US: GOP lawmakers worry about security gaps at Cuban airports
In pursuing his historic opening of relations with Cuba, President Obama has frequently pushed legal and political boundaries. Now congressional Republicans are up in arms about another such initiative: an airline travel agreement they say exposes the United States to dangerous security gaps at Cuban airports. Congressional committees charged with overseeing the Department of Homeland Security and TSA have engaged in a months-long feud with the administration over security vulnerabilities at 10 Cuban airports that have begun direct flights to the United States. The lawmakers say the lapses increase the risk of terrorists, criminals, drugs and spies entering the United States. The security dogs that can be seen at Cuban airports are “mangy street dogs” that were fraudulently posed as trained animals, the TSA’s top official for the Caribbean, Larry Mizell, told congressional officials behind closed doors in March, according to these officials. He also told them there are few body scanners at the Cuban airports and that those in place are Chinese-made versions for which no reliability data exists.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2016-10-04/general/us-gop-lawmakers-worry-about-security-gaps-at-cuban-airports
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US: GOP lawmakers worry about security gaps at Cuban airports
In pursuing his historic opening of relations with Cuba, President Obama has frequently pushed legal and political boundaries. Now congressional Republicans are up in arms about another such initiative: an airline travel agreement they say exposes the United States to dangerous security gaps at Cuban airports. Congressional committees charged with overseeing the Department of Homeland Security and TSA have engaged in a months-long feud with the administration over security vulnerabilities at 10 Cuban airports that have begun direct flights to the United States. The lawmakers say the lapses increase the risk of terrorists, criminals, drugs and spies entering the United States. The security dogs that can be seen at Cuban airports are “mangy street dogs” that were fraudulently posed as trained animals, the TSA’s top official for the Caribbean, Larry Mizell, told congressional officials behind closed doors in March, according to these officials. He also told them there are few body scanners at the Cuban airports and that those in place are Chinese-made versions for which no reliability data exists.<br/>
