CANADIAN DETAINED IN CUBA ALLOWED TO RETURN HOME

A Quebecer who spent more than two years in legal limbo in Cuba following the death of a fellow Canadian tourist has returned home. Toufik Benhamiche returned to Canada last Saturday a free man after Cuba’s Supreme Court granted an exceptional authorization to leave the country, annulling a sentence by a provincial court rendered in Ciego de Avila. Benhamiche had been prevented from leaving the country since a boating accident that killed an Ontario woman during an excursion in July 2017 in Cayo Coco. He told journalists Friday at the office of Bloc Québécois MP Luc Theriault he was relieved be home. Theriault said Canadian officials didn’t do enough to help deal with the matter promptly. Kahina Bensaadi, Benhamiche’s wife, says Canadian officials recently stepped up their efforts.