SUMMARY OF
CUBA's BIOTECHNOLOGY CAPACITY
By Manuel Cereijo
Castro allowed the Soviet Union in 1962 to install atomic warhead
missiles in Cuba. Once discovered, he tried to force the Soviet Union to
launch a surprising missile attack against the United States. This is a
fact.
Cuba has been classified by the United States government, for the last
several years , as a terrorist nation. This is a fact.
With these premises, let us analyze what facilities and infrastructure
Cuba has that could be used in bio terrorist activities.
CUBA'S BIOTECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
Main Centers
- Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
· The most important institution in Cuba's biotechnology industry is the
Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, CIGB. It was
established in La Habana, in 1986. Located west of La Habana. 31 Ave,
between158 and 190 Streets, Cubanacan.Cost: $150 million dollars.
· It has a total area of 60,000 square meters. The Center has
state-of-the-art equipment, second only to the United States in the
Americas. At the center work outstanding scientists and engineers
dedicated to genetic research, virology, cloning, vaccines development.
· The main CIGB buildings cover an area of 43,200 square meters and
contain specialized labs for both general purposes and dedicated
research. The CIGB has a biotherium, barrier zones or white rooms, which
allow research with sensitive and lethal agents.
· The CIGB's modern andefficient technological equipment includes mass
spectrometers, infraredand ultraviolet, electron and scanning
microscopes, gamma counters, DNA synthesizers. Also, and very important,
downstream fermenters, drying and milling machines, centrifuges, which
can, therefore guarantee research and development of bioweapons, such as
bacteria and virus agents.
· In the CIGB work more than 700 highly skilled researchers, scientists,
and engineers. Russians scientists cooperated with the CIGB several
times, including, according to certain intelligence sources, assisting
in the development of altered strains of bacteria. Capacity to produce
bioweapons
- Biocen
· The National Bio-preparations center, Biocen, located in Bejucal,
south of Habana province, at Carretera de Beltran km 1 1/2 is engaged in
industrial scale production of human vaccines. It was built in 1992 at a
cost of $15 million dollars
· Biocen's culture media plant has an annual 40 tons. capacity. It is
equipped to carry out homogenization, hydrolisis, dehydration, milling,
sifting, filtration, and several other processess required not only for
the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, but for bacteria and virus
weaponization.
· A new department that manufactures recombinant products went into
operation in 1993. New cost: $7 million dollars. The complex also
includes a plant producing immunological reagents and two vivaria labs.
· Innovative techniques have been developed at Biocen for obtaining
culture media, substituting the traditional expensive nutritive bases,
like meat, casein. They have developed 14 alternative protein sources.
There is the capacity here to produce bioweapons
- The Finlay Institute
· The Carlos J. Finlay Medical Research Institute is located in Ave. 27,
No. 19805, La Lisa, Habana. Modernized in 1994 at a cost of $10 million
dollars
· The Institute occupies an area of 23,000 square meters, divided into
three areas: fermentation, purification, and "clean rooms". Over 950
persons work at the Institute. Of these, 70% are engineers and
scientists.
· The Institute has done extensive work in the research and development
of new vaccines. Among them, vaccines against Leptospirosis, Hepatitis,
Cholera, and Meningitis. The Plant III area is well prepared for the
production of the most sophisticated biomaterials.
It is highly secured.
· The main areas of research and production of the Institute are related
to bacteria and viruses. Commercially, it has worked on research and
production of vaccines.
- Capacity to produce bioweapons
The Institute of Tropical Medicine Pedro Khoury
· The Institute was founded in 1937 by Dr. Flori, a very well known
Cuban scientist. The center's research area is in microbiology. The
Institute has the necessary state-of the-art equipment for research and
development related to tropical bacteria and viruses. Modernized and
relocated in 1992 at a cost of $12 million dollars
· The Institute has also conducted extensive research on yellow fever.
Yellow fever is a viral disease that has caused large epidemics in the
world. Infection causes a wide spectrum of disease, from mild symptoms
to severe illness and death..
· There are other tropicaldisease that could be used as bioweapons, such
as: malaria,dracunculiasis, filariasis, leishmaniasis, dengue, dengue
hemorrhagic fever.
Capacity to produce bioweapons.
CIM
· The Center for Molecular Immunology is a 15,000 square meter, two
floor facility. Over 250 employees work at the Center, of which, 200 are
scientists and engineers. It was built in 1994 at a cost of $10
million dollars. The ground floor includes development, pharmacology,
and toxicology. The auxiliary technical services, and, secret research
and development are on the second floor.
· Their main research activities are on antibodies-hybridoma, molecular
biology, celular immunology. CIM has laboratories equipped for cell
culture, immunochemistry, and radiochemistry. Their work on the immune
system is related to the development of stronger strains of virus an
bacteria. The Center has the capacity to produce bio-weapons
CONCLUSIONS
· Cuba's biotechnological capacity places it in group four of the World
Health Organization's five categories. To reach group five,which
is formed only by the eight top industrial economies, Cuba must produce
at least 20% of the 260 basic materials. It regularly produces 18% of
these and certainly has the scientific ability to produce the others
with biotech methods.
· Cuba also has 160 distinct research and development units and over
10,000 researchers through out the country
· According to Cuba's own figures, as well as those provided by
scientists and engineers, both from Cuba and other countries, the Cuban
government has spent approximately $3,500 million dollars in this
industry since 1986. The return of such investment has been
approximately the sales of $200 million dollars in vaccines and
medicines. The production for domestic use has been almost nothing,
since the Cuban people lack the most basic medicines. |
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INFOCUBA
