fund also has shares of Seaboard (SEB), which operates more shipping routes in the Caribbean than any of its competitors, and shares of Trailer Bridge (TRBR), a transport company in Jacksonville, Fla., whose ships have shallow drafts. (Only three of Cuba's 14 ports are deepwater.)

Herzfeld's fund also holds shares of Watsco (WSO), a Florida air-conditioning distributor; Norfolk Southern (NSC), which connects to the now privately held Florida East Coast Rail Road at Jacksonville; and MasTec (MTZ), a Florida-based infrastructure company founded by prominent Cuban-American Jorge Mas Canosa.