CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Cuba Also Overcame Biological Warfare.

By Ángel Rodríguez Álvarez

On June 1st, 1964, the leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro
condemned the US for using biological war against Cuba, a new type of
aggression by Washington in its attempts to destroy the Revolution.  

On May 29th at about 10am in the region of Sancti Spiritus, people
witnessed balloons of different sizes dropped from a high altitude which
dissolve once they hit the soil.

The leader of the Revolution said then: “Could it be possible that the
imperialists may be attempting to use a more brutal and inhuman
aggression: the use of biological or viral weapons against Cuba?”

Afterwards, through official US documents it was revealed that Washington
had been using different biological agents against Cuba since 1962.

Project Cuba which was later changed to Operation Mongoose presented that
same year appeared in its 32nd task the following: “The CIA would go
forward with a plan on February 15th to make the food harvest in Cuba a
complete failure”.

As if this evidence were not enough, Eduardo Arosarena, from the terrorist
OMEGA 7 organization publically announced in 1984 having participated in
an operation four years earlier that introduced germs in Cuba as part of
the biological war.

From 1979 to 1981, the CIA introduced several pests that effected people,
animals and harvests.  This produced hemorrhagic conjunctivitis,
hemorrhagic dengue, virus against the sugar cane plantations, a type of
mold against the tobacco leaf and others.

With the dengue outbreak alone in 1981, 344 203 people were affected of
which 158 died, among them 101 children. There were also reports of other
bacteria against the citrus and coffee trees that destroyed that year’s
harvest and the Thrips Palmi which devastated the potato crops.

Cuba’s denunciation at the time offers details that are without doubt
important evidence on the origin, moment and methods used to place the
dangerous biological agent on the island.  The aggressions continued.

On October 21st, 1996, at 10:08am, the crewmembers of a regular Cubana
airliner flight observed an aircraft crossing on the Giron air corridor in
the western part of the island.  The one motor aircraft was flying from
north to south at 300 meters above them and sprayed unknown substances 7
times.

According to air control registry, at the moment of the report a US N3098M
model fumigation aircraft operated by the State Department was overflying
the area.

On December 18th, only 46 hours later, the first signs of Thrips Palmi
plague appeared in the potato harvest after 38 days of its planting in the
municipality of Jovellanos.

After investigations in the Central Quarantine Laboratory it was confirmed
that the insect analyzed was of Asian origin which was absent in the
region at the time.  This is another evidence of the brutal aggression
against the Cuban people.

The Cuban people have faced diplomatic hostilities, attempts to
politically isolate the island, media campaigns, tightening of the
economic blockade, armed aggressions and other methods used by the US
against Cuba.

Abel González Alayón
Redactor-reportero en idioma Inglés
Agencia Cubana de Noticias

 

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