Meetings between U.S. and Cuban officials on issues other than migration are rare but not unprecedented.
``This is not a change in U.S. policy,'' said Michael Ranneberger, who heads the State Department's office of Cuban affairs. He said the meeting was taking place within guidelines for law enforcement efforts on counter-narcotics.
The U.S. team consisted of two State Department and two Coast Guard officials, none of whom holds a high rank. They were to spend only one day in Cuba.
Monday's meeting was aimed at elevating communications on counter-narcotics issues from an existing telex link to a phone link and other means, an official said, adding that the U.S. team had no plans to offer assistance to Cuba, to share intelligence or to discuss joint operations.
U.S. counter-drug specialists have become increasingly concerned about South American traffickers' use of Cuban waters and air space to transport drugs to the United States, and the law enforcement community had requested that a team be sent, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., objected strongly to the decision, saying it was ridiculous for the administration to give Cuban President Fidel Castro credibility on the drug issue. She said Castro is notorious for helping drug traffickers. Similar objections were voiced by Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart who, like Ros-Lehtinen, is a Cuban-born South Florida Republican.
In a telephone interview, Diaz-Balart said a grand jury in U.S. District Court in South Florida prepared an indictment against the Castro government concerning tons of cocaine that entered the United States. The Clinton administration shelved the indictment in 1993 despite ``massive'' evidence of Cuban involvement with drug kingpins, the congressman said.
But Barry McCaffrey, the White House drug control policy chief, said last month that Cuba has shown a willingness to help the United States fight international drug trade.
Only a small portion of the drugs entering the United States come through Cuba, McCaffrey said, adding that the island's location and a growing tourist market could make it an opportune target for drug traffickers.
McCaffrey also credited Cuba with acting on intelligence the United States provides to Cuban authorities. Cuba lacks the resources to counter large drug-trafficking organizations, so drugs are routinely flown over Cuba or dumped in Cuban waters without effective resistance by local authorities, he said.
© Copyright 1999 The Associated Press