Cuban Exiles Form New Anti-Castro Group

Former board members of Miami’s Cuban American National Foundation who left in a leadership dispute with the prominent exile group said they have formed a new organization to promote democracy in Cuba.

The new Cuban Liberty Group shares many goals with CANF, the best-known Cuban exile organization in the United States and one that has become widely known for its fierce opposition to President Fidel Castro and his one-party Communist system.

“Our purpose is to continue what we feel is important to us and what was an important mission for us in the foundation: freedom and democracy for Cuba,” said Ninos Perez Castellon, one of the former CANF leaders who formed the new group.

The dissident board members complained that CANF Chairman Jorge Mas Santos, the founder’s son, ran the group in a “dictatorial style.”