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Berlin Tunnel Cold War (1950–1972)

Cold War (1972–1989): The Collapse of the Soviet Union

Biochemical

Assassination Weapons

❚ J U D Y T H S A S S O O N

Assassination is usually defined as politically inspired murder. The term is probably derived from the Arabic word for hemp (Hashish), which was apparently used by Hasan-ban-Sabah (c. 1034–1124) to induce motivation in his followers. These “hashishins” or assassins were as- signed to carry out political and other murders, usually at the cost of their own lives. Thus, at the etymological level, there is already a connection between assassination and compounds derived from nature.

Biochemicals in the context of assassination involve mostly plant-derived drugs or toxins. They can be or- ganic compounds such as alkaloids, diterpenes, cardiac and cynogenic glycosides, nitro-containing compounds, oxalates, resins, certain proteins and amino acids. A selec- tion of these biochemicals were effectively used in assas- sination attempts throughout history.

The ancient civilizations of the Near East, Greece and Rome developed the use of poisons in political homicide to a high degree of efficiency. In classical Rome, mush- room poisons were expertly administered by Agrippina (A.D.16– A.D. 59.), wife of Emperor Claudius and mother of Nero. She successfully disposed of several political rivals, including Marcus Silanus who was to succeed Claudius, and eventually Claudius himself. Agrippina probably em- ployed the properties of the amanita species, which con- tain amanitin polypeptides that produce degenerative changes in the liver, kidney, and cardiac muscles. In an- cient Egypt, Queen Cleopatra in her search for a suitable suicide compound became familiar with the properties of henbane (Hyoscyanus niger) and belladonna (Atropa bel- ladonna), although she judged death by these plants to be rapid, but painful. Cleopatra was also disappointed with

Strychnos nux-vomita (a tree whose seeds yield strych-

nine). Strychnine causes stimulation of the central nerv- ous system, produces generalized convulsions, and dis- torted facial features at death. The latter did not suit Cleopatra, who eventually settled for the bite of an asp (Egyptian cobra), which produced a more serene and prompt death worthy of a queen.

Hemlock is another notorious biochemical used in political murders. The hemlock plant contains coniine, an alkaloid, and was used to execute the Greek philosopher Socrates (c.479 B.C.–399 B.C.). The drug causes progres- sive motor paralysis extending upwards from the extremi- ties until death results from respiratory failure. Some of the deadliest political poisons were concocted by the alchemists of the Middle Ages. La Cantrella was a secret assassination weapon used by Cesare Borgia (1476–1507) and Lucrezia Borgia (1480–1519) to despatch their ene- mies. Even today, its exact composition is not known, but

Biochemical Assassination Weapons

Senator Frank Church, left, chairman of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, displays a poison dart gun as co-chairman Senator John Tower watches during the panel’s probe of the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1975. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS.

it was most probably a mixture of naturally derived cop- per, arsenic and crude phosphorus.

In later times, cyanide became more widely used as a homicidal poison. Today, cyanide is usually derived in large quantities from industry, but it has its source in biochemical processes involving cyanogenic glycosides. Amygdalin is one of the most widely distributed glycosides, yielding hydrocyanic acid (HCN) as a product of hydroly- sis. It is present in the rosaceae plant family and found in the seeds of apples, cherries, peaches and plums. HCN inhibits the action of the enzyme cytochrome oxidase and prevents the uptake of oxygen by cells. As little as 0.06 g can cause death in humans. Consumption of a lethal dose of HCN is usually followed by collapse and death within seconds. As an assassination weapon, it was famously employed in the killing of the Russian monk Gregory Efimovich Rasputin (c.1872–1916). Legend has it that Rasputin’s unnaturally strong constitution allowed him to ingest enough cyanide to kill six men, yet he continued to breathe and eventually received his coup de grace from a gun shot.

Ricin is a political poison of twentieth-century origin. It is found in the shell casing of castor beans and is easily produced, thus having the potential to be a large-scale murder weapon. Ricin came to public attention in 1978 when it was used in the assassination of Bulgarian dis- senter Georgi Markov in the United Kingdom. Markov

worked as a broadcaster for the British Broadcasting Cor- poration, and relayed pro-Western material to his commu- nist homeland. Markov died several days after being jabbed by an umbrella at a bridge in London. The poison-tipped umbrella injector was designed by the Soviet intelligence agency KGB, whose Bulgarian agent carried the umbrella and delivered the Ricin to the victim. An autopsy revealed that a platinum-iridium pellet the size of a pinhead had been implanted in Markov at the site of his injury. The pellet was cross-drilled with 0.016-inch holes to contain the Ricin. A short time earlier, a similar attempt had been made in Paris against another Bulgarian defector, Vladimir Kostov. This attempt proved unsuccessful because his heavy clothing prevented the steel ball from entering any farther than his subcutaneous tissue. Kostov read of his comrade’s death and went for a medical examination during which the pellet was found and removed before any of the toxin could be absorbed. Ricin is an extremely toxic poison. It is estimated that Markov was killed by only a 425 mg. dose contained in the pellet. Ricin is deadly because it can be inhaled, ingested or swallowed and is quickly broken down in the body and is virtually undetect- able. Markov’s assassination was only detected because the pellet carrying the poison had not dissolved as ex- pected. There is currently no antidote to Ricin although a vaccine has been developed that has been successfully tested in mice.