But then, Claudia turned out to be a 46-year-old male based in Florida, who gave the story to a Miami television and newspaper.

Luis Dominguez said he used the character to begin an online relationship with 40-year-old Antonio, the BBC news website reported. He refused to apologise for the deception, saying he wanted to show the “opulent lifestyles” of the Castros.

Dominguez, a Cuban-born, said he wanted to “shatter the myth” of an impenetrable security system around the Castro family.

According to reports, Antonio is said to have conducted more than 20 Internet chats with Claudia since October 2008. A report in the Guardian said: “He divulged no state secrets, but, according to Dominguez, spilled the beans on freedoms and material privileges enjoyed by the ruling class.”

“While everyday Cubans were banned from using the Internet cafes in Havana hotels, this guy had a BlackBerry and unlimited access to the web,” Dominguez was quoted as saying by the Miami Herald.

Dominguez used Antonio’s alleged weakness for young women and sports. “Based on a study of Antonio’s former girlfriends, he created a virtual woman to fit the ideal, and last summer claudiacartagena82 @yahoo.com e-mailed ‘tonysport’ to say she was a sports journalist and that they had met at a tournament,” the Guardian stated. Antonio shared details of his daily life in Cuba and his trips around the world with Raul Castro, the Cuban President.

“Guess where I am and I will make love to you without stopping,” Antonio reportedly wrote during a trip to Russia with Raul castro in January. Some chats lasted as long as five hours in which Antonio talked about “weekends in Varadero Beach, Lacoste shirts and belt buckles, his Apple computer and regular Internet access”, and Dominguez reportedly showed these to Miami Herald. Antonio had also sent some “bare-chested photos of himself from the Moscow and Beijing Olympics” reported the Guardian.

Dominguez has published pictures and documents of his chats with Antonio on his blog .

“I’m a Cuban and I’m a Cuban American and I have not been able to go back to my country since 1971... I use whatever tools I have to be able to get back at these people. In Cuba people are put in prison for no reason at all... So, why can’t I do the same thing to them?,” the BBC website quoted him as saying.