Cuba, U.S. hold talks on law enforcement despite tensions

Reuters

Published Jan 19, 2018 08:19PM ET

Cuba, U.S. hold talks on law enforcement despite tensions

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban and U.S. officials concluded on Friday a week of talks on law enforcement cooperation in Washington with a meeting on the combat against illicit drug trafficking, at a time of heightened tensions between the old Cold War foes.

The talks show the countries continue to cooperate in some areas despite Republican U.S. President Donald Trump having a tougher stance on the Communist-run island than his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama, as well as an ongoing crisis over alleged health attacks on U.S. diplomats in Havana.

"The meeting took place in an ambiance of respect and professionalism," the Cuban foreign ministry said in a statement. "Both parties shared the view on the usefulness of the meeting and agreed to maintain the talks in the future."

This was the fourth technical exchange on the fight against drug trafficking since Cuban and U.S. authorities established the law enforcement dialogue framework in November 2015.

Over the past week, Cuban and U.S. officials have also held talks in Washington on cybersecurity and preventing terrorism, according to the Cuban foreign ministry.

Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro declared a historic detente after five decades of hostility on Dec. 17 2014.

The two countries opened embassies, restored commercial flights and negotiated agreements on issues including the environment, law enforcement, the postal service and communications.

Those measures remain in place, although Trump last June announced a partial rollback of the detente, ordering tighter trade and travel restrictions.

His administration in September also slashed staffing at the U.S. embassy in Havana over what it says is a mysterious spate of illnesses in two dozen of its diplomats and their relatives.

Get The News You Want
Read market moving news with a personalized feed of stocks you care about.
Get The App

Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.

Sign out
Are you sure you want to sign out?
NoYes
CancelYes
Saving Changes