Medical Research Cuba

When Franklin Sotolongo injected himself with the vial of experimental liquid that day in 1985, it was one of the most emotional moments of his life. Sotolongo was leading a small team of Cuban scientists struggling to save their nation from an epidemic of group B meningitis. Hundreds of children were dying, and there was neither a cure nor a vaccine--not only on their isolated Communist island, but anywhere on the globe.

When Franklin Sotolongo injected himself with the vial of experimental liquid that day in 1985, it was one of the most emotional moments of his life. Sotolongo was leading a small team of Cuban scientists struggling to save their nation from an epidemic of group B meningitis. Hundreds of children were dying, and there was neither a cure nor a vaccine--not only on their isolated Communist island, but anywhere on the globe.

For more than 20 years, the Soviets swore they were not producing biological weapons. They signed treaty after treaty outlawing such weapons and dismissed the testimonies of defectors who contradicted the official line as politically motivated. They were lying. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin publicly acknowledged that the Soviets had a bioweapons program of staggering dimensions. Similarly, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has always denied that he is in the bioterrorism business.

An unplanned but beneficial outcome of the endless Elian Gonzalez saga may be a reopening of U.S. trade and economic relations with Cuba. Legislation to allow exports of food and medicines to Cuba is now moving through the U.S. Congress, with a decent chance for passage in the next six weeks. U.S. agriculture is eager to ship grain, poultry, rice and other commodities to the island nation. Rep.