By Alejandra Garcia on April 23, 2023 from Havana
drug epidemics in US cities like San Francisco kills hundreds each year. photo Eric Risberg
Since the first years of the Revolution (1959), Cuba ceased to be the drug paradise created by Washington through the servile Cuban governments of the Republic years. The dream of making Cuba the Vegas of the Caribbean crumbled with the arrival of the Barbudos, who installed a zero-tolerance policy against drugs that prevails to this day. However, this has not been an easy task. The fight against this social scourge, that is in epidemic proportions in so many countries, has been a daily task, especially to date.
This Saturday, the country’s authorities dismantled an organized group that was smuggling drugs into the national territory, according to a report by the Cuban Television Information System (Sistema Informativo de la Televisión Cubana). This type of news is not unusual for a country located in one of the most active drug corridors on the planet, with smugglers moving narcotics daily from the south and center of the Americas to the north, especially to the United States, the world’s largest consumer.
Interior Ministry official Lieutenant Colonel Rigoberto Cordovés explained that the investigation began after Border Guard Troops detected 114.33 kilograms of marijuana in the municipality of Bahía Honda, in the western province of Artemisa. The authorities verified that the traffickers introduced the drug into the country through people who acted as drug mules or couriers.
They also introduced cocaine inside household appliances, and inside batteries of electric motorcycles that were imported by Cuban citizens, who would be in charge of receiving this merchandise, extracting it, and dealing it on the island.
There is no rest, the official affirmed, who stated that Cuba will continue to be an example in the fight against this scourge. “The numbers of people trying to access the country with illicit substances increase every year, as do our technological capabilities and expertise to detect the shipments and prevent them from reaching Cubans, especially young people, who are the most vulnerable ones.”
Cuba has a zero tolerance policy to drugs, which is why 26 people have already been charged as part of the investigative process, and more than 300 kg of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, and amphetamine, and almost nine million Cuban pesos (US$375,000) have been seized. Means of transportation such as speedboats, cars, electric motorcycles, and a firearm were also confiscated.
Cuba’s anti-drug prevention and control strategy is characterized by its multifaceted nature, led by the National Drug Commission, created in March 1989 and restructured in 1998 with broad interdisciplinary coordination.
Cuba’s geographical position also facilitates drug smuggling to the coasts by traffickers intercepted or pursued by foreign coastguards near our territorial waters. Smugglers often throw the merchandise into the sea to avoid being caught. For this reason, the country’s coastal communities and authorities receive training on how to deal with any suspicious packages that may wash up on our shores.
Havana is a signatory to the main multilateral legal agreements approved by the United Nations, including 11 extradition treaties, 34 legal assistance treaties, 42 drug treaties, and 31 treaties to transfer sanctioned persons to other countries. However, the island yearns for further collaboration with the U.S. government because of the close proximity of our countries.
“The challenges will be greater every year. The world continues its development to circumvent the protective mechanisms implemented. That is why our work will be even stronger and more relentless,” Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz concluded.
Source: Resumen Latinoameriano – English