St. Petersburg could become home to Cuban consulate

St. Petersburg appears to be out front in a bid to become home to the first Cuban consulate in the United States in more than five decades.

The Tampa Bay Times reported Saturday that Cuban officials spent the day touring the city located on Florida’s west coast. The newspaper reported that Cuba’s consular general from its embassy in Washington, D.C. and his second in command looked at real estate in downtown St. Petersburg.

Both Tampa and St. Petersburg have been vying for the site of a consulate but so far officials have not toured Tampa. Miami has a large population of Cuban Americans but many leaders in that city have opposed locating a consulate there.

The duties of a consulate include issuing visas and promoting and assisting with trade and other business ventures.