Cuba and the United States hold fourth meeting on law enforcement dialogue

On July 10, 2018, a fourth meeting was held in Washington D.C. between authorities from law enforcement agencies from Cuba and the United States. This meeting is a continuity of the one held in the same city on September 15, 2017.

The purpose of these exchanges is to coordinate the bilateral cooperation in the field of law enforcement and to advance in the combat against the different crimes that threaten the security of the two countries such as terrorism, illicit drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, cybercrimes, among others.

The meeting took place in a respectful and professional ambiance. While reviewing the exchanges on the different areas of security, the Cuban side made reference to the concrete results of this bilateral cooperation, which has contributed to prevent crimes and prosecute offenders. The Cuban delegation also made emphasis on the information and requests for cooperation still pending a response from the U.S. side to further advance in the implementation of this mechanism.

The Cuban delegation urged the U.S. government to desist from the continued political manipulation of the alleged health incidents that became a pretext to adopt new unilateral measures that affect the operation of the respective embassies, particularly, the rendering of consular services depended upon by hundreds of thousands of people.

The investigations carried out by specialized agencies and experts from Cuba and the United States for more than one year confirmed that there is no credible evidence or hypothesis or science-based conclusions that justify the actions taken by the U.S. government against Cuba to the detriment of bilateral relations. Last June 5, U.S. Secretary of State himself affirmed that “the precise nature of the injuries suffered by the affected personnel, and whether a common cause exists for all cases, has not yet been established”.

The Cuban delegation reiterated its unchanged commitment to cooperate with the U.S. authorities to clarify this situation. Ensuring the health and security of Cubans and foreign citizens is and will be a priority of the Cuban government.  

Both sides agreed to continue with this dialogue and to keep holding the technical meetings between the law enforcement agencies from both countries to bring bilateral cooperation to fruition.

The Cuban delegation was composed of representatives from the ministries of the Interior, Foreign Affairs and Justice, the Attorney General’s Office and the General Customs of the Republic. The U.S. side was composed of representatives from the Homeland Security, Justice and State department