Leaked Cables Shows Cuban Cooperation On Drug War
MIAMI (CBS4) - The treasure-trove of U.S. diplomatic documents from the Wikileaks website showed that the Cuban government works well with the U.S. Coast Guard on drug cases, but has "significant frustration" at the lack of cooperation on drug cases from the Jamaican government.
The cables said that there's easy cooperation with Cuba's anti-drug police and the Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Specialist based in Havana, according to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald.
The Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Specialist's cable noted complaints about Jamaican lack of cooperation from more than a dozen Ministry of Interior officers involved in counter-drug operations, according to the Herald.
Jamaican national security minister said that the Havana complaints were "absolute rubbish."
The cable said drug smugglers from Jamaica were using Cuban airspace and territorial waters to transport drugs to the U.S. market. Part of the problem, according to Cuban officials, was that drug intelligence reports had to be translated into English because no one in the Jamaican anti-drug offices spoke Spanish.
Elsewhere, cables from U.S. diplomats in Cuba reported that Raul Castro suffered from depression in 2006 during the ailments of his wife and brother, according to the Herald.
A cable from just before President Obama took office in January 2009 said that when Fidel Castro dies, the Cuban government will seek to ensure the Cuban public knows that Raul Castro and the rest of the government remain in firm control," the Herald reported.
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