HAVANA April 1st: Cuba has rejected a renewed accusation by a senior US
official that it is developing biological weapons and said the charges were
an attempt to seek a pretext to invade the island.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque called a news conference to deny
the latest charge by John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control
and international security in the Bush administration, who made a similar
accusation in 2002 and 2003.
Bolton told Congress in written testimony on March 31 that Cuba remains a
"terrorist and (biological weapons) threat to the United States."
"I believe the case for the existence of a developmental Cuba (biological
weapons) effort is strong," Bolton said in a 25-page statement to the US
House of Representatives International Relations Committee.
Cuba has one of the most advanced biotech industries in Latin America, but
its research is solely dedicated to medical uses. It has research accords
with a number of countries, including Iran but these are in the field of vac
cine and antibody production and have nothing whatsoever to do with weapons.
At a special conference in London's Royal Institute of International Affairs
on March 18th, Dr Agustin Lage, head of Cuba's molecular research centre
went to great lengths to explain the true nature of Cuba's biotech. He
called the accusations ridiculous and politically motivated.
Foreign Minister Roque reiterated Dr Lage's views:
"Mr. Bolton either suffers from schizophrenia, a permanent obsession with
Cuba or doesn't have an ounce of shame," the Cuban foreign minister said.
"US public opinion knows that our country has rejected the accusations that
we produce violent weapons or conduct research on biological arms, that all
this is false."
Bolton first accused Cuba of biological weapons research in 2002, on the eve
of a visit to the island by former US President Jimmy Carter. He repeated
the allegation last year.
Carter disputed the accusations in a statement he read out during a visit to
Havana's Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, where he said
there had been no mention of the matter during briefings in Washington prior
to his trip.
"Bolton is only trying to present pretexts and justifications for a military
attack on our country," Perez Roque said.