In Little Havana, Cuban Americans Increasingly Divided

SCRIPT: Little Havana in Miami is where thousands of Cubans took refuge when Fidel Castro seized power. the takeover by Fidel Castro. Decades later many here are still haunted by the 1961 fiasco of the Bay of Pigs - a failed US-backed invasion. Ramon Conte was among the Cuban troops who ried to regain control of the island with CIA help. He looks back fondly on his life before Communism. SOUNDBITE 1 Ramon Conte (man), Bay of Pigs veteran, spent 25 years in jail in Cuba (Spanish, 17 sec): "I was born in Cuba and grew up in Havana. I had a very normal life there, I had a job. This was the best place on Earth and I had never left Cuba before the communists took over." "Naci en Cuba, me crian en La Habana e todo el tiempo tenia mi trabajo, vivia como una persona normal y para mi era el mejor que habia yo nunca mi ha salido de Cuba hasta que nos lleva el regimen communista" After the failure of the invasion, Ramon was taken prisoner and spent 25 years in jail. These days in Miami a lot of older Cubans are still opposed to any diplomatic overtures being made to the Castro regime. Miguel Saavedra is a self-described human rights activist. He is in favor of keeping Cuba totally isolated from the international community. SOUNDBITE 2 Miguel Saavedra (man), president "Vigilia Mambisa" (English, 14 sec): "First of all I don’t support the socialist-communists like Obama // If you open the relationship you give more chance to the Castro regime, you give more economic support, then the regime will be stronger against the people in Cuba." But if long-term exiles refuse any opening towards Cuba, newer arrivals may think differently. Ivette Martinez runs a news website aimed at Cubans, whether they live on the island or in the US. She says younger Cuban-Americans are ready for a new kind of relationship with the United States. SOUNDBITE 3 Ivette Leyva Martinez (woman), writer for the news website "Café Fuerte" (English, 26 sec): "I think that the confrontational language has not helped. I think that the fact that there are more contacts has been helpful so a lot of people in Cuba can see what democracy is when they are allowed to travel...