For Mr Branson, Cuba is just another funny little island in the Caribbean. He is being instrumental in contributing to the survival of the dictatorship, the exploitation of Cubans, the spread of prostitution, abuses, and discriminations against Cubans, and therefore, in part responsible for the increasing number of victims of sexual tourism and repression.
He should be held accoutable once Cuba is freed and be forced to pay a compensation to the Cuban nation. Besides being banned from doing business in Cuba, unless he agrees to participate in the reconstruction of the country and donate a fixed part of the profits to finance real education and those reconstructive efforts. The same with every body who does busines with the tyrant.

I think that the same many companies were punished for their complicity with Hitler and the Emperor of Japan for enslaving people -for labor and sex- and forced to apologize and pay reparations to their victims, something similar has to be done to punish all of this cagastro enablers that are making a pretty penny out of the blood and humiliation of the Cuban people. Those enterprises are cagastro's lifeline, and a few pennies on the dollar or the euro go to finance repression and to institutionalize abuse. Cuba is, with Thailand and Brazil, the place where more sexual predators go to hunt for young(er) victims. In Brazil and Thailand the prostitutes are captives of the international criminal element who sets up the brothels and the corrupted politicians and institutions in those countries. In Cuba, cagastro the pimp in chief, has taken the function of both criminals and corrupt oficials and have roll himself into both. He and his henchmen are reponsible for this crime againt their own people, therefore, against Humanity.

I wonder what percentage of those 42,000 expected visitor are sex tourists. This years recent State Department Trafficking in Persons Report cites Cuba. Here's an excerpt:

Cuba is a source country for children trafficked internally for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced child labor. Trafficking victims from all over Cuba are exploited in major cities and tourist
resorts. There are no reliable estimates available on the extent of trafficking in the country; however, children in prostitution is widely apparent, even to casual observers.

The Government of Cuba does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.The government does not provide protection services to trafficking victims and there has been no progress in this area during the reporting period. Victims, including children in prostitution, are generally treated as criminals — detained in police sweeps, held for several hours or days, fined, and released.

For the complete report, here's the link.

http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46613.htm

Chop their landing rights in the US. That'll get their attention.

Branson is one SHARP and shrewd businessman. Until I know more about this I will reserve my feelings because I DO admire the guy. Maybe his move is one of "get there before the next guy" meaning "the thing is about to explode let's put a flag NOW."
I find it strange he does this at THIS point , why not 3 years ago ? at the peak of European travel to Cuba? .... maybe he knows something we do not ;)
The time line is also a bit telling :
"The airline could be flying 150,000 to 200,000 people a year to Cuba within three to four years"

I don't know, KC. I admire him a lot, too. But this just sticks in my craw. You know, we in the US are maligned by the Europenas as evil, greedy, corporate SOBs who will stop at nothing. But, they are not far behind in forgetting what is right when dollars (er, Euros) are involved.

I just think that it is a shame that a Country like England which has a tradition that originated and supports jurisprudence based on the law of commons, allows its corporations and citizens to economically support a tyrant and a system that happens to be the antithesis of those common laws. I also find it abhorrent that there is so large a percentage of those citizens whose tastes border on depravity by exploiting a sex industry populated by desperate children and adolescents.

Virgin Atlantic, eh? A change of name to Whore-Atlantic might be appropiate at this point.

Maybe they could set up bilingual signs at Jose Marti Airport, the Spanish version reading "Aerovias Atlanti-Puta." We really move our tails for you.

When Cubans stop traveling to Cuba for vacations, to get married, to celebrate birthdays.
When Cubans stop traveling to Cuba to do business and make money.
Then we have the right to condemn and protest those that benefit with relations with Cuba.