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Just Announced: $21 Million in new Cuba Grants

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The Cuban government has resisted U.S. democracy campaigns, jailing citizens who accept U.S. funds. Image by Jasper Van der Meij, Flickr.

The U.S. government has released details of $21 million in new grants aimed at expanding use of social media in Cuba, increasing access to information, distributing laptops, boosting freedom of expression among young people, and supporting community groups.

The Agency for International Development will administer the awards, which include:

* $6 million for programs aimed at increasing free expression among youth ages 12 to 24.
* $6 million to expand Internet use and increase access to information.
* $9 million to support neighborhood groups, cooperatives, sports clubs, church groups and other civil society organizations.

The money would be distributed over the next several years as part of an ambitious and sweeping plan that emphasizes “on-island activities.” Applications for the grants are due July 18, according to Grants.gov.

The government advertised the grants on Monday as officials in Washington move closer to settling a 10-week-old dispute over $20 million in democracy funds destined for Cuba.

On April 1, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., held up distribution of the $20 million over questions about how the money was going to be spent.

The Miami Herald reported on June 10 that Freedom House, a Washington-based NGO, was returning $1.7 million in funds because USAID asked too many questions about where the money was going.

Phil Peters, a Cuba expert at the Lexington Institute, a research organization in Arlington, Va., said it is unusual for organizations to return money to the federal government.

"It’s pretty remarkable. I don’t think it’s ever happened before. It’s astounding that a grantee would tell the government that it’s not willing to explain exactly how it uses the money, and it makes crystal clear that the modus operandi is to send people clandestinely into Cuba," he said.

Peters said it is “certainly understandable” that Freedom House is “extremely concerned” about protecting those people connected to its Cuba program.

“But if you step back from it,” he said, the group’s decision to return the money “really reinforces” that it carries out “political operations” in Cuba, which he described as “a very exotic use of USAID.”

Freedom House on Monday did not respond to a request for further information concerning its decision to return the money.

Non-profit organizations, along with public and private institutions of higher education, are eligible for the $21 million in grants announced Monday.

For more details on the grants, click below:

Title: Making Spaces: Places for Youth Expression in Cuba

Title: Facilitating the Free Flow of Information

Title: Democratic Engagement at the Community Level

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