The Cuban government revealed data that support its claim that counternarcotics efforts on the island have been successful. Cuba’s anti-drug plan- called “Coraza Popular”- has “impeded the sustainable entrance of drugs to the country” and led to the lowest amount of drug seizures since 1995. Cuban anti-drug efforts were generally praised in the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report released by the U.S. State Department last week.
On a related note, the Venezuelan government refuted the State Department’s report and accused the Drug Enforcement Administration of clandestinely cooperating with drug traffickers. Links- Washington Post, Prensa Latina, The Latin Americanist, Caribbean360.com, North County Time
Image- BBC News
4 comments:
Thanks for this message. Readers who want to follow the Cuban story closely may wish to consult or subscribe to the CubaNews list, which has been covering Cuba in great detail, and providing information from a wide range of viewpoints: favorable (mine) and critical or hostile, since August 2000.
With Bush and company touring Latin America this week, Cuba plays a key role in the continent's development as it's part of a broad alternative to the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Together with Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and others, Cuba is today building the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas or ALBA (which is Spanish for "soul")
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Walter Lippmann
Havana, Cuba
http://www.walterlippmann.com/
thanks for the tip walter.
once again, Eriw, nicely pulled together.
your blog is becoming the place to go for stories on Cuba.
Thank you both very much for your respective comments.
Wouldn't it be something else if Cuba's counternarcotics efforts are more successful than main U.S. allies in Mexico and Colombia? Certainly food for thought!
what I'm getting from reading the news here is that Venezuela and Brazil, homes of two major Left wing leaders, is the possibility that this latest generation of Left wing leaders may be abandoning Castro's public opposition to criminal networks, mafia, drugs, etc.
I know there is creditable possibility (In the Den of Lions) that Ochoa was operating with at least Raul's knowledge.
But by and large, Cuba has not been the mafia's et al's friend.
Indeed, Castro defined himself in opposition to those guys.
But having made them his enemy, it's given him two enemies, the USG and Mafia.
So maybe Lula and Chavez are trying to ignore the drug dealers? Trying to avoid making drug a law enforcement problem?
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