Marianao, La Lisa, Arroyo Naranjo, and San Miguel del Padrón are the municipalities with the most complex issues regarding drug trafficking and consumption in Havana. This was explained on Friday by the Ministry of Interior (Minint) during the program 'Hacemos Cuba', hosted by regime spokesperson Humberto López.
"There, the trafficking bases are concentrated. There is a culture of consumption. That's where the main drug traffickers and consumers are," explained Colonel Juan Carlos Poey, head of the specialized anti-drug unit.
It has also been specified that in the neighborhoods of La Güinera (Arroyo) and El Palenque (La Lisa), the consumption of methamphetamine has already been detected, indicating that drug addiction has escalated from synthetic cannabinoids (El Químico) to methamphetamines (pills, powders, or stimulant crystals). This is due to the fact that addiction requires increasingly higher doses and that these doses need to be stronger.
The Ministry of the Interior attributes the rise in drug trafficking and addiction to "a group of Cubans" who are attempting to promote a market for methamphetamines due to their high profitability: from one gram, 12 to 18 fragments can be obtained, which are sold for between 1,000 and 1,500 pesos. However, the most profitable substance remains El Químico, as a letter-sized sheet impregnated with synthetic cannabinoids is divided into 1,200 doses, with each dose sold for 120 pesos.
Behind this surge of drug trafficking in Cuba, there are 23 Cubans with red notices issued in the Interpol database. Most of them reside in the United States and have not been returned to the island, likely due to the regime's lack of credibility, which often uses anti-terrorism or drug trafficking alerts to target opponents of the Communist Party.
According to the Minint, marijuana has historically reached Cuba, but recently the country has been affected by the overproduction of cocaine in southern countries. As a result, cocaine is now entering the Island, and 90% of what is brought in is converted into crack.
Cocaine is brought into the country primarily by foreigners, who conceal it within their bodies. In many cases, they are detected at José Martí Airport in Havana, where authorities work in advance of a flight's arrival to identify passengers who fit the most common profiles of traffickers based on nationality and age range, explained Colonel Roberto Aguilera Puig, head of the Border Unit of the Directorate of Identification, Immigration, and Foreign Affairs.
At the same airport, they have also detected the entry of household appliances whose instruction manuals are infused with El Químico or hidden drugs concealed in canned goods. The latter are identified, even when sealed, by their weight variation.
In response to spokesperson Humberto López's question about why, despite knowing where drugs are sold and consumed, as well as how they enter the country, drug trafficking and addiction continue to proliferate in Cuba, the official in charge of anti-drug efforts hesitated before pointing out the creativity of the traffickers who land on the Island with drugs and leave loaded with people.
The "Cuban" strategy lies in "achieving a balance between prevention and confrontation," although the head of Minint did not indicate whether it will be altered, as it is clear that it is not working.
In any case, the regime has called for citizen collaboration in the fight against drug trafficking. In fact, Humberto López has encouraged residents who see drug sales in their neighborhood to report it, and if the situation occurs at the family level, to seek help.
Between 2023 and 2024, 2.6 tons of drugs destined for the United States have been intercepted on the coasts of Cuba.
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