On April 13, 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba informed via Diplomatic Note to the Embassy of the United States in Havana that it rejects the statements that the Newsweek magazine, on its article dated April 3, 2020, attributes to a “high official” of the U.S. Department of Defense, according to whom “the U.S. intelligence community has evidence” that there have been drug shipments between Venezuela and Cuba.
Said statements, if they were ever made, are completely opposite to the content of the 2020 “International Narcotics Control Strategy Report” issued by the U.S. Department of State, which recognizes that “Cuba is not a major consumer, producer, or transit point of illicit drugs”, that “Cuba’s domestic production and consumption remain low due to active policing, strict sentencing, and nationwide prevention and public information programs” and that “Cuba dedicates significant resources to prevent illicit drugs and their use from spreading, and regional traffickers typically avoid Cuba”.
The same report recognizes the favorable results of the intense efforts of the Cuban authorities to reduce the drug supply and prevent drug traffickers from establishing a transit point in the national territory.
It mentions Cuba´s international cooperation in the combat against illicit drug trafficking and the official bilateral agreements signed by Cuba, including one with the United States. It highlights that, in virtue of this agreement, the authorities from both countries share information and coordinate responses to face drug trafficking.
The United States government and its specialized agencies have more than enough elements to deny the slanderous statements attributed to a “high official” of the Department of Defense. Said government has evidence to reaffirm that what was said in the Newsweek article is not true and that it knows for a fact that Cuba has a zero-tolerance policy against drug trafficking and that it actively participates in regional and global initiatives and programs to battle against drug consumption.
April 13, 2020