By Economic Embargo, Ideological Standoff Despite heightened political tension between the United States and Cuba, the number of collaborative projects conducted by scientists from the two neighboring countries has been quietly growing. Undeterred by events such as last month's passage of legislation strengthening U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba and February's shootdown by the Cuban government of two aircraft belonging to a Miami-based exile group, researchers are proceeding with collegial scientific exchanges.
UNDAUNTED: Michael Smith, from the Center for Marine Conservation in Washington, has been traveling to Cuba since he late 1980s. "If you've read U.S. newspapers over the last several weeks, you would definitely have the impression that everything has been tightened up," says Michael Smith, director of the U.S.-Cuban scientific exchange program at the Center for Marine Conservation in Washington, D.C. He refers to the Helms-Burton Act, signed by President Bill Clinton last month, which codifies current executive orders ...
