VII. Cuban Restrictions on Cuban Scientists

Mission delegates met independently with two political scientists and one physician who have been denied the right to travel by Cuban authorities. The cases were brought to the attention of the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program prior to the May mission and were further investigated by mission delegates while in Havana. The cases of Dr. Miriam Grass and Dr. Gloria Leon, both political scientists, as well as that of Dr. Hilda Molina, a neurosurgeon, are illustrative of Cuban travel restrictions placed on scientists who have run afoul of their government.

Dr. Miriam Grass, a political scientist specializing in the United States, experienced a series of reprisals, including the denial of her right to travel, for her criticism of the Cuban political system. She was ultimately fired from her post at the University of Havana in August 1996. She is currently unable to conduct research or practice her profession in Cuba and is denied permission to travel abroad.

In 1994, Dr. Grass presented a paper at an international meeting entitled "The Cuban System of Government: Control over Autonomy." Among other things, the paper commented on the need to institute channels of opposition within the Communist Party. The paper was printed in the Miami Herald. Dr. Grass was subsequently interrogated by the Party administration and was accused of working against the revolution.

Prior to her scheduled appearance before the Party apparatus, she received an invitation, via the University, to attend a meeting organized by the Center for the Study of Latin America to be held in Germany. Without her knowledge, the Rector responded to the invitation informing the Center that she would not be able to attend due to a scheduling conflict and he suggested another participant.

On another occasion, Dr. Grass was invited to attend a meeting in Madrid, Spain. She was informed of the invitation through the Spanish Embassy in Cuba. Both the University Rector and the Ministry of Higher Education denied her request for permission to attend the meeting.

In 1995, she and four other academics were not permitted to attend the Latin American Studies Association meeting held in Washington, D.C. Dr. Grass was even denied permission to attend a meeting held in Havana which was sponsored by a United States organization. She attended the meeting despite the government’s instructions.

Communist Party representatives instructed Dr. Grass to revise her work and renounce her earlier statements. She refused. Finally, the United States Interests Section invited her to attend a luncheon in August 1996. University administrators told her that she was not permitted to attend the luncheon, but she attended anyway. Shortly afterwards, she received a notice from the University rector informing her that she was dismissed from the University because her political orientation was detrimental to students, and she was no longer [politically] reliable.

Dr. Gloria Leon may be a victim of U.S. Track Two policies and the Cuban response to those policies. Because she specializes in the U.S. and Canada, such policies clearly complicate her academic work. Most recently, Dr. Leon was permitted to travel to the U.S. only after intensive intervention by United States organizations on her behalf, including that of the AAAS.

Dr. Leon founded and headed the University of Havana’s Canadian Studies Program. Along with Miriam Grass, she questioned the speech given by Raul Castro during the fifth plenary in 1997 and spoke out against the Rector’s position to cancel all academic exchanges and forbid any contact with the United States Interests Section. Both Miriam Grass and Gloria Leon were told to decline an invitation from the British Embassy to attend a farewell luncheon for Joseph Sullivan, Chief of Staff of the United States Interests Section.

Gloria Leon did not attend the luncheon. She was still fired from her university position in August 1996, allegedly because she was spotted talking to someone from the United States Interests Section outside of her home. Officially, Dr. Leon was fired under Decree number thirty-four, which allows the Minister of Education and the University Rector to fire religious, homosexual, or anti-revolutionary professors. Dr. Leon was fired for incumplimiento de orientaciones, meaning she did not have the appropriate political orientation. One of the reasons given for her dismissal was her contact with the U.S. Interests Section.

Dr. Leon was invited to participate in an academic exchange with Johns Hopkins University. According to Cuban immigration law, she was required to provide the immigration authorities with a letter of approval from her past employer, the University of Havana. She received no reply to her letter requesting permission to travel to the U.S., which she sent to the University in early 1997.

During meetings with University personnel familiar with her case, mission delegates were told that Dr. Leon’s request was denied because of their belief that she intended to pursue a project that was started by the University. It was suggested that Dr. Leon resubmit her request indicating that her intentions to travel to the U.S. were for personal academic reasons. Mission delegates were assured that if her request was phrased in such a way, she would be granted permission.

Dr. Leon submitted her second request to the Rector several months later. After the Party Congress, which took place in October 1997, Dr. Leon was authorized to travel to the U.S. to accept the invitation by Johns Hopkins University to continue her personal research. She traveled to the U.S. in November and then returned to Cuba.

Some academics have suggested that Dr. Leon was granted permission to travel merely so that the relationship between the University of Havana and Johns Hopkins University, which was suspended due to the Cuban refusal to allow Dr. Leon to accept the invitation, would resume. Whatever the reason for the decision to allow Dr. Leon to travel to the U.S., it is a positive development. We hope that the ability of Dr. Leon to travel reflects a positive trend and that she will continue to be able to pursue her personal academic research, including the ability to travel abroad, without interference.

Dr. Hilda Molina has been trying to obtain permission to travel abroad since 1994. Dr. Molina was the first woman to become a neurosurgeon in Cuba. In 1987, she founded a world-renowned neurosurgery center in Havana. By 1991, her center had become one of the most important scientific centers in Cuba. At that time, she was made the Deputy to the Communist Party from her home region. The same year, she was informed by the Minister of Health, Julia Teca, that her center was henceforth to treat foreigners paying in U.S. dollars. Previously, the center had treated only Cuban patients. She also was asked to violate international medical protocols by releasing Cuban patients early to make space for foreign patients and not providing appropriate follow up.

Dr. Molina opposed the conditions established for the center and resigned. She also renounced her position as Deputy to the Communist Party. The consequences of her actions have been severe. She and her son were subjected to mob retaliation and she has continuously been denied the right to travel for personal as well as professional reasons.

In 1994, she requested permission to visit her son and newborn grandson in Argentina. She has been informed that in order to travel outside of Cuba she must receive permission from her former employer, the Department of Health. Her requests have gone unanswered. In 1997, she was informed that the government had the right to "preserve her brain" and that people of her scientific stature would only be allowed to travel when the government decides that they can go.

In June 1997 alone, Dr. Molina received four invitations to travel abroad for professional purposes to the U.S., Argentina, Sweden, and Japan. Any invitations received directly by the Ministry of Health for Dr. Molina have been answered by a statement informing the host organization that Dr. Molina cannot attend and suggesting that another doctor take her place.