U.S., Cuba seek agreement to cooperate in fight against drug-trafficking

The Cuban embassy in the United States said the meeting took place in a "climate of respect and professionalism" and, although no concrete agreement was announced, both delegations agreed on "the need to sign formal documents to formalize exchanges in this area."

The U.S. State Department had earlier said the focus of the meeting was to "discuss ways to stop the illegal flow of narcotics to and from Cuba and the United States, and explore ways the two countries can cooperate on this issue."

During the meeting both countries stressed the importance of advancing bilateral cooperation to fight against drug-trafficking more efficiently.

The Cuban delegation was presided over by Yuri Gala Lopez, Director of Bilateral Affairs, Directorate General for the United States, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and included representatives from the ministries of interior, justice, foreign affairs, the General Customs of the Republic and the Cuban embassy in Washington.

The U.S. delegation was led by Mark Wells, coordinator for Cuban Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and other representatives of the Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard.

This is the second meeting on the issue (the first was held in April 2014, before the reestablishment of U.S.-Cuba diplomatic relations) where both sides agreed to continue these technical meetings with the possibility of another meet in Havana in the summer of 2016.

The Cuban government had said in November it hoped to achieve an agreement with United States on the fight against drug-trafficking soon.

United States and Cuba are also in talks to restore regular flights between the countries as well as direct postal mail and signed an accord on environmental protection last week.

The two countries also agreed Monday to maintain expert-level meetings to improve their way of dealing with gangs engaged in trafficking Cuban migrants.

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