Sunday April 30, 2000; Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com

Cuban Doctor Caught Taking Tranquilizers to Elian

On Thursday U.S. Customs officials at Washington's Dulles International Airport confiscated several medications carried by Elian Gonzalez's Cuban pediatrician, who was en route to the 6-year-old's temporary residence at Maryland's Wye River Plantation.

Among the seized pharmaceuticals were two powerful tranquilizers that could be used to make Elian appear happier in the wake of the reunion with his father, Juan Miguel.

A series of photos released by Greg Craig, the one-time Clinton impeachment attorney who now represents Mr. Gonzalez, have been offered as evidence that Elian has overcome the trauma of his gunpoint abduction by federal agents a week ago. Clinton administration representatives say the photos prove the boy is overjoyed to have finally been returned to his father after a five-month stay with his Miami family.

But evidence that Cuban doctors may have doped the Cuban raft boy could severely undermine claims that the images of a smiling Elian hugging his father are genuine.

In an account completely ignored by the national press, The Miami Herald reported on Friday that customs agents searched the bags of Elian's Cuban pediatrician, Dr. Caridad Ponce de Leon, and collected several drugs:

"The confiscated medicines were listed as amikacin sulfate, used for treatment of bacterial and staph infections; aminophyllin, a bronchodilator for treatment of asthma, bronchitis and emphysema; cefazoline, for treatment of respiratory, urinary, skin and other infections; meprobamate, better known by the trade name Miltown, for treatment of anxiety; and phenobarbital, a barbiturate used as a sedative."

At the news of the seizure Granma, Cuba's Communist Party newspaper, complained, "it appears that Customs officials know what kinds of medicine Elian, his cousin and the rest of the children and adults may need."

Dr. Ponce de Leon was part of a ten-person Cuban delegation, including four children, who were authorized to visit the Cuban raft boy by the Clinton administration last week. According to Friday's Washington Times, "The reason for the visits was described as delivering supplies."

It's impossible to know if there have been other attempts to smuggle sedatives to Elian or whether those attempts have been successful, since the White House has kept the boy isolated from independent doctors. Media access has been all but eliminated by attorney Craig, who has close ties to Fidel Castro.

According to The PDR Family Guide to Prescription Drugs, Miltown is a habit-forming drug that should not be given to children under 6 years of age. Elian is 6 years, 5 months old.

"Miltown is a tranquilizer used in the treatment of anxiety disorders and for short-term relief of the symptoms of anxiety," advises the PDR report. "Miltown can be habit forming. You can develop tolerance and dependence and you may experience withdrawal symptoms if you stop using this drug abruptly."

Miltown should be prescribed only in cases of extraordinary stress and upset, warns the PDR drug guide. "Anxiety or tension related to everyday stress usually does not require treatment with Miltown."

Common side effects can include allergic reactions, diarrhea, fever, headaches, drowsiness, a general loss of alertness and even dizziness. The PDR also warns that Miltown can induce "inappropriate excitement" and an "exaggerated feeling of well-being."

The Mayo Clinic USP Drug Guide mirrors the PDR's report, noting that Miltown may cause such side effects as "confusion," "unusual excitement" and a "false sense of well-being."

Miltown's usual dose for children 6 to 12 years of age is 200 to 600 miligrams per day divided into 2 or 3 doses.

Side effects for phenobarbitol, the other sedative confiscated from Elian's Cuban pediatrician, include drowsiness and other forms of cognitive and behavioral impairment. Abrupt withdrawal from phenobarbitol can induce epileptic seizures.