U.S. changes Cuba-group funding policy

WASHINGTON, March 31 (UPI) -- The White House is retooling its policy on funding groups promoting democracy in Cuba by offering more grants to international groups, officials said.

The decision to offer funds to groups outside the traditional anti-Castro organizations in Miami and Washington follows last week's resignation of former White House liaison to the Cuban-American community Felipe Sixto, who was accused of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars while working for the Centers for a Free Cuba, based in Washington.

The U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development are preparing to award a record $45.7 million in Cuba democracy grants this year, more than triple the amount allotted in 2007, The Miami Herald reported Sunday.