Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 Source: Reuters Copyright: 1999 Reuters Limited. 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D