Cuban exile community split over Obama changes

In this Dec. 10, 2013 file image from TV, U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Cuban President Raul Castro at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, South Africa, in the rain for a memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela. Obama on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014 declared the end of America’s “outdated approach” to Cuba, announcing the re-establishment of diplomatic relations as well as economic and travel ties with the communist island — a historic shift in U.S. policy that aims to bring an end to a half-century of Cold War enmity. (AP Photo/SABC Pool, File)

MIAMI  — Some Cuban exiles in Miami are outraged. Others are ecstatic that President Barack Obama has secretly arranged prisoner exchanges with Cuban leader Raul Castro as part of an effort to normalize relations.

Exile Jose Basulto heads Brothers to the Rescue, a group whose planes dropped leaflets over Cuba. He’s happy that former USAID subcontractor Alan Gross is out of a Cuban prison, but dismayed that three convicted Cuban spies were being released in exchange.

One of those spies has been serving a life term for shooting down one of his group’s planes.

Another exile, hardliner Remedios Diaz-Oliver, says Obama has betrayed the people of both countries.

But some younger Cuban-Americans disagree. Daniel Lafuente is 27 and the son of exiles, and says he’s thrilled by the changes announced Wednesday.