Cuba is strengthening its mechanisms for preventing and combating illicit drug use and trafficking, maintaining a zero-tolerance policy and a commitment to preventing the country from being used as a storage, transit, or destination point for narcotics.
In this regard, the Minister of Justice, Oscar Manuel Silvera Martínez, president of the National Drug Commission, said at a press conference that the effective implementation of this policy, based on a preventive approach, has allowed Cuba to avoid becoming a producer or transit route, despite the complex international scenario and the global increase in highly dangerous synthetic substances.
He emphasized that the presence of illicit drugs in the national territory continues to be limited, and even though the blockade imposed by the United States restricts access to the technologies and financial resources necessary to strengthen detection, the means to do so in a timely manner are available.
The minister stressed that the national response is also based on the coordination of institutions, mass organizations, and social actors, and mentioned that the National Drug Commission—created in 1989, restructured in 1998, and chaired by the Ministry of Justice—has complementary regulations and methodological bases for the development of response and prevention plans.
Silvera Martínez explained that the Commission has developed a program of control and analysis visits to almost all provinces, as well as regional exchanges that allow for the evaluation of work practices and the improvement of the organization of subgroups. At the same time, a series of sustained communication actions are being promoted, including television programs, community meetings, and videoconferences aimed at students, workers, and the general population, with the aim of sharing knowledge, raising awareness of risks, and promoting the rejection of drug use and trafficking.
The minister stated that the national strategy is based on two essential lines of action: criminal prosecution of those who commit crimes related to illicit trafficking, and social prevention, aimed at fostering a culture of responsibility and rejection of drug use.
He commented that the central purpose is to prevent drug abuse from becoming a social phenomenon, protect people's health, and preserve the country's security, and he assured that Cuba will continue to strengthen its policy of prevention, confrontation, and cooperation, despite the challenges posed by the spread of new substances on the international scene.
MORE THAN 70 FOILED ATTEMPTS TO SMUGGLE DRUGS IN ONE YEAR
Colonel Juan Carlos Poey Guerra, head of the Specialized Anti-Drug Enforcement Agency of the Ministry of the Interior (Minint), warned of the complex international scenario surrounding the fight against this scourge and its direct impact on Cuba.
He explained that the expansion and diversification of new substances, together with the actions of international cartels and the military deployment of the United States in the Caribbean under the pretext of combating drug trafficking, create an environment that threatens stability.
Poey Guerra reiterated that Cuba is not a drug-producing or drug-storage country, but continues to suffer the effects of operations carried out from abroad, in which individuals and groups organize attempts to introduce substances through different channels, highlighting that the arrival of packages thrown or abandoned in waters near the island is now one of the main sources of drugs in the territory.
The authorities also note risks associated with the possible acquisition of some of these substances by individuals seeking to place them on the domestic market and illicit trafficking, with an emphasis on synthetic drugs or "chemicals," mostly originating in the United States.
He also highlighted new methods used to smuggle drugs into the country, including the use of speedboats, the combination of traditional methods across the air border with more sophisticated ones involving passengers and luggage, and the involvement of Cubans and foreigners living outside the country.
Between 2024 and so far in 2025, Cuban authorities have thwarted 72 attempts to smuggle drugs—marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and synthetic cannabinoids—from 11 countries.
In response to this scenario, the Minint has reinforced the training of its forces, the use of science, technology, and innovation, and prevention actions, in addition to perfecting laboratory methods that have allowed the identification of 41 new synthetic drug formulations detected in the country, most of them originating in the United States.
CUBA IS NOT A DESTINATION, TRANSIT POINT, OR STORAGE FACILITY FOR DRUGS
Similarly, First Colonel Yvey Daniel Carballo Pérez, Chief of Staff of the Minint's Border Guard Troops Directorate, stressed that Cuba's geographical location places it on one of the most active international drug trafficking routes, connecting the production areas in South America with the main consumer market in the United States.
However, he insisted that the country is not a destination, transit point, or storage facility for drugs, as a result of the political will to maintain a zero-tolerance policy.
In the current scenario, he explained, troops are facing an increase in the arrival of drug packages on Cuban shores, which are the result of foiled drug trafficking operations in nearby waters, whose cargoes drift toward the island due to currents and winds.
Carballo Pérez pointed out that these incidents can occur anywhere along Cuba's 5,746 kilometers of coastline, which requires a constant, coordinated response in which the coastal population plays an essential role by reporting findings and supporting operations.
As an example, he mentioned the seizure, following the recent passage of Hurricane Melissa through the eastern part of the country, of 792.5 kilograms of marijuana and 12.25 kilograms of cocaine on the northern coast of Guantánamo.
He specified that, in addition to the landings, 14 speedboats and 39 drug traffickers have been captured in recent years, with a total of 4,487 kilograms of drugs associated with those operations.
Carballo Pérez stressed that the actions of the Border Guard Troops are governed by strict compliance with the maritime legal framework and international conventions signed by Cuba, and emphasized that all operations are carried out without causing loss of human life, even when confronting speedboats used by traffickers.
