Miami, Tampa Florida Said To Differ on Hosting Cuban Consulate

[From article]
Officials in Miami want no part of a consulate. Their politically powerful Cuban-American population is heavily influenced by those who fled Fidel Castro's 1959 communist revolution and have campaigned against the Castros for five decades since then, sometimes violently.
Tampa's smaller and politically weaker Cuban-American community was formed generations earlier -- by people who left the island during the era of the Spanish-American War of 1898, which led to Cuba's independence from Spain. And Tampa's leadership sees the opening of relations with Cuba as an economic opportunity, thinking a consulate would enhance Tampa's position.
[. . .]



Many Cuban-Americans in Miami fled the Castro revolution or are descended from those who did; some have relatives who died opposing it or had property seized.
The city has become home to anti-Castro Cuban-American groups ever since, from those involved in the Bay of Pigs invasion to the Brothers to the Rescue group, whose members were killed when their small planes were shot down trying to drop leaflets over the island. Many believe the Cuban Five spy ring, which infiltrated anti-Castro groups in the 1990s, enabled Cuban fighter jets to destroy the Cessnas.
"A Cuban consulate is a headquarters for espionage, so I don't know what city thinks of that as a badge of honor," Ros-Lehtinen said.
[. . .]



the chamber's president and CEO, said Tampa can boast cultural connections with Cuba from the time of Jose Marti, who fought for Cuban independence against Spain and lived in the city in the late 1800s while working on his revolutionary plan. Tampa's Ybor City neighborhood once boasted 200 Cuban cigar factories, and is the birthplace of the Cuban sandwich.
The city's port also has been much more aggressive about courting Cuban business than Miami's, and Tampa's "long historic friendship" with Cuba makes them the best option, Rohrlack said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_CUBAN_CONSULATE_FLORIDA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Jul 22, 4:06 PM EDT
CUBAN CONSULATE POSSIBILITY DIVIDES MIAMI, TAMPA OFFICIALS
BY MARISOL MEDINA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Woman Who Married Christian Sentenced to Death, Link To Form for Letters

Link to send letter to Consulate of Sudan regarding the possible death of woman who married a Christian.

http://www.sudanembassy.org/index.php?option=com_breezingforms&Itemid=13

[From article]
A Sudanese woman doctor who married a Christian man and who was convicted earlier this week on charges of “apostasy” was sentenced to death on Thursday, judicial officials said.
According to the Sudanese officials, 26-year-old Meriam Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim, was convicted on Sunday and given four days to repent and escape death. She was sentenced after that grace period expired, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The BBC reported the woman’s death by hanging will not be carried out until two years after the birth of her child.
[. . .]
The court in Khartoum also ordered Ibrahim be given 100 lashes for committing “zena” — an Arabic word for illegitimate sex — for having sexual relations with a non-Muslim man.
[. . .]
As in many Muslim nations, Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims, though Muslim men can marry outside their faith. By law, children must follow their father’s religion.

http://nypost.com/2014/05/15/pregnant-woman-to-be-flogged-hanged-for-marrying-christian/

Pregnant woman to be flogged, hanged for marrying Christian
By Post Wire Report
New York Post
May 15, 2014 | 9:19am

CIA Reveals Its Role In Benghazi Attack

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2226821/CIA-admits-role-US-consulate-attack-Benghazi.html

Benghazi consulate that came under attack by Al Qaeda militants was
being used for CIA operations
Four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed in a
six-hour, commando-style attack on the US Mission on September 11
CIA Director David Petraeus did not attend the ceremony when the
coffins arrived back in US to conceal the CIA operation in eastern
Libya
Al Qaeda in North Africa and Islamist militia Ansar al-Sharia were implicated
Timeline of CIA involvement blows open the dramatic sequence of
events, revealing that of 30 American officials there, 23 were with
the CIA
CIA team had been operating out of a building known as 'the annex',
less than half a mile away from the consulate in central Benghazi
Timeline reveals heroic rescue effort by CIA team and the terrifying
firefight they encountered
By MATT BLAKE
Daily Mail (UK)
PUBLISHED: 07:11 EST, 2 November 2012 | UPDATED: 12:16 EST, 2 November 2012

Navy Seals Killed in Libya Not Regular Ambassador Security

[From article]
Those briefed on the latest intelligence say investigators are trying to determine when and why Stevens’ official State Department security team got separated from the ambassador when the attacks occurred the evening of Sept. 11. The separation of the team from the ambassador remains one of the more serious matters under review, the officials said.

http://www.washingtonguardian.com/revising-libya-story
U.S. officials clarify administration description of two heroes in Libya attack
Ex-Navy Seals weren't part of ambassador's security detail but rose to occasion, officials now confirm UPDATED 21:58 PM EDT, SEPTEMBER 19, 2012
BY JOHN SOLOMON
Why It Matters: The Obama administration's initial account of the Libyan consulate attack didn't give the full story about two ex-Navy SEALs who helped repel the security breach until they were killed. Now officials are confirming those two heroes' real jobs at the embassy along with evidence of ties between the attack and al-Qaida.

US Consulate Employees Shot Dead in Mexico

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100314/wl_nm/us_obama_mexico_murders

Mexico gunmen kill American consulate staff

AFP/File – View of the US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua State, Mexico

By Julian Cardona Julian Cardona
Sun Mar 14, 5:24 pm ET