U.S., CUBA SEEK TO IMPROVE ANTI-DRUG COOPERATION

HAVANA (Reuters) - The United States and Cuba held talks Monday on ways of
improving coordination in the fight against drug-trafficking, one of the
rare areas where the two feuding neighbors maintain a degree of cooperation.

Officials from the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Coast Guard met their
Cuban counterparts in Havana to discuss "operational concerns and procedures
relating to drugs interdiction," a U.S. official in Havana who asked not to
be identified told Reuters.

The U.S. side was led by Michael Kozak, the head of the U.S. Interests
Section in Cuba.

Diplomats familiar with the situation said the talks aimed to improve
communication and coordination between the two sides in their mutual efforts
to curb drug-trafficking in the region.

The diplomats took pains to stress that Monday's talks did not herald any
shift in U.S.-Cuban relations, which have remained generally hostile since
the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

"It's nothing new. There is no breakthrough. It's just tightening up
procedures," one of the diplomats said.

Communist-ruled Cuba straddles the main drug shipment routes leading from
major producing areas in Latin America to consumer markets in the United
States and Europe. Cuban President Fidel Castro has pledged to combat
drug-trafficking.

Although they do not have formal diplomatic relations, U.S. and Cuban
authorities have been cooperating on a case-by-case basis in anti-drug
operations. This has led to at least one major seizure of drug-carrying
vessels in recent years.

Coast Guard officials from the two countries hold periodic talks and can
communicate through a direct fax line.

One other area where Havana and Washington actively cooperate is in dealing
with illegal migrants. The two sides signed bilateral immigration accords in
1994 and 1995.