"El fraude de los 20 mil muertos" por Armando M. Lago, PhD

 

El fraude de los 20 mil muertos

Por Armando M. Lago, PhD

Según el historiador británico Lord Hugh Thomas, el ex-presidente de
Cuba, Ramón Grau San Martín, inició el fraude de las supuestas
20,000 muertes causadas por el régimen de Batista. Sin embargo, fue la
revista Bohemia la que, en su edición del 11 de enero de 1959,
difundió y propagó el gran engaño con el artículo titulado "Más
de 20 mil muertos arroja el trágico balance del régimen de
Batista". Pero el propio director de Bohemia, Miguel Ángel Quevedo
acabó con la gran ficción. En su carta de despedida, escrita momentos
antes de suicidarse en agosto del 1969, culpa del fraude de los 20 mil
muertos al editor de la sección "En Cuba", Enrique de la Ossa, a
quien califica de "dipsómano" (alcohólico).

Como parte del abarcador estudio "Registro de la Memoria Cubana",
me encuentro realizando un censo de las muertes ocurridas en Cuba por
motivos políticos y militares durante el proceso revolucionario
cubano. Aquí se resumen las conclusiones de la investigación de la
etapa insurreccional, la cual doy por comenzada el 10 de Marzo de 1952,
día del golpe militar de Batista, y finalizada el 31 de diciembre de
1958, día de su huída de Cuba.

El estudio incorporó un examen exhaustivo de fuentes provenientes del
exilio cubano -incluyendo a Barquín, Montaner, Franqui, Leovigildo
Ruíz, y de la Cova, entre muchos otros. Se utilizaron fuentes de la
isla, tales como la revista Bohemia, memorias de Fidel Castro y de
Ernesto (Che) Guevara y obras de historiadores cubanos. Aunque la
investigación incorporó todas las fuentes que se conocen, no por eso
es totalmente exhaustiva. Pudiera haber muertes no reportadas en la
literatura conocida, aunque es casi seguro que no sería un número
considerable.

El total de muertes documentadas es de 2,719, de la cuales las tropas
de Fidel Castro* fueron responsables de 912 (el 33.6 %) y los soldados
de Batista de 1,807 (el 66.4 %). La Tabla al final presenta un resumen
detallado de las muertes causadas por ambos mandos.

(Fuerzas revolucionarias me parece muy benévolo, sobre todo en
comparación con «régimen de Batista». «Soldados» y «tropas» son
términos responsables, certeros y no emiten juicios de valor)

El fraude de Bohemia

Los casos de muerte presentados en Bohemia suman 898, pero el artículo
de 1959 que hace alusión a las 20,000 muertes en su título -que no
está firmado por autor alguno- no incorpora las muertes causadas por
los combates en la Sierra Maestra. Tampoco señala que las fuerzas de
Castro fueron responsables de 912 muertes, una tercera parte de todas
las muertes documentadas para dicho período.

Los corresponsales de Bohemia sí hicieron un buen trabajo sobre las
muertes que reportaban y daban claves sobre las identidades de los
responsables de los asesinatos. Por ejemplo, cuando algún soldado,
policía o civil era asesinado por los guerrilleros, o reportaban que
las víctimas llevaban letreros colgados del cuello identificándolos
como chivatos o elogiando al Movimiento 26 de Julio, o indicaban que
habían sido víctimas de jóvenes desconocidos. En algunos casos,
incluso, señalaban los nombres de los guerrilleros o policías
responsables del asesinato. Si los asesinos eran policías o soldados
del régimen de Batista, utilizaban una especie de clave al reportar
que las víctimas llevaban bombas inactivas, mechas de dinamita o
materiales incendiarios, o que se habían dejado sobre los cadáveres
artículos de Bohemia, Carteles, o Life sobre desmanes y violaciones de
derechos humanos. Las listas de víctimas que aparecen en las revistas
Bohemia están avaladas por los autores que he mencionado.

Análisis de muertes del período insurreccional (1952-1958)

La Tabla muestra que la policía y el ejército de Batista fueron
responsables de 659 asesinatos extra-judiciales, mientras que los
guerrilleros asesinaron extrajudicialmente a 195 policías, soldados y
civiles considerados como chivatos. Esta desproporción de asesinatos
por los batistianos es la que hace que el régimen de Batista haya sido
responsable de un mayor número total de víctimas que los
guerrilleros.

Contando tanto combates rurales como urbanos, las tropas de Castro
perdieron 445 guerrilleros en combates, pero le causaron al ejército
de Batista bajas aún mayores, de 487 soldados. Los guerrilleros
también perdieron dos hombres en accidentes de jeeps y nueve en
escapes de tiros o tiros al aire (balas perdidas). En conclusión, la
guerrilla rural revolucionaria ganó las batallas de las sierras y le
administró al ejército de Batista 1.1 muertes por cada guerrillero
muerto en combate.

La cifra de guerrilleros y soldados muertos en las sierras y en áreas
rurales asciende a 1,235, lo que representa el 44.5% del total de
muertes reportadas en la literatura (2,719). Se llegó al número de
muertes ocurridas en áreas rurales sumando los muertos en combates,
los fusilamientos de campesinos, los prisioneros de guerra asesinados
por fuerzas batistianas en el Central Macareno y en Alegría de Pío y
los prisioneros del Corinthia asesinados por el Coronel batistiano
Fermín Cowley, jefe de la guarnición de Holguín y del norte de
Oriente. También se añadieron las víctimas de los bombardeos de la
Aviación de Batista y los guerrilleros muertos por accidentes en las
sierras. Resulta extraño que se considere a la revolución cubana como
una revolución campesina cuando vemos que la mayoría de las muertes
ocurrió en áreas urbanas.

Sorprende constatar el elevado número de campesinos fusilados por los
guerrilleros en las sierras, acusados de ser informantes y espías
(chivatos) del ejército de Batista. En resumen, la "Revolución
Campesina" fusiló a casi igual número de campesinos que el
ejército de Batista (96 campesinos aparecen fusilados por la guerrilla
mientras que 105 campesinos fueron fusilados por el ejército
batistiano). Para todos los fusilados en la Sierra Maestra se pudo
encontrar identidad, fecha y circunstancias del fusilamiento. Se
encuentra a Fidel y a Raúl Castro, al Che Guevara, a Jesús
Carrera-Zayas y a Camilo Cienfuegos, entre otros, fusilando campesinos.

Bien, ahora nos toca acceder al nivel número 3, donde deberíamos
entrar en relación natural con el individuo concreto que deseamos
conocer, permitiendo que de él emanen aquellos rasgos que le
definirían como personalidad irrepetible.

Con respecto a la lucha de guerrillas en áreas urbanas, la policía y
el ejército de Batista fueron responsables de la muerte de 418
guerrilleros en combates urbanos en los Cuarteles Moncada, Céspedes, y
Goicuría, en la insurrección naval de Cienfuegos, en tiroteos
ocurridos en áreas urbanas y como resultado de la fuga de presos. Por
otro lado, los comandos guerrilleros mataron a 88 soldados, policías y
marineros en el Cuartel Moncada, el asalto al Palacio Presidencial y en
tiroteos en áreas urbanas. En este sentido, las tropas batistianas
ganaron la guerra de guerrillas urbana con una tasa de 4.75
guerrilleros muertos por cada batistiano.

Los asesinatos de mujeres

De 26 muertes de mujeres por motivos políticos reportadas en Cuba
durante la dictadura de Batista, 9 fueron asesinadas por la policía y
el ejército, 2 mueren en bombardeos de la aviación batistiana, y una
muere en combate. Mientras tanto, 6 mueren por causa de explosiones de
bombas y actos de sabotajes por parte de los guerrilleros, 7 mueren
como inocentes víctimas de tiroteos, y 2 mujeres guerrilleras mueren
en accidentes de jeeps en las sierras.

Comparación con el período castrista

Aunque la investigación de las muertes por motivos políticos y
militares durante la época castrista (pos-1958) no ha concluido, lo
que ya se ha podido documentar indica que el régimen castrista ha
sobrepasado con creces la tasa anual de muertes del régimen
batistiano.


Tabla: Resumen de muertes por motivos políticos en Cuba durante el
período de insurrección de la Revolución Cubana, 1952-1958


I. Muertes causadas por fuerzas de Batista 448 Guerrilleros muertos en
combate en las campañas de las sierras (4/1956, 35/1957, 409/1958)
37 Guerrilleros y civiles muertos en bombardeos de la Fuerza Aérea
(1958)
15 Guerrilleros asesinados luego de rendirse en combates, Central
Macareno y otros (1958)
21 Guerrilleros prisioneros de guerra asesinados en Alegría del Pío
(1958)
20 Prisioneros de guerra de la expedición Corinthia asesinados (1957)

105 Fusilamientos de campesinos colaboradores de la guerrilla (40/1956,
14/1957, 51/1958)
646 Sub-total de muertos de la guerra rural

8 Guerrilleros muertos en combate en el asalto al Moncada (1953)
10 Guerrilleros muertos en combate en el asalto al Cuartel Céspedes de
Bayamo (1953)
60 Marineros y guerrilleros muertos en combate en la insurrección
naval de Cienfuegos (1957)
25 Guerrilleros muertos en combate en el asalto a Palacio Presidencial
(1957)
16 Guerrilleros muertos en combate en el asalto al Cuartel Goicuría
(1956)
1 Asesinato de prisioneros de guerra en el cuartel Goicuría (1956)
56 Asesinato de prisioneros de guerra del Moncada (1953)
15 Asesinato de prisioneros de guerra del Cuartel Céspedes de Bayamo
(1953)
9 Civiles asesinados en Santiago en represalia por el asalto al Moncada
(1953)
664 Asesinatos extra-judiciales (6/1952, 7/1953, 6/1954, 14/1955,
38/1956, 23/1957, 570/1958)
1 Soldados leales a Prío muertos en el tiroteo en el Palacio
Presidencial (1952)
12 Desapariciones de guerrilleros arrestados (2/1955, 4/1957, 6/1958)
147 Guerrilleros muertos en tiroteos urbanos durante la Huelga General
(1958)
125 Guerrilleros muertos en otros tiroteos urbanos (7/1953, 2/1955,
24/1956, 33/1957, 59/1958)
12 Presos políticos asesinados en prisión (1/1954, 7/1956, 1/1957,
3/1958)
1 Muertes en prisión de guerrilleros por negligencia médica (1957)
8 Suicidios de guerrilleros bajo arresto (1/1956, 1/1957, 6/1958)
1170 Sub-total de muertos de la guerra urbana

1,816 Total




Año Víctimas
1952 7
1953 113
1954 6
1955 19
1956 152
1957 216
1958 1303
1816


II. Muertes causadas por fuerzas guerrilleras y anti-batistianas 487
Soldados muertos en combates en áreas rurales y sierras (2/1956,
33/1957, 452/1958)
96 Campesinos fusilados o ahorcados en sierras y áreas rurales
(1/1956, 46/1957, 49/1958)
3 Guerrilleros muertos en accidentes de jeep en las sierras (1958)
9 Guerrilleros muertos accidentalmente por tiros escapados o tiros al
aire (1958)
595 Sub-total de muertos de la guerra rural

3 Desertores guerrilleros ejecutados en México (1956)
22 Soldados muertos en combate en el Cuartel Moncada (1953)
3 Asesinatos de soldados y enfermeros en el Hospital Saturnino Lora del
Cuartel Moncada (1953)
12 Soldados y policías muertos en combates durante la Insurrección
Naval de Cienfuegos (1957)
191 Asesinatos extrajudiciales (1/1952, 2/1953, 4/1954, 2/1955,
10/1956, 36/1957, 136/1958)
2 Policías de Batista muertos en tiroteo en Palacio Presidencial
durante el golpe de estado (1952)
28 Guerrilleros y civiles muertos en bombardeos terroristas (3/1953,
1/1954, 1/1955, 1/1956, 11/1957, 11/1958)
52 Soldados, policías y civiles muertos en otros tiroteos urbanos
(4/1953, 1/1955, 7/1956, 5/1957, 35/1958)
1 Soldados muertos en fugas de prisión (1956)
2 Desapariciones de oficiales del gobierno de Batista (1958)
11 Secuestradores y civiles muertos en actos de piratería aérea
(1958)
3 Civiles muertos accidentalmente en tiroteos iniciados por fuerzas
guerrilleras (1957)
330 Subtotal de muertos de la guerra urbana
925 Total



Año Víctimas
1952 3
1953 34
1954 5
1955 4
1956 25
1957 146
1958 708
925




2,741 Total de muertes causadas por fuerzas pro y contra Batista
1952-1958

Fuentes consultadas

Alvarez-Tabío y Longa, Pedro y Otto Hernández. El combate del Uvero.
La Habana: Gente Nueva, 1980.

Barquín, Ramón M., Coronel. Las luchas guerrilleras en Cuba. Madrid:
Playor, 1975.

Bohemia: Ediciones de la Libertad. La Habana, Año 51, Nro.3, 18-25 de
enero de 1959.

Bohemia: Ediciones de la Libertad. La Habana, Año 51, Nro. 5, 1 de
febrero de 1959.

Castro Ruz, Fidel. La historia me absolverá. La Habana: Ciencias
Sociales, 1981.

Franqui, Carlos. Diario de la Revolución Cubana. Barcelona: Ediciones
R. Torres, 1976.

Guevara, Ernesto. Pasajes de la Guerra Revolucionaria. 3rd ed. México,
D.F.: Era, 1976.

Lupianez, José. El movimiento está dentro de Santiago de Cuba. La
Habana: Ciencias Sociales, 1995.

Comisión Histórica de la Columna José Tey. Segundo Frente Oriental
Frank País. La Habana: Ciencias Sociales, 1982.

Montaner, Carlos Alberto. Fidel Castro y la Revolución Cubana.
Barcelona: Plaza y Janés, 1984.

"Más de 20 mil muertos arroja el trágico balance del régimen de
Batista". Bohemia: Ediciones de la Libertad. La Habana, Año 51, Nro.
2, 11 de 1959, p.180-210.

Morán, Lucas. La Revolución Cubana. Ponce (Puerto Rico): Universidad
Católica de Ponce, 1980.

Pérez, Alba y Teresa Madlum. Parque Abel Santamaría: Museos y
Monumentos. Santiago de Cuba: Oriente, 1993.

Ruíz, Leovigildo. Diario de una traición: Cuba-1959. Miami: The
Indian Printing, 1965.

Nota del Editor: Una versión anterior de este texto apareció
publicada en Encuentro en la red, el jueves, 10 de octubre de 2002

CUBA’S PURSUIT OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS: FACT OR FICTION?

HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON WESTERN HEMISPHERE,PEACE CORPS AND NARCOTICS AFFAIRS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. CARL W. FORD, JR., ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH 

Carl W. Ford Jr.

June 5, 2002


Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is my pleasure to come before the Subcommittee today to discuss the issue of what we in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research assess to be Cuba’s efforts to date in the area of biological warfare. My remarks in this open forum will necessarily be limited owing to the need to protect sensitive intelligence information, but I would welcome the opportunity and am prepared to give classified remarks in a closed session.

On March 19, in my statement in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I stated INR’s judgment that: The United States believes that Cuba has at least a limited, develop-mental, offensive biological warfare research and development effort. Cuba has provided dual-use biotechnology to rogue states. We are concerned that such technology could support BW programs in those states.

That assessment and our concerns have not changed in the intervening  2 1/2 months.

Among the various weapons of mass destruction (WMD) disciplines, biological warfare (BW) is perhaps the most difficult to clearly identify, absent unambiguous reliable intelligence information, owing to the dual-use nature of the technology and materials used to support a BW program. In today’s world, many nations, including Cuba, have in place robust biotechnology infrastructures, as some of the world’s best scientific talent has turned to this avenue of modern science to promote medical and agricultural advances in their countries.

Distinguishing legitimate biotech work from work that is pursued to support either offensive or defensive BW efforts or pro-grams continues to be a difficult intelligence challenge. In a nutshell, since basic BW production does not require large, sophisticated programs or facilities it makes the intelligence assessment function more complicated.

Cuba has several facilities involved in biological-related efforts in agriculture, medicine and veterinary science, which, as in any country, could be used for illicit purposes. This dual-use problem presents all who are committed to combating the BW threat with the dilemma of how best to assess the capabilities of any given facility against the intent to develop biological weapons. What then can I say about the evidence for our assessment? The nature of biological weapons makes it difficult to procure clear, incontrovertible proof that a country is engaged in illicit biological weapons research, production, weaponization and stockpiling.

Cuba’s sophisticated denial and deception practices make our task even more difficult. That said we have a sound basis for our judgment that Cuba has at least a limited, developmental, offensive biological warfare research and development effort. I am prepared to discuss the evidence we do have in a closed session or leave behind a classified statement for the record.

Thank you, Mr Chairman.

https://fas.org/nuke/guide/cuba/sfrc060502.pdf

Documents provided by Senator George Allen.

 


CUBA’S BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS PROGRAM: A BRIEF HISTORY OF CONCERNS, QUESTIONS AND SUSPICIONS

 In a transmittal letter accompanying the Defense Department’s May 1998 report,The Cuban Threat to U.S. National Security, Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen wrote to the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee: ‘‘I remain concerned about Cuba’s potential to develop and produce biological agents, given its bio-technology infrastructure. In its public Executive Summary, the report stated,"Cuba’s current scientific facilities and expertise could support an offensive BW [bioweapons] program in at least the research and development stage.

Cuba’s biotechnology industry is one of the most advanced in emerging countries and would be capable of producing BW agents.’’In the October 2001 issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology, Jose de la Fuente,the former director of research and development at Cuba’s premier Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, wrote he was ‘‘profoundly disturbed’’ that Cuba was selling to Iran technology that could be used to produce biochemical weapons. He wrote, ‘‘No one believes that Iran is interested in these technologies for the purpose of protecting all the children in the Middle East from hepatitis, or treating their people with cheap streptokinase when they suffer sudden cardiac arrest . . .."

During a May 2001 visit to Tehran, Castro proclaimed,"Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees." In October 2001, the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Bob Graham (D-FL) told the Miami Herald that Cuba "clearly has the capability of producing chemical and biological ingredients that could become weapons of mass destruction." He added that it was impossible to know what Cuba was up to because international inspection agencies have not been given access to facilities. He said,"Nobody, at least nobody that I’m aware of in the United States, feels that we know what Cuba’s doing." An October 2001 study by the University of Georgia’s Center for International Trade and Security found that safeguards to prevent terrorists and rogue nations from acquiring the equipment and material necessary to make biological and chemical weapons are dangerously inadequate. Cuba, one of 19 countries examined, rated a C– in limiting exports of such equipment and material. (Atlanta Journal and Constitution, October 26, 2001.)

An October 10, 2001, report on MSNBC.com said, ‘‘With help from the Soviet Union’s massive secret biological weapons program, Castro was able to build one of the world’s most sophisticated biotechnology industries which can also be used to build weapons of mass destruction.’’ Former Soviet scientist Ken Alibeck (see below)says he helped to train Cubans in this technology, which he now regrets. "This work would be used for developing biological weapons or biological agents. As a result of this, we helped Castro develop biological weapons. It was such a stupid decision.’’Also reported: Gen. Charles Wilhelm, a former Southcom Commander said: "The indications we have is that they have the capability to produce those type of sub-stances."

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which investigates terrorist threats, said in a 1996 report, "Cuba has been a supply source [to terrorist groups]for toxin and chemical weapons." At an October 11, 2001, hearing of the House Intelligence Terrorism and Home-land Security Subcommittee, Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT), noted that the Pentagon lists 15 countries believed to have biological weapons—among them, Cuba. (Associated Press, October 11, 2001)In his 1999 book Biohazard: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World—Told from the Inside by the Man Who Ran It (Random House), former KGB Colonel Ken Alibek, second in command of the Soviet offensive biological warfare program until his defection in 1992, wrote that his former boss, Maj. Gen. Yuri Kalinin, visited several Cuban biotechnology facilities in 1990 and told him he was convinced the Castro regime was deeply involved in a biological warfare research effort. Alibek, who is widely respected in the U.S. biological warfare community, told the Miami Herald (June 23, 1999), ‘‘Kalinin saw no weapons production, but with his experience in offensive biological warfare work, it was his opinion that they were doing offensive work also. They are using the same cover stories we had developed, about factories to produce single-cell bacteria as animal feed. Maybe we were over-suspicious, but we did not believe their stories. . . .In my personal opinion, I have no question Cuba is involved.’’

In an October 2, 2001, commentary in the Los Angeles Times, author Jeremy Rifkin (The Biotech Century, Tarcher Putnam, 1998) notes, ‘‘Iraq, long known as a threat for biological warfare, is not alone in its interest in developing biological weapons. In a 1995 study, the CIA reported that 16 other countries were suspected of researching and stockpiling germ warfare agents-ban, Libya, Syria, North Korea,Taiwan, Israel, Egypt, Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, Bulgaria, India, South Korea, South Africa, China and Russia.’’In his 2001 book Scourge: The Once and Future Threat of Smallpox (Atlantic Monthly Press), Jonathan Tucker, a leading expert on biological and chemical weapons writes, ‘‘leaks and rumors of uncertain reliability suggested that several countries might have inadvertently or deliberately retained specimens of the virus from the time when smallpox was a common disease. Possible suspects included China,Cuba, India, Israel, Pakistan, and Yugoslavia.’’

In their 2000 book Living Terrors: What America Needs to Know to Survive the Coming Bioterrorist Catastrophe (Delta Publishing), experts Michael Osterholm and John Schwartz cited a 1999 report by the congressionally created Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction that said "most of the nations identified as sponsors of terrorism either have or are seeking weapons of mass destruction. (Those nations are Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria).’’In the July 12, 1999, issue of the New Yorker, Richard Preston, an expert on bio-logical and chemical weapons, reported that the U.S. government ‘‘keeps a list of nations and groups that it suspects either have clandestine stocks of smallpox or seem to be trying to buy or steal the virus.’’ The classified list is ‘‘said to include’’ Cuba along with nine other countries.

A March 31, 1998, article in the Washington Post said, ‘‘Cuba has one of the most sophisticated biotech and pharmaceutical industries in the hemisphere. Because lethal biological materials can be produced by countries with biotech industries, it is difficult to determine when a country moves from simply having the capability to produce deadly viruses, to the intent or plans to do so.’’ It said, ‘‘while [Clinton] administration officials do not allege that Cuba has such weapons, ‘You can’t say there’s no capability,’ said one defense official.’’According to Insight Magazine (July 20, 1998), ‘‘A classified annex to the Pentagon final report to Congress [in 1998] further warns: ‘According to sources within Cuba, at least one research site is run and funded by the Cuban military to work on the development of offensive and defensive biological weapons.’’’

A December 1993 Office of Technology Assessment report ‘‘Technologies Under-lying Weapons of Mass Destruction’’ identified Cuba as one of 17 countries possessing a bioweapons capability.In 1988, syndicated columnists Rowland Evans and Robert Novak revealed that Soviet-supplied Cuban troops fighting in Angola had used chemical weapons against the U.S.-backed forces of Jonas Savimbi’s UNITA. They cited evidence ‘‘scrupulously documented’’ by the senior United Nations consultant on chemical warfare, Dr. Aubin Heyndrickx of Belguim.

Toxicologists certified that residue from chemical weapons —including sarin— was found in areas of recent action. When questioned by then -Sen. Dennis DeConcini about the then- rumours, Heyndrickx replied, ‘‘There is no doubt anymore that the Cubans were using nerve gases against the troops of Mr.Jonas Savimbi.’’ Also, the columnists noted that Heyndrickx had warned the United States that if Soviet-Cuban managers in Angola used gas in the past, they could use it in the future.

More evidence of Cuba’s use of chemical agents in Africa surfaced in a July 28,1998, Reuters report that Wouter Basson, former head of South Africa’s covert chemical weapons program, had given a sworn statement implicating Cuba. He said that South Africa had been forced to begin its chemical weapons’ program after Cuba had used chemical warfare on South African troops fighting in Angola. At the time they had been unprepared and defenseless. (South African troops fought in Angola until 1990.)

DOES HAVANA HAVE A BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS PROGRAMS?

Excerpts from BIOHAZARD: The Chilling True Story of the Largest Covert Biological Weapons Program in the World by Ken Alibek (1)(Random House, 2000).

Pages 273-277 When Yuri Ovchinnikov died in 1987, I joined a group of Biopreparat scientists at his funeral services in Moscow. The conversation eventually turned to Cuba’s surprising achievements in genetic engineering. Someone mentioned that Cuban scientists had successfully altered strains of bacteria at a pharmaceutical facility just outside of Havana.‘‘Where did such a poor country get all of that knowledge and equipment?’’ I asked.‘‘From us, of course,’’ he answered with a smile. As I listened in astonishment, he told me that Castro had been taken during a visit to the Soviet Union in February 1981 to a laboratory where E. coli bacteria had been genetically altered to produce interferon, then thought a key to curing cancer and other diseases.

Castro spoke so enthusiastically to Brezhnev about what he had seen that the Soviet leader magnanimously offered his help. A strain of E. coli containing the plasmid used to produce interferon was sent to Havana, along with equipment and working procedures. Within a few years, Cuba had one of the most sophisticated genetic engineering labs in the world—capable of the kind of advanced weapons research we were doing in our own. General Lebedinsky visited Cuba the following year, at Castro’s invitation, with a team of military scientists. He was set up in a ten room beach-front cottage near Havana and boasted of being received like a king. An epidemic of dengue fever had broken out a few months earlier, infecting 350,000 people. Castro was convinced that this was the result of an American biological attack. He asked Lebedinsky and his scientists to study the strain of the dengue virus in special labs set up near the cottage compound.

All evidence pointed to a natural outbreak—the strain was Cuban, not American—but Castro was less interested in scientific process than in political expediency.. . . Cuba has accused the United States twelve times since 1962 of staging biological attacks on Cuban soil with anti-livestock and anti-crop agents . . .Kalinin was invited to Cuba in 1990 to discuss the creation of a new biotechnology plant ostensibly devoted to single-cell protein. He returned convinced that Cuba had an active biological weapons program.The situation in Cuba illustrates the slippery interrelation between Soviet support of scientific programs among our allies and their ability to develop biological weapons.. . . For many years, the Soviet Union organized courses in genetic engineering and molecular biology for scientists from Eastern Europe, Cuba, Libya, India, Iran and Iraq among others. Some forty foreign scientists were trained annually.

Many of them now head biotechnology programs in their own countries. Some have recruited the services of their former classmates.In July 1995, Russia opened negotiations with Iraq for the sale of large industrial fermentation vessels and related equipment. The model was one we had used to develop and manufacture bacterial biological weapons. Like Cuba, the Iraqis maintained the vessels were intended to grow single-cell protein for cattle feed . . .A report submitted by the U.S. Office of Technological Assessment to hearings at the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in late 1995 identified seven-teen counties believed to possess biological weapons ‘‘Libya, North Korea, South Korea, Iraq, Taiwan, Syria, Israel, Iran, China, Egypt, Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, Bulgaria, India, South Africa and Russia.’’









(1)Mr. Alibek is a former deputy director of Biopreparat, the Soviet Union’s biological weapons program. 

https://fas.org/nuke/guide/cuba/sfrc060502.pdf