Cuban Embassy Opens In DC

Via USA Today:

Throngs of demonstrators gathered Monday to witness the raising of the Cuban flag over Cuba's embassy, the first time it has flown here since the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with the communist country 54 years ago. As American and Cuban diplomats stood side by side, three Cuban guards in white uniforms marched out of the building, attached the flag to a recently-constructed flag pole and raised it above Washington's 16th Street, just 2 miles north of the White House, to mark the formal re-opening of the embassy. Monday's events at the Cuban Embassy drew pro- and anti-Cuban protests. Chants of "Viva Cuba" and "Viva Fidel" competed against those of "Free Cuba" and "Cuba, forever socialist." One man was arrested after throwing a red paint bomb into a crowd. "I am here to see a day of infamy," shouted Frank Calzon, executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba, a Washington group that opposes any opening with Cuba. Another protester, Aimel Rios, said the new relationship will only hurt the Cuban people if the U.S. does not force human rights changes on the island, which stands to receive a financial windfall from increased American trade and travel.

DC Gay Chorus Heads To Cuba

NBC News reports:

The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington is traveling to Cuba Saturday to spread their message through song. The 23 singers are among the first U.S. citizens who will be able to travel to Cuba since diplomatic relations with the U.S. improved. The group aims to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights through music. "It brings people together over something without addressing the issue head on. So, I often find that music can be actually more powerful than giving a speech at podium," Executive Director Chase Maggiano said. The chorus is scheduled to perform several concerts around Havana next week in addition to participating in forum-style discussions. They were invited by Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro.

The chorus will perform in Miami tomorrow night before departing.

Cuba Cruises To Launch In May 2016

Politico reports:

Beginning in May 2016, Carnival plans to run biweekly, seven-night “people-to-people” vacations to Cuba on the company’s 710-passenger Adonia ship that offer “cultural, artistic, faith-based and humanitarian exchanges between American and Cuban citizens,” according to a statement provided to USA Today. The company is still awaiting final approval from the Cuban government. Though pure tourism to Cuba is still banned, despite the Obama administration’s recent decision to restart relations between the United States and Cuba and open an Embassy in Havana, the Treasury and Commerce departments have each approved Carnival’s proposals. U.S. travelers can sign up for a place on one of the trips with a $600 deposit. Ultimately, the trip will cost $2,990 per person with taxes and other fees not included. The price is more than 3 times the typical fare for a similar-length Carnival trip to the Caribbean.

The cruises will operate under a new Carnival flag to be called Fathom.

Meltdown In Teabagistan

US And Cuba To Open Embassies

Via Yahoo News:

U.S. President Barack Obama affirmed to Cuban President Raul Castro their decision to restore diplomatic relations and said the former Cold War enemies could reopen embassies in each other's capitals beginning July 20, the Caribbean country said on Wednesday. Cuba's foreign ministry cited a letter, which Obama addressed to Castro, that it received from the senior U.S. diplomat in Havana. Following 18 months of secret negotiations brokered by Pope Francis and Canada, the two leaders announced separately but simultaneously in December that they planned to reopen embassies in each other's capitals and normalize relations. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected at a flag-raising ceremony in Havana later this month, when the U.S. interests section will become a full embassy. Cuba's mission in Washington will undergo a similar upgrade.

CUBA: Mariela Castro Leads Pride Parade, Couples Join In Symbolic Weddings

Yesterday in Cuba:

Thousands marched in Havana on Saturday to support gay rights and to join a symbolic marriage ceremony organised by President Raul Castro’s daughter Mariela. Waving Cuban and rainbow-coloured flags, the marchers called for equality and marriage rights for Cuba’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, on the eighth National Day Against Homophobia. “(We must) ensure that Cuban society as a whole is sensitive to these issues, is educated, and understands,” said Mariela Castro, a sexologist and leading LGBT rights activist. She said the march was also a showing of “spiritual support” of gay rights in the communist island nation.“We must continue to make noise and move these issues forward,” she said at the rally, where several couples held symbolic wedding ceremonies. Gay marriage is illegal in Cuba, though Castro has long fought to legalise it.

RELATED:  Cuba decriminalized homosexuality in 1979. Gays have served openly in the military since 1993 and anti-LGBT employment discrimination was banned in 2013. In his 2010 autobiography Fidel Castro denounced homophobia and apologized for the treatment of gay Cubans during the early years of his regime. A civil unions bill has remained stalled in the national legislature for several years.

Airbnb Expands To Cuba

Via Digital Trends:

Airbnb extends its tendrils to just about every country within reach, so it’s no surprise that Cuba finally made the list. Earlier this month, the home-rental liaison took advantage of loosened U.S. trade restrictions to begin offering its services in the Communist island nation. The listings number in the hundreds right now, but Airbnb has been sending representatives to Cuba during the past few months to encourage more real estate owners to lease their properties. Most are concentrated in Havana, Cienfuegos, Santa Clara, and other trendy destinations to cash in on Cuba’s tourism industry, which accounted for 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013. More than 2 million foreign travelers visit Cuba each year, and Airbnb expects that number to grow – the company saw a 70-percent spike in searches from U.S. users for listings in Cuba.

Finding lodging with Airbnb will remain difficult as very few Cubans have home web access and most must use expensive government-run internet cafes.

RELATED: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in Cuba today for the first-ever trade mission by a sitting governor since the thaw in US-Cuba relations.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeffrey Klein, and senior executives from New York-based companies including JetBlue, MasterCard, Pfizer and Chobani will accompany the governor. "As the door begins to open between the U.S. and Cuba, we want New York businesses to be first out of the gate when it comes to building trade partnerships and establishing a strong position in this new market," Cuomo said. Cuomo, who has taken some criticism for not speaking out against Cuba's anti-gay and human rights record, touched on the issue in a statement. "New York has proudly long been a leader on issues of equality and human rights and I agree with the President that engagement is the best way to promote democracy and bring about positive change, rather than continuing a failed policy of isolation."

Cuba To Be Removed From Terrorism List

The Obama administration yesterday announced that Cuba will be removed from the list of nations that sponsor terrorism. Via the New York Times:

The decision to remove Cuba from the list is a crucial step in Mr. Obama’s effort to turn the page on a Cold War-era dispute. It followed a much-anticipated meeting between Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas meeting in Panama over the weekend, the first such formal session between the leaders of the two countries in more than a half-century. For more than 30 years, Cuba has been on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation shared only by Iran, Sudan and Syria. Cuba’s place on the list has long snarled its access to financial markets and, more recently, emerged as a sticking point in negotiations to reopen embassies that have officially been closed for five decades. Mr. Obama ordered a review of Cuba’s status in December, when he and Mr. Castro announced that their two nations had agreed to move toward normal relations.

As recently as two years ago the United States believed that Cuba harbored terrorists from Spain's Basque separatist movement and from Colombia's FARC guerrilla group. The Tea People, as always, are furious about the change in Cuba's status.

CUBA: Fast-Moving HIV Strain Detected

Researchers have identified a new fast-moving strain of HIV in Cuba. Some patients have reportedly progressed to full-blown AIDS in under three years.

Without treatment, HIV infection usually takes 5 to 10 years to turn into AIDS, according to Anne-Mieke Vandamme, a medical professor at Belgium's University of Leuvan. According to the study, published in the journal EBioMedicine, Vandamme was alerted to the new aggressive strain of HIV by Cuban health officials who wanted to find out what was happening. "So this group of patients that progressed very fast, they were all recently infected," Vandamme explained to Voice of America. "And we know that because they had been HIV negative tested one or a maximum two years before." None of the patients had received treatment for the virus, and all of the patients infected with the mutated strain of HIV developed AIDS within three years.

Obviously, this discovery underscores the importance of very regular testing for the virus. (Tipped by JMG reader Alan)

Editorial Of The Day

From the editorial board of the New York Times:

American officials have had few opportunities to support Cuba’s gay rights evolution and have been conflicted on how to handle Ms.[Mariela] Castro. When the Philadelphia-based Equality Forum nominated her for an award last year, American officials initially said they would not give her a visa. After the group protested, they relented. Ms. [Yasmin] Machado said most gay rights activists on the island have not accepted support from Washington because its policy toward Cuba was predicated on regime change. “While the United States is the enemy of our state, we can’t work with them,” she said recently in an interview in Havana. “Any support you receive makes you a traitor.” That entrenched view has stymied American efforts to promote things such as freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. President Obama’s changed policy will make engagement with Americans more palatable.

Castro: US Must Respect Our Communism

GOP Bickers Publicly Over Cuba

Teabaggers Have The Cuba Sadz

Historic Thaw In US-Cuba Relations

Via the Associated Press:

The United States and Cuba will start talks on normalizing full diplomatic relations, marking the most significant shift in U.S. policy toward the communist island in decades, American officials said Wednesday. The announcement comes amid a series of new confidence-building measures between the longtime foes, including the release of American Alan Gross and the freeing of three Cubans jailed in the U.S. President Barack Obama was to announce the policy changes from the White House at noon Wednesday. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, said the U.S. and Cuba were moving toward normalized banking and trade ties. He also said the U.S. was poised to open an embassy in Havana in the coming months. "This is going to do absolutely nothing to further human rights and democracy in Cuba," Rubio said in an interview. "But it potentially goes a long way in providing the economic lift that the Castro regime needs to become permanent fixtures in Cuba for generations to come."

Putin Writes Off 90% Of Cuban Debt

Via the Wire:

Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently on a grand tour of Latin America. His first stop is in Havana, Cuba. Ahead of arriving in Cuba, Putin decided to bestow a gift upon the Cuban government. With one swift signature, he eliminated $32 billion of Cuba's debt, left over from the Soviet era. Cuba isn't completely off the hook. They will be required to pay back just $3.2 billion over the next ten years, a 90 percent decrease from what they previously owed. The first payment is due in October, and will be made from the National Bank of Cuba to the Russian lender Vnesheconombank.

And why did he do it? Probably because Cuba is sitting on $900B in oil reserves and Russia's state-owned oil company wants it.

Cuba To Host LGBT Rights Convention

Next week Cuba will host an international convention of LGBT activists for the first time.  The event will be chaired by Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban president Raul Castro and Fidel Castro's niece. The Washington Blade reports:

The sixth International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association for Latin America and the Caribbean (ILGALAC) Regional Conference will take place in the beach resort of Varadero. A number of parties and other events are scheduled to take place in nearby Havana, the Cuban capital, during the gathering. “As the host country for the sixth ILGALAC Regional Conference, Cuba is not exempt from the problems of the region’s LGBTI communities,” states the organization. “The humanistic nature of the Cuban Revolution has focused on the human being in his teleological purposes since its beginning. Although the Cuban LGBTI movement does not have the organization of other international movements, the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the country is now evident with more impact and achievements.”

Among the critics of the conference is US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL): "Hosting a conference on LGBT rights is just another farcical attempt by the Cuban regime to pretend they care about anyone’s rights. The sad reality is that the Cuban people are harassed, beaten and bullied for having a point of view that differs from the regime’s. This desperate move to seem tolerant does not even come close to obscuring the repressive reality on the island.” Last year Ros-Lehtinen, who has a transgender son, endorsed marriage equality in Florida.

RELATED: Homosexuality is legal in Cuba and while no LGBT rights legislation exists, gay pride events have been allowed in recent years. In 2010 Fidel Castro publicly apologized for the treatment of LGBT people during his regime, calling it a "great injustice."  Thousands of gay people were rounded up and placed in internment camps while he was in power. At the height of the AIDS crisis, HIV+ Cubans were quarantined. Today Cuba produces generic HIV drugs and provides them free of charge.

RUSSIA: Gay-Basher In Custody After Being Deported By Cuban Authorities

Infamous gay-basher Maxim Martsinkevich is today in the custody of Russian police after fleeing to Cuba, where local authorities promptly deported him on the basis of fugitive warrants filed with Interpol by Russia and Ukraine. Via LGBTQ Nation:

A spokesperson for the Russian Federal Security services told LGBTQ Nation that Maxim Sergeyevich Martsinkevich, also known by his street nickname “Tesak” (or, the “Cleaver”) arrived at the Russian capital’s Sheremetyevo Airport after a direct flight from Havana, and was immediately detained by Russian law enforcement. Martsinkevich had been formally charged and arrested in absentia on Dec. 13, 2013, by Moscow’s Kuntsevskiy court. He is being held on charges of committing a crime under Art. 282 of the Russian Criminal Code – incitement of hatred or enmity and human dignity with violence – in connection with videos that his anti-gay Russian group “Occupy Pedophilia” had posted online. Martsinkevich fled Russia in November to the Ukraine, where he allegedly attacked and physically abused a former contestant of the Ukrainian franchise of the British talent competition, “The X Factor.” Yuvlena Frolyak, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Sevastopol, told LGBTQ Nation that her office had also issued an arrest warrant based on the criminal complaint filed by the victim.

Martsinkevich reportedly faces only three to five years in prison.

CUBA: Cops Arrest Gay-Bashing Russian Fugitive Maxim Martsinkevich

Fugitive Russian gay-basher Maxim Martsinkevich was arrested in Cuba today. Note that the following report is from the official Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Russia was informed by Cuban police of the arrest of Maxim Martsinkevich through Interpol, the Russian Interior Ministry said in a statement. More widely known under his nickname of Tesak, or machete, Martsinkevich was arrested in absentia by a Russian court last month on extremism charges. Martsinkevich said during a January 8 interview that the criminal charges against him were orchestrated by Russia’s “pedo-lobby,” and that he did not intend to return to Russia, according to Russian tabloid Life News that has close links to the security services. The details of Martsinkevich's extradition were currently being finalized, Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement Saturday. In a January 9 post on his website, Martsinkevich wrote that he had flown to Cuba from the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, via the German city of Frankfurt. In 2011, Martsinkevich founded the Occupy Pedophile vigilante group, which lured men to abusive meetings with false promises of sex with minors. The encounters were recorded and then posted online. The group was also reported to target gay men, who were subjected to similar abusive treatment.

The above-linked report notes that Martsinkevich, who is also wanted by Ukrainian authorities, has over 130,000 subscribers on the Russian social media site Vkontakte. For more about his history of brutal attacks on gay men, read my earlier reports. (Tipped by multiple JMG readers)

Fugitive Russian Gay-Basher Maxim Martsinkevich Has Fled To Cuba

Wanted by Russian and Ukrainian authorities for brutally attacking and humiliating gay men and teenagers, infamous Russian gay-basher Maxim "The Cleaver" Martsinkevich has fled to Cuba. Vocativ reports:

According to posts on Martsinkevich’s VKontakte social networking page, he was in Cuba as early as December 10. According to the visa agreement between Russia and Cuba, Russians are allowed to stay without a visa for 30 days. That means he either needs to get a visa now, stay illegally or leave. And he says he doesn’t have the money to fly home. In a post on his blog today, he talks about flying from Kiev to Havana via Frankfurt, and expounds on the lack of virtues of the German airport. Martsinkevich does not find German women attractive. He says nothing about his visa situation or future travel plans.

Vocative translates from Martsinkevich's blog post:

Attention! Official dispatch from Freedom Island (i.e. Cuba)! An offer regarding the investigation and trial. The case against me is very unusual. There are no victims. No damages. The investigation was done by incompetents. The crimes were committed virtually. I was charged without being present. I was arrested in absentia. Contrary to Interpol statutes, there has been an international arrest warrant issued in my name. I do not recognize my guilt. I am currently in Latin America and do not have the money to return to Russia. Given the above and thinking logically, I ask the following: To hold the questioning and trial in the open for the mass media to observe, with me being present via Skype. In case of conviction, I offer to serve the prison term virtually, by placing an avatar behind bars for the amount of time designated by the court. That would be fair and just, and would help bring about legal innovation. If you agree, repost this message. Sincerely, Maxim Martsinkevich.

Read Vovativ's full report.

RELATED: Last month I reported on Martsinkevich's vicious attack on a contestant from Ukraine's version of American Idol.

KEY WEST: Rainbow Flags Fly As Diana Nyad Completes Swim From Cuba

Openly lesbian marathon swimmer Diana Nyad, 64, has just finished her swim from Cuba to Key West. Hundreds of people cheered Nyad's arrival as some in the crowd waved rainbow flags.

Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad became the first person to swim the treacherous waters from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage on Monday, arriving in Key West two days after starting her 110-mile trek. Nyad, 64, unsuccessfully tried to swim the Florida Strait four times, mostly recently in 2012. The New York City native’s latest journey began Saturday morning when she jumped from the seawall of the Hemingway Marina into the warm waters off Havana. As she closed in on the Key West shores, a couple of hundred people gathered on the beach to watch her make the final leg of the swim.

Nyad's first notable swim came in 1975 when she swam the 28 miles around Manhattan in under eight hours.

UPDATE: The Tea Things are very upset that Hillary Clinton has congratulated Nyad and has "remained silent on Syria."