Simcoe teen detained in Cuba to be sent home this week
Posted July 31, 2010 9:31 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – A Simcoe teen, who has been stuck in Cuba for three months after a car crash, can breathe easier as the Canadian and Cuban governments work together to bring him home.
19-year-old Cody LeCompte has been in Santa Lucia since the end of April. He went to the island with his mother to celebrate his acceptance into college.
After renting a car, LeCompte was T-boned by a truck at an unmarked intersection. He spent the next several weeks in hospital recovering from his injuries.
The teen was told he would not be allowed out of the country until the accident was investigated.
Peter Kent, the Minister of State of Foreign Affairs, met with a Cuban official in Ottawa on Wednesday to discuss Canadians detained in the Caribbean nation.
The Cuban official was told delays in cases such as LeCompte’s could affect Canadians considering Cuba as a tourist destination, Kent said.
LeCompte was told he was free to go home as long as he posted 2,000 Cuban pesos, or about $80, for bail and agreed to return to Cuba if there was a trial.
According to the Toronto Sun, Havana authorities have not signed off on this deal, but the family is remaining hopeful.
Lecompte told The Sun he is looking forward to seeing his friends and girlfriend, and also getting back to his summer job at the Port Dover Marina before heading to college in September.
