Cuban Customs reported the detection of new attempts to smuggle drugs into the island through Havana’s José Martí International Airport.
Wiliam Pérez González, First Deputy Chief of Customs, announced through his official X profile that two cases had been detected in less than 48 hours, although he did not specify the exact date.
In the first case, liquid cocaine was smuggled in a person’s body, while in the second, methamphetamine was detected hidden inside a water pump.
In both cases, detection was made possible thanks to X-ray systems, leading Pérez González to highlight the expertise of Customs technicians in these operations.
Nueva operación de tráfico de DROGAS descubierta en el aeropuerto de La Habana, resultado de la pericia en Rayos X y del trabajo conjunto #AduanadeCuba y Órgano Antidrogas que es una fortaleza #ContraLasDrogasSeGana pic.twitter.com/BPZU7v0Ybz
— Wiliam Pérez González (@vicejefeagr) July 19, 2025
The publications do not specify the quantity of drugs seized or provide details about the individuals involved in the attempts to smuggle them into Cuba.
The information on these cases comes at a time when authorities are carrying out anti-drug campaigns and raids across the island in response to the growing drug trafficking and consumption in the country.
The Cuban government, which has reiterated its “zero tolerance” policy toward this scourge, has been organizing provincial and national exercises, including police operations, exemplary trials and educational and preventative actions in schools and communities.
In addition, the National Drug Observatory was recently inaugurated, an institution that seeks to consolidate surveillance, prevention and research on this issue.
Drug use in Cuba has visibly increased, especially among young people and teenagers. It adds to the list of social problems accumulating in Cuban society amid the country’s current deep economic crisis.
Last February, the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) reported that in 2024, more than 1,000 people were tried for their links to drug trafficking and use, most of whom were sentenced to prison terms.
Furthermore, last year, 1,051 kilograms of drugs — just over a ton — were confiscated in Cuba, most of which came from maritime shipments. Meanwhile, 105 marijuana crops were detected, and more than 49,000 plants and 207,000 seeds were seized throughout the island.
