NCJ Number
162523
Journal
Current History Volume: 95 Issue: 598 Dated: (February 1996) Pages: 55-58
Date Published
1996
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article examines the Cuban drug situation and suggests that the United States should change its perspective on the issue.
Abstract
Cuba occupies an important geographical position astride the primary air and maritime smuggling routes between South America and the southeastern United States. During the 1980s, smuggling operations received the support and protection of high-ranking officials in the Cuban government. The resulting perception, that the Cuban government abets drug traffic as a matter of official policy, has been damaging to relations between the United States and Cuba. While Cuba's drug transit traffic has at times been a central factor in the United States-Cuba relationship, the traffic is also having repercussions domestically in Cuba. There appears to be a growing internal market for illicit drugs and accompanying troubles such as a black market for prescription drugs. Cuba's drug problems seem likely to grow as the country's economic performance declines, and international assistance is needed. Cuba presents no security threat of consequence to the United States and there is no foreign policy reason not to improve relations in areas of mutual interest such as narcotics.