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Poll: Majority Of Cuban-Americans Oppose U.S. Embargo, Shows Shifting Views

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Nearly 70 percent of Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade County support open diplomatic relations with Cuba, according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted by Florida International University (FIU), reveals a significant shift in Cuban-American attitudes toward U.S.- Cuba relations.

Of those polled, 63% oppose the U.S. embargo while 37% support it. That's a steep drop in support compared to the 1990s that showed 84% supported it.

"This poll shows that members of the Cuban diaspora in Miami-Dade have diverse views about how they would like the U.S. government to deal with the Cuban state,'' said Guillermo J. Grenier, one of the poll's principal investigators.

A large majority of Cuban-Americans also favored lifting travel restrictions to Cuba.

The shift in opinion reflects a changing in the demographic of the Cuban-American community with younger and second generation Cuban-Americans more likely to express support for renewed relations than older exiles.

"Cubans who left the island in the last two decades and those born in the United States are more supportive of increasing U.S.-Cuba engagement than those who left immediately after the revolution,'' said Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute.

Pollsters called and asked a random sample of 1,000 Cuban-American residents in Miami-Dade County between July 11th to August 12th. The poll has a margin of error of 3 percent.

Click here to read more about U.S.- Cuba Relations.

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