Corruption at Varadero airport: One hundred dollars to pass electronic cigarettes

A Cuban woman reported by phone an airport worker in Varadero who allegedly extorted her husband on April 5th when he, coming from Canada, tried to pass through security with three e-cigarettes he had on him. In exchange for being allowed to pass them through, the worker asked for 100 dollars. Since the man had planned to gift that amount to children, he gave it to her.

Upon passing through the security checkpoint at Juan Gualberto Gómez airport, the Canadian citizen told his Cuban wife what had happened, and she became outraged, explaining to him that what the airport worker had done was illegal. But it didn't stop there. The Cuban woman, who goes by the name Amanda Benavides on Facebook, called the airport and reported the situation, taking advantage of the fact that her husband had noted the name of the worker who charged him the $100. Airport authorities assured her that they would resolve the case.

Last October, the Cuban Customs emphasized in a statement that for the Cuban authorities, electronic cigarettes are still "harmful to human health and promote the trend towards the consumption of narcotic substances and drugs, for which there is a zero tolerance policy in the country."

The complaint made by the Canadian citizen's wife was useless. When her husband was about to take the return flight to Canada, he found the author of the alleged extortion at the airport.

So I wonder why they didn't take action. Could it be that all authorities are splitting the money taken from passengers among themselves? I made the call again, where I was told they were already working on it, but I am reaching out through this medium to find a solution to problems like this so that this doesn't continue happening," Benavides pointed out on his Facebook wall.

Among the comments received on the post is one from an internet user who celebrates that you took the step to report, but warns you not to think that things will change in any way. "It's good that you reported it, but don't expect much change. That's an old problem and it's deeply entrenched," she pointed out.

Another Cuban lamented that these types of behaviors discourage visitors from coming to the Island. "You can't even go to Cuba for a visit. They asked my sister for 50 USD for smoking, and she gave it to them out of desperation and stress. And almost when boarding the plane, they asked her for the flip-flops she was wearing right to her face. They are ruining everything."

The majority agreed that the accusation made by her husband's extorter "is a dead letter." "The customs complaints in Cuba are useless. At the end of the shift, they share the profits without exceptions," wrote another person in response to the post.

The incidents and bad experiences at Cuban airports are continuous. At the end of last year, a Cuban who traveled from Miami to Havana had one of his suitcases stolen upon arriving at José Martí airport and attributed the incident to the corruption of the workers at this airport.

It happened on October 25th. The passenger who lost his suitcase flew with Delta Airlines and arrived in Cuba at 3:45 pm through terminal 3, according to his daughter-in-law's complaint to journalist Alberto Arego. "He was carrying two suitcases weighing 49 pounds each. When it was time to pick them up, only one appeared. At that moment, after searching extensively, the complaint was made to the relevant offices and they were told they would respond within 24 hours. Finally, the responsibility for the incident was attributed to Delta Airlines.

According to the victim's account, what happened was that he gave 130 dollars to a person to take the briefcase outside: 100 for him and 30 for the person at the door. And then, the briefcase was stolen.

Last February, an employee of the José Martí International Airport in Havana was arrested by the Cuban police after belongings stolen from the luggage of travelers arriving at that airport were found in his possession.

The arrest was made following "a report made due to the disappearance of a mobile phone that was inside a package." As a result of this incident, "airport police carried out a search at the home of a terminal driver who was dedicated to taking things from the packages he delivered to the warehouse."

During the search carried out at the man's house, "several items that had been stolen were found, ranging from printers, toolboxes, sealed boxes and packages, to fuel."