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illn esses, such as seve re de press io n and ca tato ni c sc hi zophrenia, in Cuba
thi s therapeuti c practi ce is applied systemati ca ll y as punishment fo r politi–
cal behavi o r, with o ut medi cal supervisio n , and under th e barba ri c condi–
ti o ns desc ribed above. Th e effect of th e electros hoc ks o n the victims is
hea rtbreakin g. R o berto Bahamon de, an agri cultural e ngin ee r, rece ived
eight electros hock sessio ns in 1975, after bein g intern ed in the Havana
Psychi atric H ospital as punishment fo r w riting Fidel Castro a pri va te letter
recommending th at materi al in ce nti ves be adopted by th e Castro gov–
ernment. [n an interview w ith Geo rge Gedda o f th e Associated Press,
Bahamonde sa id , " [t took me yea rs
to
recove r. I recogni zed my fam ily,
but th ere we re fri ends w hose names [ di d no t remember. ... You lose
your memory. Yo u can ' t eve n rem ember peopl e's names. [ tho ught [
would even fo rge t w hat [ lea rn ed in th e uni ve rsity. . .. 13ut little by little,
I got my mem o ry bac k. [ think now I'm all ri ght. " Jesus Leyva Guerra, a
uni o n o rga ni ze r, rece ived twenty- four electros hocks as punishment for his
human ri ghts acti viti es. [n a Mi ami tele visio n inte rview, Leyva Guerra
stated that aft er o ne electros hoc k sess io n he did no t recogn ize h is wife or
his relati ves.
Th e extrapyramidal side effects of th e psyc ho tro pi c drugs 3ffect the
fun cti o ns o f th e brain respo nsible fo r no rmal movement and coordination.
T h e sid e e ffec ts ca n include slowness, ri gidity, inhibiti o n of body
movement, and a conditi o n known as tardi ve dys kin es ia, charac teri zed by
in vo luntary m ovements of th e li ps, tongue and face. Th ese secondary
effec ts begin to appea r in no npsyc hotic persons at dosage levels much
lower than th ose used fo r mentall y ill people . Th e effe ct o f such dosages
o n no npsychoti c indi vidu als is desc ribed by J ose Luis Al va r3do, the six–
tee n- yea r- o ld di ss ident referred to ea rli er: " [ was fo rced to take psy–
cho tro pic drugs three times dail y... . T he reac ti o n was immed iate. You
fe lt like everything aro u nd you was los in g its 3nimati o n . Yo u fcl t far
away. Yo u could wa lk, ea t and ta lk , but th ey were invo lunt3ry refl exes.
The mom ent would come w hen yo u coul d no t remember your name -
neith er your name, no r that of the fri end bes ide you. [t was like being
awa ke and dreaming at the same time."
Th e time has come to insist that th e C3stro gove rnment sto p its psy–
chi atri c abuse practi ces in C uba. Th e Commi ssio n o n Human Ri ghts of
th e United N ati o ns, the United N ati o ns Committee o n Torture, the
Inter-Ameri can Commi ssio n o n Human Ri ghts o f th e O rga ni za ti on of
Ameri can States, and the Ameri ca n Psychi atri c Assoc iati o n sho uld investi–
ga te these cases of psychiatri c abuse in C uba. Po li tical, intell ectual and re–
li gio us leaders sho uld p rotest th ese human ri ghts violati o ns. T he interna–
ti o nal communi ty sho uld no t remain silent. T he barbari c practi ce of abuse
o f psychi atry fo r politi cal purposes in C uba must come to an end .
