Cuba claims new crop diseases were planted by U.S.

Cuba claims new crop diseases were planted by U.S.

HAVANA (May 15, 1999 7:03 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - Cuba's agricultural minister claimed Saturday that seven new diseases that have infected crops on the island nation over the past four years were deliberately dumped by the United States.

Speaking at the start of the Fourth Iberamerican Agricultural Forum here, Cuban Agricultural Minister Alfredo Jordan blasted the "deliberate introduction of plagues and diseases, as in the case of the Trips Palmi insect."

In 1997, Cuba claimed the United States had dumped Trips Palmi insects, known for their ability to devastate crops, from an airplane onto the island. Washington has denied the accusation.

Jordan said the insects had "swept across" more than 18,772 acres of potato crops. "Over a few weeks, they were either destroyed or seriously damaged."

"Other plagues have spread across our crops without any technical or natural reasons, since these diseases did not previously exist in Cuba or neighboring countries," Jordan said.

From 1978 to 1993, 15 new diseases were identified on the island and since 1995, seven new ones have appeared, according to Jordan.