Giancarlo Sopo, a Democratic strategist of Cuban origin, says he cannot remember which he learned first – that Fidel Castro was a bad man or that Santa Claus was real. “The first political lesson that Cuban-Americans receive is on Cuba-US policy,” said Mr Sopo, a 26 year-old research analyst at Bendixen and Associates.

While his opposition to the Castro regime remains solid, he is one of many in the Cuban-American community who has shifted away from supporting strong sanctions and instead advocates travel and dialogue between Havana and Washington.