104-10185-10117
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COUNTRY Cuba
Jse FERNANDE
SECRET
NO FOREIGN DISSEM
REPORT NO.
CSCI 316/00693-64
DATE DISTR 21 August 1964
NO. PAGES 3
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CIA 
1
DATE OF 1964.
INFQ
PLACE & Washington, D. C.
DATE ACQ. August 1964
FIELD REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION. SOURCE GRADINGS ARE DEFINITIVE
APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
SOURCE: A former Cuban IS officer who served with the Cuban
Intelligence Service until April 1964.
STATE
1
Headquarters Comments
The following report is one of a series containing personality
information provided by the source and includes supplemental
Information from the records of this Agency.
36-
It In requested that the addressees take no action on any of
the individuals mentioned in the personality reports without
first checking with this Agency.
Source identified a photograph of Comandante Jose
FERNANDEZ and said that his nickname is "El Gallego."
FERNANDEZ is the chief of all army training schools from.
cadets up .
Ho is not connected with Cuban Intelligence,1,2,
7,8
Headquarters Comments
1. In a report dated 11 May 1960, from an untested source,
it was reported that one Jose FERNANDEZ, possibly identical
with the above Subject, was a Cuban Ambassador on an
arms buying missions in Rome.
3.
DIA
In June 1962 a Cuban national, untested, whose father was
an old army friend of Jose FERNANDEZ, aka "El Gallego,"
reported the following information:
FERNANDEZ is Chief of Artillary Schools in Habana
Province; he frequently gives lectures on artillery
weapons at a School for Members of the Western Army
(La Escuela para los Miembros de Ejercito Occidente).
ARMY
NAVY
REP CINCLANT
(Note bunas indicated by "*")
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CINCSO # I&N9
NSA
4,5,6,
3
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INFORMATION
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CSCI-316/00693-6
COORDINATING HELEAGY
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3/P1
16 MAR 1955
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3.
-2-
He was
a captain in the army during BATISTA's time
and was in prison for his party in the 4 April Movement
FERNANDEZ was not known
until his release. by CASTRO.
to be a Communist and, at the time of this report (1962),
He attended artillery
was not considered to be one
schools in the United States (dates and places unknown) and
He is well educated and well
speaks English well.
trained for the position he holds.
He is often referred
to as "El Gallego Fernandez." FERNANDEZ allegedly
was chief of the operation against the invaders of
Playa Giron in April 1961. He was described as having
been born about 1921, being six feet one inch tall,
185 pounds, having light grayish eyes, light brown
hair, a fair complexion, white even toeth, and an oval
face. He speaks with a Castillian accent.
A fairly reliable source, in a report dated 17 July 1962,
stated that Major Jose Ramon FERNANDEZ was the Chief of the
Seccion Preparacion y Organizacion Combativa (Section for
the Preparation and Organization of Warfare - SPOC), the
Cuban Army's key man for defense against invasion, and the
He had access to all secret
military brains of the country.
information. FERNANDEZ received his instructions exclusively
from Fidel and Raul CASTRO with whom he is in personal contact..
He received his military education in the United States. He is
intelligent and reportedly not a Communist.
4. A Cuban national, untested, reported in September 1962, that
the facilities of the Military Academy at Camp Managua were
being utilized as a training center for officers, officer-
candidates and non-commissioned officers. Major Jose FERNANDEZ,
aka "El Gallego," has an office on the ground floor of the first
FERNANDEZ and a General Enrique
building as you enter the camp.
LISTER prepared all the training schedules, pamphlets, and
training aides, as well as joint exercises in which air ground
(armor and infantry) have participated.
5.
In a 14 November 1962 report, an untested source said that
Comandante (fnu) FERNANDEZ is the only Cuban official who
is completely within the confidence of the Soviets with
respect to the military fortifications of the Habana area.
24
6. An official Spanish Service] in a report dated 18 May 1963,
stated that an unidentified "usually reliable source" said"
that Major Jose Ramon FERNANDEZ, known as "El Gallego," is
the one who made the preparation for CASTRO's trip to the
Soviet Union in February 1963. FERNANDEZ arrived in Habana
from Moscow two days before CASTRO's surprise departure.
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DESERING AS a picks.
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7:
8.
à fairly reliable source, in a report dated 7 August 1963,
stated that she did not think FERNANDEZ was a Communist as he
bas always had Catholic tendencies but that he is a correct
soldier and puts the military above everything. He is divorced
and his ex-wife is living in Miami with their two daughters,
Francis, born in 1951, and Alicie, born in 1955.
00
▲ source who is a high ranking Cuban military] officer who has
✓ good contacts among Cuban officials (he has not submitted many
reports, but they appear to have been accurate) reported in
September 1963 that Major Jose Ramon FERNANDEZ Alvarez, Chief
of Training, General Staff of the Cuban Rebel Army, is anti-
Communist and a military typé in the strictest sense of the
word. He sticks to his military duties and scrupulouslý
avoids politics; he keeps himself completely isolated from
all political elements. He is proud of his present status
and thankful to CASTRO for it; for fear of losing it he
appears unwilling to undertake any kind of activity against
the CASTRO regime. CASTRO is undoubtedly knowledgeable of
FERNANDEZ' attitude and has sufficient confidence in him to.
retain him in his present position. CASTRO also is aware
that he has few officers with the military discipàine,
know-how, and experience possessed by FERNANDEZ.
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