Convicted?drug trafficker Raul Garcia is so torn between two countries that on the eve of leaving for his homeland Cuba, he described himself as “half Barbadian” and a changed man.
Garcia, the best known foreign prisoner to have served time here, said he might shed a few tears on Monday when he returned to the country of his birth after nearly two decades behind bars on cocaine charges.
“I have gotten to love this country very much and will carry memories of Barbados for the rest of my life,” he said.
“I love the people of Barbados and I identify with the culture of Barbados and it is normal for me to use the slang associated with here.
“People say that I talk like a Barbadian, but that is because I am a Barbadian already. I feel half Barbadian and wherever I go, I will speak about this country as if it were my own.”
Garcia was speaking yesterday at the Crumpton Street offices of his attorney at law David Comissiong, who he hailed as a brother and a saviour.
Comissiong said that Garcia, upon being released from Immigration detention last May, after serving his 20-year prison sentence, had written a letter to the Cuban government asking for a reversal of the decision and to allow him to return to his homeland.
