Cuban Americans moderate views on Cuba: poll

By Adriana Garcia

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A majority of Cuban Americans still stand by the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba, a survey showed on Monday, but their support has fallen to its lowest level since the survey was first taken in 1991.

After more than four decades of the embargo, those surveyed also were increasingly in favor of lifting U.S. travel restrictions that prevent them from returning to Cuba whenever they want.

The survey of south Florida's 650,000-strong Cuban American community has been conducted eight times since 1991 by Florida International University. This year, the Brookings Institution helped organize the poll of 1,000 people while the Cuba Study Group, a Washington lobby group, co-sponsored it.

In a sign that hard-line Cuban American opposition to Cuban leader Fidel Castro is being diluted by more moderate views, 57 percent favored re-establishing diplomatic relations with Havana. In 2004, only 42.7 percent wanted diplomatic relations with Cuba.

"No longer do Cuban Americans seem to believe that isolation is working," said Vicki Huddleston, a senior fellow at the Washington think-tank the Brookings Institution and a former head of the U.S. interests section in Havana.

It found that 57.5 percent of those questioned wanted the U.S. embargo imposed on Cuba since 1962 to be maintained -- the lowest percentage in favor of the economic sanctions since the survey was first conducted. In 2004, 66.1 percent were in favor of maintaining the embargo.

A big majority -- 64.4 percent -- want an easing in tight restrictions imposed on Havana under President George W. Bush, such as limiting travel to the island to once every three years and curtailing the amount of money Cuban Americans can send relatives. That question was not asked in the 2004 survey because the tighter restrictions had not yet been imposed.

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