State Dept Bans Castro Daughter from US Visit

Mariela Castro Was to Receive Award in Philadelphia

The US State Department has announced that it will not let Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro, visit the United States to attend a conference in Philadelphia next week. Officials declined to provide a reason, saying the matter is “confidential.”

Castro was to receive an award at the Equality Forum conference in recognition of her gay rights activism, but will not be allowed to travel to Philadelphia to attend the conference.

Interestingly enough Castro, a deputy parliamentarian in Cuba, is already in the United States, as she is in New York City as part of the Cuban mission to the United Nations, and has been attending UN meetings.

Castro’s primary job is Director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education, which campaigns for AIDS prevention in Cuba and the acceptance of gay rights.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.