The New Cuban Diaspora

Abstract

Without a Castro as the head of the Cuban government for the first time in over six decadesthe international community is getting to know a different image of Cuba. In this context, the Cuban diaspora in Florida has also changed and divided into two contrasting groups: the “hardliners,” who completely oppose the Cuban government and do not want any softening in the U.S.–Cuba relationship; and a newer generation whose members do not support the government on the island but prioritize their support for the Cuban people and are in favor of building new relationships on the island. The younger community approves the traveling of Cubans to the island, the possibility of supporting their relatives at home through remittances, and the idea of, potentially, achieving the end of the long-lasting U.S. embargo imposed on Cuba since 1960. The emergence of this second group, or “new Cuban diaspora,” has changed the way in which the Cuban diaspora performs its public diplomacy roles in the United States. Diaspora activist organizations exist in both groups, but the “hardliners”—an older and more conservative generation—seem destined to fade through time.KeywordsCuban diasporaCubans in floridaCubans in miamiPublic diplomacyCastro regimeHardlinersNew cuban diaspora