The consumption and trafficking of drugs among the Cuban population is one of the many problems that feed the social disruption on the island, said José Machado Ventura, Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and First Vice-President of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers.
“I would like to call your attention…to something that deserves social rejection. I am talking about the consumption and trafficking of drugs, which although is a minor problem in our country compared to other countries, nevertheless promotes an environment absolutely foreign to the traditions and values characteristic of our society and damages the image of our Revolution” said Machado Ventura at the closing of the 8th Congress of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), held over the course of two days in Havana under the leadership of Raúl Castro.
This is the first time that a high ranking official of the Cuban government talks about the increased consumption and trafficking of drugs among the Cuban population. The subject has been taboo among official media, though for a long time, independent sources have been reporting extensive information on the subject.
Machado added that “preventive measures deserve priority. In the war against this scourge, personal attention to the addicted and their family is of the utmost importance”.
While summing up the results achieved during the 8th Congress, Machado said that the CDR’s initial objectives, which were created to keep watch over the opposition and to report the activities of its members, have changed, “because after more than 50 years, the country, its people and its conditions are different.”
“New problems demand new methods, ways to confront them and finding a possible solution, so the organization has to be brought up to date”, he stated.
“Today, the organization has better content, aligned and reflective of our reality and is therefore closer what our people feel and believe”, he added.
Machado expressed his pleasure since, according to him, the new leaders of the CDR “are in compliance with the precepts established by the policies regarding gender, race and age. In that respect, all is well.”
What seems to be wrong, according to Machado, is the passive attitude and indolence of the members of the organization.
“We find ourselves at a crucial moment and must go from holding meetings and making declarations to taking decisive action, calling into account those who infringe the rules or violate the norms of social life. We must keep a watchful eye on personal and collective goods and resolutely confront excuses and lack of action that are beginning to be commonplace”, he warned.
“I would like to call your attention…to something that deserves social rejection. I am talking about the consumption and trafficking of drugs, which although is a minor problem in our country compared to other countries, nevertheless promotes an environment absolutely foreign to the traditions and values characteristic of our society and damages the image of our Revolution” said Machado Ventura at the closing of the 8th Congress of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), held over the course of two days in Havana under the leadership of Raúl Castro.
This is the first time that a high ranking official of the Cuban government talks about the increased consumption and trafficking of drugs among the Cuban population. The subject has been taboo among official media, though for a long time, independent sources have been reporting extensive information on the subject.
Machado added that “preventive measures deserve priority. In the war against this scourge, personal attention to the addicted and their family is of the utmost importance”.
While summing up the results achieved during the 8th Congress, Machado said that the CDR’s initial objectives, which were created to keep watch over the opposition and to report the activities of its members, have changed, “because after more than 50 years, the country, its people and its conditions are different.”
“New problems demand new methods, ways to confront them and finding a possible solution, so the organization has to be brought up to date”, he stated.
“Today, the organization has better content, aligned and reflective of our reality and is therefore closer what our people feel and believe”, he added.
Machado expressed his pleasure since, according to him, the new leaders of the CDR “are in compliance with the precepts established by the policies regarding gender, race and age. In that respect, all is well.”
What seems to be wrong, according to Machado, is the passive attitude and indolence of the members of the organization.
“We find ourselves at a crucial moment and must go from holding meetings and making declarations to taking decisive action, calling into account those who infringe the rules or violate the norms of social life. We must keep a watchful eye on personal and collective goods and resolutely confront excuses and lack of action that are beginning to be commonplace”, he warned.
