Grenada is poised to have a new Ambassador to Cuba.

Well-placed sources told GRENADA TODAY that the front-runner for the post is Vyra Mc Queen, a former school teacher and former executive member of the Grenada Union of Teachers (GUT).

According to a high-level source, the ruling New National Party (NNP) government of Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell is currently doing the necessary paper work to facilitate the appointment of Mc Queen to the diplomatic position.

Mc Queen is replacing Sheila Harris who has been Grenada's accredited envoy to Cuba for the past two years. Trade union officials on the island have expressed surprise at Mc Queen's name emerging under the Mitchell government for a diplomatic position.

One trade union leader said this is rather surprising since the regime was allegedly behind moves to have one of her brothers, Dunstan Henry convicted for murder in the Yvonne Prime-Henry death about 2 years ago. Henry was found not guilty by a local high court in connection with the death of Prime-Henry who allegedly died from poisoning.

Grenada and Cuba have been enjoying friendly relations since the Mitchell government came to office in June 1995. Havana had consistently refused to recognise the administration in St. George's after U.S troops stormed the island to bring an end to its 1979-83 period of marxist revolution under Maurice Bishop's People's Revolutionary Government (PRG).

The Cubans had opposed the military junta of General Hudson Austin that seized power in a bloody palace coup in which Bishop was executed. After the U.S-led military intervention, then Governor-General Sir Paul Scoon expelled all Cuban and Eastern European diplomats based in Grenada.

Cuba was forced to recognise Grenada as a pre-condition for its admittance into the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO).