PRO-GAY Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuba's President Raul Castro, holds a sign demanding President Barack Obama release five Cuban intelligence agents imprisoned in U.S., popularly known as the "Cuban Five," before the start of a parade marking the upcoming International Day Against Homophobia, in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, May 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)
HAVANA — An associate of Cuban first daughter Mariela Castro says the U.S. has granted her a visa to attend a conference in San Francisco and an event in Washington.
The daughter of President Raul Castro is a noted advocate of gay rights. Her planned attendance at next week’s meeting of the Latin American Studies Association in San Francisco is already being criticized by Cuban-American politicians.
Mariela Castro runs Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education and an official there said Thursday that Castro has travel permission and will be at the conference, as well as an event in Washington. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to discuss the matter.
Officials at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana and the U.S. State Department earlier declined to comment.