CUBA: Government Denies Island is a Drug-Runner’s Paradise

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Jun 27 1996 (IPS) - The Cuban government is freeing up information on the trafficking of drugs through its territory, to counteract attempts to depict the Caribbean island nation as a drug-runner’s paradise.

A report on “Cuba’s inflexible fight against international drug trafficking” published by the official media tells of 11 foreigners – two from England, three from the Bahamas, three Colombians and three he Havana Centre of U.S. Studies said the allegations on drug trafficking are part of U.S. attempts to slap international sanctions on the island.

Experts point out that the accusations come from the same individuals who pushed the Helms-Burton law, which is aimed at stiffening the U.S. economic, commercial and financial boycott of Cuba, and punishing firms from other countries that do business with the Caribbean nation.

“The island is involved in the fight against the trafficking of drugs in the region by monitoring drug trafficking action both within the country and i “key” to the Gulf of Mexico puts it at the centre of the Caribbean drug-running corridor.

“Cuba is neither a producer nor a consumer market of drugs,” stated the daily, which admitted however that nearby waters and international air space have been used by drug traffickers.

The government warn