Canadian government officials have reminded their Cuban counterparts the Caribbean nation is a major travel destination for the people of this country - something they hope will be taken into consideration as the case of a Canadian teen who is trapped on the island continues unresolved.
Canada called the Cuban government's representative in Ottawa to a meeting Tuesday to raise the issue of citizens currently detained in Cuba, including the case of Cody LeCompte, the 19-year-old from southwestern Ontario who has been unable to leave since a car accident in April.
"While aware that Cuban law allows for a period of lengthy investigation, Canadian officials expressed their concern that the investigation into this matter is taking so long," Peter Kent, the minister of state for Foreign Affairs (Americas) said in a news release Wednesday.
"Canadians have long appreciated Cuba as a tourist destination. The delay faced by Canadians awaiting resolution of such cases could affect fellow Canadians' choice of Cuba as a tourist destination in the future."
The government says Canadian consular officials have made numerous calls to both the LeCompte family and to Cuban officials in Havana asking the case be expedited.
Mr. Kent said that he and Deepak Obhrai, parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with senior Cuban officials at the African Union Summit in Uganda last week and raised Mr. LeCompte's case directly.
Mr. LeCompte is staying at a Cuban resort as he waits for word that he can go home. His mother says she has racked up $20,000 to $25,000 in expenses waiting for the case to be resolved - the family had to save for the initial vacation, which was a reward for Mr. LeCompte's getting accepted into college.
Supporters have started a Facebook page urging the Cuban government to let him return to Canada.
Mr. LeCompte was recently told that a jury will decide if his case needs to go to a full criminal trial. He has never been charged in the accident, which occurred when he the car he was driving was hit by a truck that emerged from a sideroad.