On Tuesday, working-level representatives from the United States and Cuba held a technical meeting in Havana to exchange information and best practices related to preventing cybercrime and online fraud, including in the areas of pharmaceutical fraud and illicit narcotics. Participants also discussed the legal framework for investigating and penalizing cybercrime. Additionally, participants held a session on protecting children from online predators.
Assistant Deputy Associate Director Alexis Torres from U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) led the U.S. delegation.
The Cuban delegation included representatives from the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Relations.
Last November, the United States and Cuba held an inaugural Law Enforcement Dialogue in Washington, DC. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Alex Lee and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bruce Swartz led the delegation for the United States, and Mr. Abel Gonzalez Santamaria, Deputy Advisor of the Commission on Defense and National Security, and Ambassador Yuri Gala Lopez, Director of Bilateral Affairs, Directorate General for the United States, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led the Cuba delegation.
Law enforcement is a key area in the bilateral relationship as the United States continues on the path toward normalized relations with Cuba. The meeting took place in a respectful and productive environment and reinforced the benefits of law enforcement cooperation to both countries. The discussion focused on a wide range of areas of cooperation in law enforcement, including counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, transnational crime, cyber-crime, secure travel and trade, and fugitives.
