The Cienfuegos Customs is a border line in the life of Ivis León Álvarez. He has been working there for more than two decades, when he came to this organization at a very young age and assumed responsibilities related to planning. The sum of so many years is revealed in her pride in being a customs officer, against the grain of carrying out an activity that is not always well understood.
“Here I have been able to fulfill myself professionally and gain experience. I still have things to learn, but with the opportunities offered by the institution and my dose of personal effort, I am happy where I work —he says without hesitation—, and I enjoy doing it”.
What have been your biggest professional challenges?
“The first was when I qualified as a Customs inspector and I started to occupy this position, which required a lot of preparation, as it was directly related to the commercial clearance of merchandise and international means of transport. Then I was proposed to be a reserve team, and that was another challenge. I had to train for the position of second head of Customs Techniques, until, due to a change in structure, I became head of the Department of Customs Processes, eleven years ago”.
Compliance with border regulations is the main task of Customs in Cuba. How does your work contribute to this purpose?
“One of the fundamental missions is to ensure the security of the country, which implies the fight against drug trafficking and smuggling. Although my functions are methodological, aimed at the supervision and control of customs processes, they provide a general vision of what happens from the entry of a ship, an aircraft, a cargo or a passenger. This allows all the information to be analyzed and possible fissures to be detected, in order to perfect the work at the authorized points in the territory, whether by sea, air or post”.
What tasks have you assumed in the last two years in the face of the reduction in commercial activity at border terminals due to the Covid-19 pandemic?
“In August 2021 we started one of the most important: the dispatch of non-commercial cargo. This work required a rigorous analysis and a lot of demand, in order to identify any type of infraction. It also represented a great challenge, since there was a large cargo that was aging, and based on the guidelines of the Cuban State and in conjunction with the Aerovaradero S.A. and Transcargo, we made it possible for clients from Cienfuegos and the central region to receive their merchandise in a timely manner. It was difficult, because it was another type of dispatch that did not exist in the province and about which we learned in the march”.
In the Cuban population, there is sometimes a distorted and unfavorable image of the figure of the customs officer. How to change it? What should distinguish it?
“Unfortunately, many of the people who use Customs services think that we only work to seize assets, which is not the case. Hence, we plan to transform that idea by disseminating customs regulations on the different virtual platforms, to offer greater knowledge about our services.
“We also improved the population care system. At each dispatch site —he added— we have a Customs supervisor, in charge of responding to complaints, concerns and claims at the time they occur, which prevents users from having to go to another office for said management. Likewise, we try to make us part of their disagreements; In no way are we nor do we want to be seen as the entity that confiscates and acts against people.”
Ivis is very clear that the path is to be more professional, upright, responsible and kind, values attached to her in her 21 years of work at the Cienfuegos Customs, and necessary there, at the borders, where we show ourselves to the world.
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