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104-10177-10239
2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON.D.C. 20505
MEMORANDUM FOR:
SUBJECT
:
REFERENCES
:
A.
B.
Mr. John Warner.
Chief, International Intelligence Division
Office of Intelligence
Drug Enforcement Administration
ATTENTION: Mr. Robert Goe
Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA
SEC-IGI-76-0048(1), 06 February 1976
SEC-IGI-76-0062(1), 20 Februal. 1976
C. SEC-IGI-76-0065(1), 25 February 1976
THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN
APPROVED FOR RELEASE BY
ON 1 APR 94
DEA
as scritized
1. This Agency was requested by DEA to check the
backgrounds of five Cuban exiles who have come to the
attention of DEA either as potential informants or as
liaison contacts. According to preliminary checks
conducted by DEA, there were indications that these
individuals had past records of "political and revolú-
tionary intrigue." DEA, concerned that it may be the
target of a provocation operation by another govern-
ment, requested this Agency's assessment of the
situation. This memorandum contains the results of a
check of our Headquarters records on these individuals,
followed by a summary of our findings and conclusions.
The order of this response is keyed to Reference B.
2. Mario Eloy JIMENEZ-Kojo. DPOB: 03 March
← 1927, Lajas, Las Villas, Cuba. JIMENEZ was of interest
to this Agency in 1960 but according to our records he
THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT TO BE DISSEMINATED ABROAD OR
OUTSIDE THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE RECEIVING AGENCY
WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE ORIGINATOR
REVOLUTION
EXEMPT FROM GENERAL DECLASSIFICATION SCHEDULE OF
E.O. 11652, EXEMPTION CATEGORY: S (b) 2
DECLASSIFICATION_DATE IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE
CLASSIFIEDCRY 061966 DUNC-00033
201-285423
Bas
BICENTENNIAL &
0
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SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DFA
Page 2
was at no time used operationally. Our files contain
no additional 
information on JIMENEZ since 1960
except for a 1969 FBI report dealing with his involve-
ment 
in a plan to assassinate Fidel Castro. (DEA
already has a copy of this report.) Although in-
formation 
obtained from a Report of Investigation
(
ROI) by Alfredo Duncan (DEA/Caracas) dated 01
December 1975 indicates that ☑INENEZ is a U.S.
citizen, resides in Caracas and has contacts with
various GOV officials, we have no information in our
Headquarters files to substantiate this information.
In November 1975 the Caracas Regional Office (CRO)
requested traces from our field representative on
JIMENEZ, who was reportedly in contact with the CRO.
The 
following traces were forwarded to our represen-
tative in Caracas 
on 03 December 1975 for passage to
DEA: "Following 
data on Mario Eloy JIMENEZ Rojo
taken from 
his own undated handwritten bio summary
which apparently submitted to the anti-Castro Frente
Revolucionario Democratico (FRD) in Miami about 1960,
and from 
an FRD Personnel Form. JIMENEZ was born
5 
March 1927 in 
Lajas, Las Villas, Cuba.
The 
University of Havana and majored in business
He 
attended
administration
. From 1948 until 1952 (sic) he was
'elected mayor 
for four years' (of Havana?) JIMENEZ
was 
secretary to the President of Congress in Havana
from 
1941 (sic) until 1958. He came to the U.S.,
(Miami) as an immigrant in April 1959. JIMENEZ
stated his purpose in coming to the U.S. was to assist
in the eradication 
of the Cuban system.
JIMENEZ iš
married to Dyalma Balasquide. At the time his bio
summary was 
written, he stated he was a second lieu-
tenant in the U.S. Army. (As it highly unlikely that
JIMENEZ was 
secretary to the President of the Cuban
Congress at age fourteen and only a little less un-
likely that he was a mayor at age twenty-one, as the
dates given 
by JIMENEZ show; suggest DEA ask the
Department 
of Army for further information.)" We
also note that a statement on his processing papers
for the FRD 
indicated that JIMENEZ was a former
member of the Revolutionary Insurrectional Union (UIR)
in Cuba, a Cuban-
style mafia which was prominent
during the 
1940's and 1950's and was under the patron-
age of anti-
Batista political figures. On 12 December
1975 we 
received a request from the CRO that JIMENEZ
be registered 
in the ISR as a DEA source. (He was
formally registered 
on 29 December 1975.
..
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"
SUBJECT:
3.
Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA
Page 3
Orlando GARCIA Vasquez. DPOB: 16 June 1927,
Havana, Cuba
. GARCIA (at one time a 
naturalized U.S.
citizen/18 May 1945 in South Carolina) became a
Venezuelan citizen ca 1962. GARCIA has a long history
as a 
political thug since pre-Batista days in Cuba.
He 
was 
a member of the Union Insurrectional Revo-
lucionaria (UIR) in Cuba along with Fidel Castro and
other persons who were involved in political assasi-
nations. 
He claims to have served with the U.S. 82nd
Airborne Division from 1945-47 and to have returned
to Cuba thereafter to attend the University of Havana
on the 
GI Bill. About mid-52 Subject left Cuba for
Miami because of a scandal in Cuba over a crime al-
legedly committed by GARCIA. In 1953 he became a
bodyguard for Costa Rican President FIGUERES, who
introduced him to Romulo BETANCOURT, who was then in
exile 
in Costa Rica. It is believed that GARCIA's
fast rise in the Venezuelan government is based on his
earlier 
service to Accion Democratica (AD) exiles in
Costa Rica, where he reportedly eliminated several
gunmen sent to kill BETANCOURT. When BETANCOURT
became president of Ver ezuela (1959-64), GARCIA was
appointed 
a division chief in the Directorate General
of Police (DIGEPOL), now the Directorate for the Services
of 
Intelligence and Prevention (DISIP). GARCIA left
Venezuela for Miami in 1964 for health reasons (ulcers)
and 
during this stay in Miami worked at the Venezuelan
Consulate. 
He returned to Venezuela in 1966 and re-
portedly held positions within the Venezuelan Ministry
of Interior 
(exact positions not known). In August
1969 GARCIA was 
assigned as First Secretary to the
Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana. He returned
to 
Venezuela sometime during 1970 or 1971 and was
assigned as Special Assessor (Advisor), Ministry of
Foreign 
Relations, where he was mainly concerned with
Venezuelan national border incidents and violations.
According to information dated July 1974, GARCIA was
appointed to head a special foreign intelligence
service 
within the Ministry of Interior:
In November 1973 our representative in Caracas
was queried oy DEA Caracas concerning a report which
was prepared on 06 September 1973 in Miami by S.A./
Michael 
D. Brom, which accused GARCIA of being in-
volved in narcotics trafficking and of being a CIA
ད་ : ་
:
↑
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Page 4
informant.
DEA Caracas was advised that GARCIA was
a former Agency asset and that we have maintained
contact with him over the years? Although it is known
that GARCIA has associated with known traffickers, no
hard facts concerning his direct involvement in
narcotics have been uncovered. GARCIA has been
described over the years as a political thug, a
murderer, a con-man, a pathological liar, and a
"bright, aggressive rogue who is ruthless when neces-
sary."
GARCIA has apparently always sided with the
men in power and seems to have gained the confidence:
of many leaders in the countries around the Caribbean.
A DEA ROI, dated 10 October 1974, written by S.A. Brom
at Miami reported that GARCIA was in the United States
and was in contact with Ricardo MORALES (see paragraph
4). GARCIA made several trips to the U.S. on behalf
of the GOV during 1974-75. Your. Agency is referred
to the FBI for information concerning GARCIA's
activities in the U.S.
"
DPOB: 14 June
4 Ricardo MORALES_Navarette.
1939, Havana, Cuba. MORALES took refuge in the
Brazilian Embassy in Havana in October 1960 and
entered the United States as a Cuban refugee at Miami,
Florida on 29 November 1960. He was a self-admitted
former G-2 agent. Although MORALES was of interest to
this Agency in 1964, he was not used operationally.
Information in 1968 indicated that NORALES was a
member of "Cuban Power, an anti-C
-Castro terrorist
organization, whose policy was to liquidate foreign
support for the Castro regime. MORALES was arrested
on 14 February 1968 in Miami and questioned regarding
a reccnt bombing incident. On 02 October 1972 DEA/
Miami registered MORALES in the ISR as a DEA informant.
According to a DEA cable from Miami R/O to Caracas R/O,,
dated 17 February 1976, MORALES was reported to be an
active DEA informant since 25 February 1971 and to
have recently left the Miami area to go to Caracas to
take up an official position with a sensitive GOV
agency. (This Agency has no updated information on
MORALES to substantiate this information.) The Miami
R/O rated MORALES as being an extremely reliable source
and suggested Caracas R/O use caution in utilizing
MORALES due to his present status within the GOV.
DEA ROI (dated 10 October 1974) written by S.A.
Michael D. Brom at Miami reported that MORALES was
A
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in contact with one Orlando GARCIA, who was in the
Miami area recruiting Cubans for use in a Venezuelan
Special Forces Unit. Your Agency is referred to the
FBI for information concerning the activities of
these individuals in the United States.
5. Justo LARAZO Alfonso. A check of our records
turned up one Justo Alfonso (no DPOB), a Cuban-exile,
who was active in anti-Castro organizations in the
late 1960's. Your Agency is referred to the FBI for
information on this individual.
6. Manuel De ARMAS. DPOB: 06 November 1947,
Havana, Cuba; naturalized U.S.. citizen living in Miami.
On 17 October 1975 one Manuel De ARMAS contacted our
overt Domestic Contact Division (DCD) office in Miami
offering his services as a double agent. Following are
excerpts from two DCD Reports dated 20 October 1975 and
19 January 1976 based on debriefings of De ARMAS: While
in Cuba De ARMAS claimed to have been the neighbor of
Raul BETANCOURT, the brother of the former Venezuelan
President Romulo BETANCOURT, and his two daughters.
Antonieta and Mariela, who was De ARMAS' girl friend.
De ARMAS' mother decided in 1962 that Subject should
leave Cuba, which he did. In 1975, De ARMAS found out
that his two young cousins had been placed in an orphan-
age in Cuba.
He made contact with Mariela BETANCOURT,
telling her that he was fed up with the U.S. system of
government in order to gain her attention on the matter
of taking his cousins out of Cuba. Mariela asked him
if he would be willing to work for the Cuban Government
and he replied he would if it would help the youngsters.
Mariela then told De ARMAS to go to Caracas and meet
with her sister Antonieta. De ARMAS went to Caracas on
02 October 1975 and met with Antonieta, but no proposals
were made on the possibility of his working for the
Cuban Government. On 17 October 1975 De ARMAS again
called Mariela and was told that he should return to
Venezuela to hold more talks with Antonieta and "other
people." After talking with Mariela on 17 October 1975,
De ARMAS called our DCD/Miami Office because as a U.S.
citizen he claimed that he did not want to get involved
with the Cuban Government unless he had this Agency's
approval. De ARMAS graciously offered his services as
a double agent. He called DCD/Miami on 20 October 1975
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SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA
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and again on 07 January 1976 to resubmit his offer and
insisted on a response. He was told that his offer
would be forwarded through the appropriate channels.
(Note: Our records show that there was no CIA interest
in De ARMAS, past or present.) On 13 January 1976 our
representative in Miami was told that the FBI Miami
office had been in contact with Subject and wished to
verify De ARMAS' clain that he was in contact with our
DCD Miami office. The FBI also asked whether this
Agency had any objection for further FBI contact with
Subject on the "same basis they had previously." (Note:
The type or length of FBI contact with De ARMAS is not
known. Your office is referred to the FBI for additional
information.)
On 04 February 1976 DEA Caracas received a
DEA message (# 02406) which requested permission for
Miami CI Manuel Leonardo De ARMAS to travel to Caracas
for a one kilo heroin, buy from a Colombian whom De ARMAS
had previously met through a Maria A. BETANCOURT. Per-
mission was given and De ARMAS arrived in Caracas on 11
February 1976. No mention of drugs was made on this
trip but according to De ARMAS he was taken to the Cuban
Embassy in Caracas on 12 February 1976, where he was
allgedly approached to work for the Cuban Government
in an intelligence capacity. De ARMAS reported these
events to DEA Caracas on 12 February 1976; he was ad-
vised to return to the U.S. Our representative in
Caracas was briefed on the De ARMAS case by SAIC Duncan
on 13 February 1976. Caracas Station was very interested
in having De ARMAS return to Caracas for use as a
possible source on Cuban intelligence activities, and
steps were taken to request that DEA turn De ARMAS
Lover to this Agency. A background check was conducted
on De ARMAS at that time and on 20 February 1976 the
FBI representative in Miami reported the following in-
formation: "The FBI has been avoiding contact with
De ARMAS for the past couple of months since he was
assessed as a 'mentally unbalanced fabricator'. De
ARMAS gave a press interview in Miami in early February
1976 in which he clained an affiliation with virtually
every U.S. intelligence agency. He said that he had
worked for CIA and had attended a CIA training school.
The press interview has thus far not been published,
presumably because it is too far fetched. De ARMAS
SECRET
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Page 7
received a bank loan of $1,500 in Miami and has defaulted
on some $800 of the amount. The final note on De ARMAS
is that he received a general discharge from the U.S.
Army with a notation that he had psychological and
behavioral problems." The gist of the aforementioned
FBI information has been passed to DEA Caracas. All
agencies concerned agree that contact with De ARMAS
should cease. De ARMAS again contacted S.A. Duncan in
Caracas on 26 February 1976 and requested a meeting; he
said that the request was not drug related, but con-
cerned the "Cuban matter." S.A. Duncan advised De ARMAS
that he was on his own and that DEA would not get in-
volved. As DEA Headquarters is aware, De ARMAS re-
portedly left for Mexico o/a 26 February 1976.
no subsequent reporting on his movements.
We have
7. Three of the five aforementioned individuals
are known to have had past connections: GARCIA Vazquez
and JIMENEZ Rojo were both former members of the UIR
in Cuba at one time and MORALES Navarette, a former
– Cuban C-2 agent, was in contact with GARCIA in the
United States during 1974-75. Although there have been
allegations aimed at MORALES and GARCIA over the years
accusing them of being Cuban agents and/or of narcotics
involvement, these claims have not been substantiated
and for the most part are based on circumstantial
evidence or guilt by association, which happens
frequently among Cubans. As MORALES has been a DEA
informant since 1971 and, in fact, was rated as ano
("extermely reliable" source by the Miami R/O; a desire
on his part to continue this relationship in Caracas,
we feel, cannot be construed as part of a provocation:
operation. A check of our records reflected no past
intelligence backgrounds for LAZARO Alfonso and De
ARMAS, While there is a paucity of background infor-
mation in our files on Justo LAZARO, in our opinion he
is attempting to extort money from the U.S. Government
based on a poorly conceived idea of his own. The De
ARMAS case áppears to have been resolved satisfactorily
for all concerned. All Agencies concerned agree he is
unstable and contact should be either severed, or if
unavoidable, it should be made with extreme caution.
I
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8. Following a review of all information on the
foregoing Subjects available at DEA Headquarters and
at this Agency's Headquarters, we are of the opinion
that there is no data or other evidence to suggest an
outside organization is attempting to manipulate these
individuals in an operation aimed at discrediting the
U.S. Government and DEA. We believe there may be
collusion among the three Subjects located in Caracas,
probably to assist one another in nefarious schemes to
one degree or another; however, the information on
hand does not suggest their motivation would go beyond
personal, financial or influence objectives. While one
cannot absolutely rule out the possibility, for example,
that the Cuban Service has run one or more of the afore-
mentioned Subjects at DEA for the purpose of harrassing
the U.S. Government, there is no conclusive information
in our files to connect them with Cuban intelligence or
a Venezuelan entity whose interests are inimical to the
U.S.
DONC-00038/76
John P. Kennedy
Special Assistant for Coordination of
Foreign Narcotics Information
1. J
i
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DDO/OPS/NARCOG/NL Davis/ms
Distribution:
Orig. & 1
-
Addressee
1
-
NARCOG CHRONO
Page 9
1 - IP/AN*
*File in 201-0067860.
X 201-0285923
X 201-0286570
Index: Justo LAZARO Alfonso, aka Justo Alfonso
Index: Manuel Leonardo De ARMAS
Coordination:
(in draft) 17 March 1976
LA/COG
(in draft) 17 March 1976
LA/NW/V