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.