- Title: Cuba says regional marijuana liberalization is fueling trafficking
- Date: 22nd June 2017
- Summary: HAVANA, CUBA (JUNE 22, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SECRETARY OF CUBA'S NATIONAL DRUGS COMMISSION, ANTONIO ISRAEL IBARRA, DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SECRETARY OF CUBA'S NATIONAL DRUGS COMMISSION, ANTONIO ISRAEL IBARRA, SAYING: "In the first quarter of 2017 in Cuba, activities related to seizing drugs and everything that has to do with contraband that have been undertaken at sea through chases has tripled compared to the first quarter of 2016."
- Embargoed: 6th July 2017 21:51
- Keywords: drugs seizures crime trafficking
- Location: HAVANA AND UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, CUBA
- City: HAVANA AND UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, CUBA
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime
- Reuters ID: LVA0016MD2A1X
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The liberalization of marijuana laws is fueling drug trafficking but Cuba will not follow the trend of loosening restrictions on marijuana, a government official said on Thursday (June 22).
Antonio Israel Ibarra, the secretary of the National Drugs Commission, gave no specific figures for comparison but said Cuba had seized triple the amount of drugs from traffickers so far in 2017 compared with the same period last year.
He said Cuba would not be joining countries in the region that have legalized cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes.
Ibarra said another reason for the higher seizure rate of drugs was that criminal bands that used to smuggle people were reorganizing themselves to traffic drugs, now that the United States no longer offers Cubans special immigration treatment.
The United States in January ended its longstanding policy of admitting Cubans who set foot on U.S. soil. Cuba had said that policy encouraged its citizens to undertake dangerous voyages on the high seas and put their lives in the hands of traffickers.
Ibarra said the United States and Cuba continued to cooperate on drug trafficking issues, within the framework agreed upon last year and despite a fresh chill in U.S.-Cuban relations under President Donald Trump. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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