HAVANA: Top law enforcement officials in Cuba said on Thursday the island was prioritizing the fight against narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean and continued to provide information to the US Coast Guard amid escalating tensions and surging US military presence in the region.
Cuba and the United States in 2017 agreed to cooperate in the fight against drug trafficking, but Col. Ybey Carballo, chief of Cuba’s Border Guard, told reporters in Havana formal engagement between the two long-time rival nations had ended under the second administration of US President Donald Trump.
Carballo said Cuba nonetheless routinely provides the US Coast Guard with intelligence, locations, routes and characteristics of boats suspected of trafficking drugs near its waters.
“Cuba is not a black hole like some like to say,” said Carballo, adding that the island’s proactive approach contributed both to the security of the region and “especially to that of the United States, because the boats are often headed (there).”
Carballo said Cuba had provided more than 1,500 tips and intelligence on drug traffickers to the US Coast Guard between 1990 and November 30, 2025, proof, he said, of the island’s long-standing commitment to fighting the drug trade.
