Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, Sep 10 - Officials from the General Customs of the Republic (AGR, for its acronym in Spanish) and the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) participated in a specialized course on air cargo and passengers to combat drug trafficking, held at the José Martí International Airport in the capital, under the auspices of the French Customs.
Yosvani Bárcena, Director General of Customs Procedures at the AGR, told Tribuna de La Habana that the initiative is part of bilateral cooperation and responds to the priority that the country gives to updating knowledge, exchange of experience and application of good practice in the fight against drug trafficking.
The five-day program included lectures and practical exercises given by French specialists Julie Goupil and Hugo Hiermaux, along with Sebastián Durán, the French Customs attaché to Cuba, who shared methodologies and procedures used at international airports for the detection of prohibited substances.
Representatives of the French Embassy in Cuba, French Customs officials, and heads of bodies, within the MININT and AGR's counter-drug trafficking systems attended the opening of the course, demonstrating institutional support for this type of training.
Bárcena highlighted that the course is part of the AGR’s National Enforcement Program, which includes modernizing technical equipment, strengthening canine techniques, and continuous staff training, in coordination with international organizations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
According to official data, dozens of cases linked to drug trafficking, weapons, and prohibited goods have been detected recently, results that confirm the effectiveness of the measures implemented and the zero-tolerance policy toward illegal activities at the border.
Cooperation with French Customs is part of a broader strategy by Cuba to strengthen airport and port security and to fulfill international commitments in drug control and transnational crime. (ACN) (Photo: Taken from the Internet)
