HAVANA (AP) -- The number of Cubans smuggled into the United States
                  nearly quadrupled this year as organized crime became more involved in the
                  immigrant trade, a U.S. official said Friday.

                  The number of Cubans reaching U.S. shores illegally increased from 186 in
                  1997 to 732 in the first 11 months of 1998, Deputy Assistant Secretary of
                  State John Hamilton said following a twice-yearly meeting with Cuban
                  officials here.

                  "There has been a definite shift from rafters to organized criminal activities"
                  Hamilton said after the one-day meeting.

                  Smugglers increasingly use high-powered speed boats to bring Cubans across
                  the Florida Straights, leading U.S. authorities to step up sea and air patrols
                  across the 90-mile wide stretch of water, Hamilton said.

                  Cuban officials did not comment on the talks, but Hamilton said they didn't
                  have any complaints about the increased patrolling. Both sides recognize
                  smuggling as a problem, he said.

                  "Fast boats are harder to catch than rafts," Hamilton said when asked why the
                  patrols had not caught more of the smugglers at sea.

                  Cuba has lowered the cost for processing legal exit permits from an average
                  of $700 in 1997 to about $500 in 1998, Hamilton said, while the United States
                  increased the number of non-immigrant visas for Cubans from 5,361 in 1997 to
                  8,078 to date in 1998.

                  The U.S.-Cuba talks focus on immigration agreements signed in September
                  1994 and May 1995. The United States ended a decades-old policy of
                  accepting most Cuban refugees rescued at sea, while Cuba promised not to
                  harass refugees returned by the United States.

                  "Both sides are very happy with the progress of the immigration accords ...
                  (which have) have become closer and more effective," said Hamilton, who
                  headed the U.S. delegation at the Friday talks.

                   Copyright 1998 The Associated Press.