Castro sent an advance team to Seattle and reserved a hall for an evening speech at the University of Washington. But he hadn't requested a U.S. entry visa as of Wednesday, and it was uncertain whether he would attend the conference.
Cuba is one of the 135 member countries in the WTO and is expected to send a delegation.
U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., has asked Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire to arrest Castro in connection with the 1996 deaths of four people when Cuban fighters downed two planes of the anti-Castro group Brothers to the Rescue.
Gregoire's spokeswoman, Liz Mendizabal, said Castro's behavior is an issue for federal, not state, authorities.
Brothers to the Rescue and the Cuban American National Foundation have made similar demands for an indictment and said they would have a presence in Seattle if Castro attends the conference, running from Nov. 30 to Dec. 4.
Diaz-Balart cited as precedent the treatment of former Chilean leader Gen. Augusto Pinochet, in custody in Britain fighting extradition to Spain on torture charges, and former Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega, convicted in the United States of cocaine trafficking, racketeering and money laundering.
Castro was last in the United States in 1995 for the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.
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