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NOFORN
COPY NO. 107
SC NO. 00556/63
9 December 1963
SUMMARY
INTELLIGENCE
CENTRAL
UNITED STATES
AGENCY
OF AMERICA
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CODE WORD MATERIAL
GROUP 1
Excluded from
automatic downgrading
and declassification
NOFORN
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DAILY SUMMARY
9 December 1963
This summary of significant information has not been coordinated
outside the Office of Current Intelligence. It does not represent a
complete coverage of all current reports received, nor does time
permit the complete evaluation of all reports which are included.
CONTENTS
MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS:
Three independent clandestine sources have reported on
the unloading of military equipment from the Soviet vessel
METALLURG BAIKOV in Havana harbor on 19 or 20 November.
(Page 1)
Soviet "coastal defense rockets" now belong to Cuban Army
artillery forces, according to a recent speech by Raul
Castro; however, Soviets still appear to be involved in
the (communications net which serves the cruise missile `
system. (Page 1)
24
FIDEL CASTRO'S SPEECH:
In a 6-7 December speech devoted mainly to education, Cas-
tro digressed to discuss the situation resulting from Vene-
zuela's charge that the arms cache discovered on a Vene-
zuelan beach last month had come from Cuba. Castro implied
that the arms had been planted by CIA and are being used.
as a pretext for new action by the "imperialists and their
lackeys" against Cuba. He expressed confidence that what-
ever the result, the Cuban revolution will not be defeated.
(Page 2)
CUBAN INTERNAL SITUATION:
Faure Chomon Mediavilla is replacing Omar Fernandez as
transportation minister; Major Jesus Montane Oropesa will
be new communications minister. (Page 3)
об
(Heavy rainfall) has apparently caused damages to military
facilities in Pinar del Rio Province and hampered travel
in Oriente Province. 10 (Page 4)
Το
i
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THE PRESIDENT'S ASSASSINATION:
A Spanish-language daily in New York claims Madrid police
are holding a self-confessed plotter against the late Presi-
dent. (Page 4)
INSURGENCY AND CIVIL UNREST:
10'
A fire on a farm near Cardenas, Matanzas) Province, has de-
stroyed one acre of henequen) (Page 4)
об ослан
29
An attempt has been made to shoot the chief of the (PURSES) in
Velasco, Camaguey) Province.
(Page 5)
10'
A militiaman arrested in Guantanamo on 3 December for sus-
pected counterrevolutionary activities has been freed.
(Page 5)
29,10
है
The (DSE unit at Ciego de Avila) has captured one insurgent
and reports the surrender of another; a resident of Jucaro ) 10
has been arrested for cashing an out-of-circulation 50-
dollar bill. (Page 5)
Thirty-two people attempting to flee Cuba were captured by
Cuban security forces on 8 December; this may be related to
an earlier report which stated that an undetermined number
of residents of Las Villas Province fled the country from
an unknown point of embarkation. (Page 6)
Several minor incidents of sabotage have been discovered
on CUBANA aircraft. (Page 6).
A DRE leader in Mexico City announced that 126 Cuban mili-
tiamen were killed in a clash with guerrillas near Sancti
Spiritus, Las Villas Province. (Page 6)
CUBAN AIR FLIGHT CONNECTIONS:
10
(Spain) has approved regularly scheduled Havana Madric flights
by CUBANA airlines, according to an intercepted message..
(Page 7)
SHIPPING SUPPORT FOR CUBA:
The Argentine Government and the owners of the SS ANAMAR
are determined that it will not take a cargo of Soviet-
purchased coffee to Cuba. (Page 7)
ii
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(OAS) DEVELOPMENTS:
об
The Brazilian OAS delegate informed his government on 5
December that several OAS delegates have been impressed by
the Cuban claim that the weapons found in Venezuela last
month had actually been planted there by the US. Apparently
unaware that elaborate efforts had been made to erase all
indications of the Cuban origin of the weapons, they wonder
why Cuba would permit evidence of its involvement in send-
ing arms to Latin American guerrillas to be traceable to.
Cuba. (Page 7)
об
The Venezuelan OAS ambassador dispatched an urgent message
to his (foreign minister) on 6 December expressing misgivings
as to the attitudes of members of the special (CASE) committee
appointed to investigate Venezuela's charges against the .
Castro regime. (Page 8)
об
11
In relation to the investigation of the (Venezuelan) arms
cache, the (Brazilian delegate) to the CAS has been instructed
not to show "sympathy or excessive understanding in rela
tion to Cuba." (Page 9)
SOVIET-CUBAN RELATIONS:
A clandestine source has reported, possibly as a current
rumor, that Fidel Castro visited Moscow around 15 November;
there is no current evidence that he made any public appear-
ances in Cuba around that date. (Page 9)
BLOC ECONOMIC RELATIONS:
Five Polish merchantmen have been assigned to Cuban run.
(Page 10)
The Soviet-made AN-12 transport has landed in Cuba. (Page 10)
NON-BLOC RELATIONS:
The Moroccan foreign minister has received a Cuban "good-
will" mission for the second time; local expectation is
that formal relations will be re-established shortly.
(Page 11)
10
The President of (Dahomey) declined an invitation to attend
the 1 January anniversary celebration in Cuba. (Page 11)
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CUBAN SUPPORT OF EXTERNAL SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES:
08
The Chilean ambassador) in (Venezuela) is convinced of the
accuracy of Venezuelan charges of Cuban subversion.
(Page 11)
There is an additional report on the use of a Cuban trans-
port plane to supply pro-Castro groups in Venezuela with
weapons. (Page 12)
Cuban Chargé Lasalle in Bolivia is reportedly supplying
weapons to the leftist section of the governing party,
as the serious political crisis there becomes more in-
tense. (Page 12)
A clandestine source has reported that two Cubans are
with a group of Peruvian leftists currently hiding in
Bolivia, and that Castro has agreed to provide money and
guerrilla training for a rival group. (Page 12)
iv
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MILITARY DEVELOPMENTS:
Three independent clandestine sources have reported the
unloading of military equipment from a Soviet cargo vessel,
probably the METALLURG BAIKOV, on 19 or 20 November. This
vessel was suspected of carrying a military cargo long before
its arrival in Cuba. (See Daily Summary of 12 November.) It
carried what was probably the eighth full military cargo to
arrive in Cuba since the 1962 missile crisis. One source, a
retired civil engineer whose reporting has been factual and
in most instances based on personal observation, reported that
the METALLURG BAIKOV unloaded "large quantities of arms and
military equipment" in Havana on 20 November and left the next
day. Another source reported that Havana longshoremen had
stated that a Soviet ship, which they did not identify, had
unloaded arms at Regla Wharf, Havana, on 20 November. A third
source, an educated Cuban of Western European extraction who
is a resident of Havana, reported that tanks were among the
equipment unloaded from a Soviet vessel that arrived in Havana
on 19 November. The three sources are probably referring to
the same shipment. If the report on the delivery of tanks is
true, this would be the second consecutive reported shipment
of armored vehicles to Cuba. The ORENBURG reportedly delivered
some 45 tanks on 23 or 24 October. (See Daily Summaries of 28
and 29 October.) It has previously been reported that another
probable military shipment, the ninth, is now en route aboard
the SLUTSK. (See Daily Summary of 3 December.) (CIA TDCS-DB-
3/658,289,6 December, SECRET NO FOREIGN DISSEM/CONTROLLED DIS-
SEM)
The Soviet "coastal defense rockets" now belong to the
Cuban Army artillery forces, according to a recent speech by
Raul Castro. Cubans probably have been training in cruise
missile operations since last spring, and the rotation and
withdrawal of some Soviet naval personnel in September suggested
that the cruise missile system was turned over to the Cubans
at that time 24 (A Soviet communications net) which probably serves
the cruise missile system remains active, however, indicating
that some degree of Soviet involvement continues. (CIA FBIS,
14 November, UNCLASSIFIED and NSA 2/-CURUNY/R16-63, 28 August,
1963, SECRET KIMBO)
99
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FIDEL CASTRO'S SPEECH:
Fidel Castro's speech of the night of 6-7 December was
on the occasion of the graduation of women teachers for the
literacy campaign. He devoted most of the 99 minutes to a
discussion of the development of local education in Cuba. At
one point, however, he made a moderately long digression to
discuss Venezuela and the situation raised by Venezuela's dis-
covery last month of a large cache of weapons, some of which
have been traced to Cuba.
Castro stated that, while "the imperialists and their
lackeys" charge that Cuba is promoting subversion in Vene-
zuela, rebellion and subversion cannot be promoted from with-
out.
The Venezuelan revolution, he maintained, stems from
the Venezuelan people's own disgust with their government and
with its permitting the "imperialists" to plunder Venezuela's
wealth and resources. If subversion could, in fact, be promoted
from the outside, why, he asked, have all the resources of im-
perialism failed to subvert the Cuban Government?
Betancourt, "that miserable lackey," is trying to incite
the United States to take military action against Cuba, Castro
charged. As a pretext the Venezuelans say they have discovered
arms from Cuba on the Venezuelan coast, Castro stated.' "Some
of the arms," he said, "are said to have borne an effaced Cuban
seal, and other arms are said to be bazookas, recoilless cannon,
mortars. But Cuban mortars perchance? No! Yankee mortars!
Yankee bazookas! Yankee recoilless cannon: Arms which we did
not manufacture; arms which we did not buy!" Castro then went
on, without specifically denying that the weapons had come from
Cuba, by implying that the CIA had obtained Cuban arms from
Cuban deserters and that it would not be difficult to plant
these weapons in Venezuela. (Here he is obviously referring
to the Belgian-made light rifles and submachineguns which have
been identified as among those shipped to Cuba in 1959 and
1960.) With respect to the US-made mortars, bazookas, and re-
coilless rifles, Castro challenged the OAS investigating com-
mittee to "investigate thoroughly," make laboratory tests,
trace the serial numbers, and then "they will be able to reach
only one conclusion: that they belong to the CIA."
Castro then attempted to show the "brazenness" and in-
consistency of those who would use the Venezuelan arms cache
as a pretext to invade or to blockade Cuba when for more than
four years the very same kind of subversive activity as is
now being charged to Cuba has been perpetrated against Cuba--
without any hemispheric attempt to punish the aggressors.
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FIDEL CASTRO'S SPEECH cont'd
-
"Things have changed quite a bit," Castro declared, "to
attack or to blockade Cuba now would not be easy; we can de-
fend ourselves; we are calm; we know what we have to defend
ourselves with." Then, in an implied reference to the Soviet
shipment of strategic missiles to Cuba last year, Castro de-
clared: "When we hear some of these lackeys of imperialism
talking so calmly about invading Cuba, when it has been only
one year since the October crisis, they are once more proving
us right and are once more justifying Cuba's taking defensive
measures; this talk led to the October crisis." Castro then
declared that "these men are so deceived by their own propaganda
that...they cannot conceive of what any invader would meet here."
A war against Cuba, he said, "would not end while there was a
single mercenary soldier treading on our soil."
Castro then returned briefly to his views as to how peace
can be assured in the Caribbean. "Whatever they want to dis-
cuss with Cuba," he said, "let them come and discuss honestly
with Cuba; because we have stated the indispensable prerequisites
for a peaceful atmosphere...in the Caribbean." Thus far, how-
ever, "they have answered with aggressions on top of aggressions."
This course, he said, "is doomed to failure." (CIA FBIS Havana,
7 December, OFFICIAL USE ONLY)
CUBAN INTERNAL SITUATION:
"
A shake-up in the Cuban cabinet has moved Faure Chomon
Mediavilla to the post of transportation minister; he succeeds
Capt. Omar Fernandez, whose ministry was recently under attack
by Castro for alleged inefficiencies and "vices. Major Jesus
Montane Oropesa is replacing Chomon as communications minister.
Chomon, who served as Castro's first ambassador to the
Soviet Union, took over as communications minister in March
1962. He is currently a member of the National Directorate
of PURS. Fernandez, his predecessor, is reportedly moving to
an unspecified position in the Ministry of Industries under
Che Guevara.
Montane took part in the attack on the Moncada Barracks
in 1953 and followed Castro to exile in Mexico. He took part
in the GRANMA expedition of 1956 when he was captured and im-
prisoned. After the revolution, he reportedly received only
a minor post in the government because he had talked too much
in prison. His most recent post, dating from at least August
1962, has been as number two man in the Tourism Institute
(INIT). He is said to be an ardent Marxist-Leninist, who
preaches it at every opportunity. (UPI 63, 6 December,
CLASSIFIED; background information: SECRET)
UN-
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CUBAN INTERNAL SITUATION
8
cont'd
10 Intercepted Cuban military messages of 7 December indicate
that serious (rain) damage has occurred in both Pinar del Rio 10
and Oriente provinces. (Five unidentified military units in
(0 (Pinar del Rio reported the extent of damage to their defensive
fortifications and facilities in messages to the operations
officer, apparently at fourth army headquarters) in Pinar del 10
Rio.
More than half the trenches) had been destroyed, the
shelters and command posts at most of the units reporting
had suffered serious damage, and division headquarters reported
that, while its facilities were still in good condition, the
roads leading to it will have to be repaired. Meanwhile, in
(o Oriente Province intercepts indicate that (torrential rainfall
had caused the rivers to flood making travel difficult and
had forced the closing of the Baracoa airport.
2/SL/CUM/R2302-63, 8 December, SECRET KIMBO)
40
THE PRESIDENT'S ASSASSINATION:
(USN-856,)
99
11)24
The Reuters correspondent in Madrid has advised the US
Embassy that he has been queried by a New York client about
an 8 December El Tiempo report that Spanish police have de-
tained a Cuban national--45-year-old Enrique Pascual Ruedolo
Gongora, alleged to have arrived in Spain via an IBERIA flight
from New York on 23 November--in connection with a plot against
the late President Kennedy. Local police have confirmed deten-
tion of Ruedolo. However, they claim that he arrived in Spain
on 29 November and to the best of their knowledge has abso-
lutely no connection with the assassination. They maintain
that he was expelled from the United States for undetermined
reasons and is being held because he has been unable to
arrange onward travel to Cuba. CAS is pursuing the matter
in Madrid. (Am Emb Madrid, 1155,7 December, CONFIDENTIAL)
INSURGENCY AND CIVIL UNREST:
10
A fire on 6 December on a farm near (Cardenas, Matanzas
Province, destroyed approximately one acre of (henequen) 24 The
chief of the Matanzas Bureau of Public Order (BOP) informed
(C:CK_Ha______(a) in an 8 December intercepted message that the fire,
'supposed to be sabotage," was put out by the (Cardenas \fire
department. (USM 603) 2/YJ/CUPY R146-63, 8 December, SECRET
да
KIMBO)
99
10
-4-
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INSURGENCY AND CIVIL UNREST cont'd
-
29
10 On 6 December the Department of State Security (DSE)) unit
in (Moron) informed (provincial headquarters in Camaguey) that on
5 December "they tried to shoot down the chief of the (PURS) in
(0 (Velasco.)..he escaped unharmed. Full details will be sent by 9
Yetter The message did not indicate to whom "they" referred.
(USM 603, 2/YJ/CUP/T922-63, 6 December, SECRET KIMBO)
99
99
The militiaman who was arrested in Guantanamo on 3
December for suspected counterrevolutionary activities (see 24.
Daily Summary л106 December) has been freed. Sector E headquarters
in Mayari Arriba) informed (First Army headquarters in San-
(otiago) on 5 December that Esteban Mendez Almaguer and Jose
Joiret Aria, both identified as natives of Quijada, were re-
leased by the DSE. The reason for their release was not given.
USN 835) 2/LR1/CUM/R197-63, 6 December, SECRET KIMBO)
99
The (DSE unit at Ciego de Avila has captured one insur-
gent and reports the surrender of another. 10 On 6 December
the DSE provincial headquarters) in Camaguey) was informed that
the Insurgent Demetrio Armas Izquierdo was captured near
Jatibonico. The message stated that Armas "was reportedly
active in the Havana, Matanzas, and Santa Clara areas, and
most recently in Camaguey. He belonged to an insurgent band
"
led by one Carlo. The same message reported the surrender
of Edmundo Almeida (see Daily Summary, 5 December), "previously
associated with the bands of Juan Alberto," to the DSE unit
at Jatibonico.
10
In addition, on 7 December (Ciego de Avila reported the
arrest of Jesus Marquez, a 39-year-old resident of Jucaro.
Marquez is said to have cashed an "out-of-circulation 50-dollar
bill, which he received from the US on 4 December 1963."
99 (USM 603, 2/YJCUP/R138-63, 6 December and 2/YJ CUP R140-63,
+ December, SECRET KIMBO)
99 am
94
An undetermined number of residents of Vegas de Palmas,
San Antonio de las Veultas and Agiada de Moya, Las Villas
Province, recently fled the country from an unknown point of
embarkation. 2. Central Army headquarters in Santa Clara) in-
formed Havana) that the persons from Vegas de Palmas had been
identified as: Lucina Manso, Rodobaldo Monteagua, and
Moises Monson Garit, an ex-private in the revolutionary armed
forces. Also mentioned as escapees were Feliz Perez, Inoes
Lima.
(USN 856) 2/SL/CUM/R301-63, 8 December, SECRET KIMBO)
99
99
-5-
24/PJ
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INSURGENCY AND CIVIL UNREST
-
cont'd
In possible connection with the preceding item, 32
people attempting to flee Cuba were captured by Cuban 24
security forces on 8 December. Fifth Army Headquarters in
(0 Camaguey) informed Havana) that a maritime patrol of the
coastal vigilance observation post captured a boat carrying
32 individuals in the area of Cayo Mariquibay, north of La
Bahia de Punta Alegre. On the boat, which had left Caibarien
three days earlier, government agents found Cuban and US
monies as well as personal belongings. (USN 56, 2/SL/CUM)-
R303-63, 9 December, SECRET KIMBO)
49
A trained clandestine source who is a civil aviation
expert with the Cuban Ministry of Transportation reports that
several minor incidents of sabotage have been discovered on
CUBANA aircraft. On 15 November a CUBANA IL-14 made a
round-trip flight from Rancho Boyeros Airport to Nueva Gerona
without a storage battery. The source comments that serious
trouble would have resulted if one engine had stopped or had
been feathered while en route. This incident may be related
to various acts of subtle sabotage against CUBANA aircraft,
such as stuffing exhaust tubes with rags or obstructing car-
buretor intakes.
In addition, the source reports that a CUBANA Britannia
aircraft was sabotaged by Algerian personnel during a recent
flight to Algiers. The hydraulic line was fractured forcing
the crew to use manual controls to lower the landing gear for
a stop in Madrid. (CIA IN 75941, 8 December, SECRET NO FOREIGN
DISSEM/CONTROLLED DISSEM)
Press dispatches from Mexico City report that a leader
of the Revolutionary Students Directorate (DRE) announced
that 126 Cuban militiamen had been killed in a clash with
guerrillas 12 miles south of Sancti Spiritus, Las Villas
Province. Angel Gonzales said that "belated underground
reports just received" indicated that the clash took place
in mid-September when a guerrilla force ambushed a militia
unit and killed 11 militiamen. The guerrilla forces lost 18
men, including Negro guerrilla leader Andre Startabull and
three captains identified as Carlos Roca, Julio Garcia, and
Sergio Perez. The Castro regime then sent 5,000 men sup-
ported by tanks, mortars, and helicopters to destroy the
guerrillas. After two weeks of fighting, the entire guerrilla
unit was destroyed but not until 115 other militiamen had been
killed. There is no confirmation from COMINT or other sources
of any action of the magnitude reported by the DRE. (AP-131,
Mexico City, 7 December, UNCLASSIFIED)
-6-
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CUBAN AIR FLIGHT CONNECTIONS:
10
(Spain) has approved regularly scheduled Havana (Madrid) flights
by CUBANA airlines, according to an intercepted message of 7 De-
cember. It was previously reported that the Spanish Government
was unwilling to reduce these flights because it believes the
connections are vital to Spain; however, the (Foreign Ministry 529
said it would limit CUBANA flights to Havana Madrid Havana with-
out stops in Algiers) or CD::rague, and would refuse landing to
Soviet-built CUBANA aircraft.10 (See Daily Summary of 18 November.)
It has also been reported that CUBANA is assured of capacity
passenger loads for the Havana (Madrid) service and plans to (pool24
air freight from all of Western Europe) for delivery to Havana
via (Madrid, thus assuring full payloads both ways. (See Daily
Summary of 4 December.) (NSA 2X/O/QOT/T211-63, 8 December,
SECRET SABRE; Background information:99 NO FOREIGN DISSEM)
SHIPPING SUPPORT FOR CUBA:
Argentina is reportedly attempting to stop one of its ships--
the SS ANAMAR--from delivering a cargo of coffee to Cuba, despite
the fact that there are currntly no legal restrictions against
Argentine ships calling anywhere in the world. The ANAMAR left
Brazil on 1 November with a cargo of Brazilian coffee, purchased
by the USSR and destined for Cuba. (See Daily Summary of 8 No-
vember.) The Argentine Foreign Ministry informed US Embassy of-
ficials that it was determined to prevent the ANAMAR from going
to Cuba because of potential unfavorable press reaction. Argen-
tina wants to avoid legal and financial entanglements in the mat-
ter; however, it is determined to stop the ship and is reportedly
even considering some type of provocation which would force the
ship to put into Puerto Rico. The owners of the ANAMAR are
equally adamant that the ship will not go to Cuba; reportedly
they had agreed to ship coffee from Brazil to some Central Amer-
ican country to pay some back bills, and were only informed later
that the shipment would go to Cuba. According to the owners, the
ship is now lying off the coast of Brazil awaiting resolution
of the problem. The owners reportedly stated they will sink the
ship rather than go to Cuba. (Am Emb Buenos Aires 1017, 4 Decem-
ber, CONFIDENTIAL)
29 (OAS) DEVELOPMENTS:
08106
(Brazilian OAS delegate Penna Marinho reported to his gov-
ernment from Washington on 5 December that several CTCCACCC delegates
have been impressed by the Cuban claim that the weapons found in
Venezuela last month had actually been planted there by the
United States.
24
1617J
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29
(DAS) DEVELOPMENTS
-
cont'd
24.06
These delegates, Penna Marinho) stated, "are wondering
whether the Cuban Government would be so stupid as to send
to Venezuela arms with the inscription 'Cuban Army' and the
insignia of Cuba engraved on them" as indicated by the Vene-
zuelan photographs shown at the (OAS) 29 These delegates) believe,
06 Penna Marinho went on, that if Cuba had actually sent the arms
to Venezuela it would first have removed any indication of
their origin. This account indicates that the (Brazilian dele-08
gate and the others of whom he speaks are apparently unaware
that considerable effort had, in fact, been made to erase all
evidence of the Cuban origin of these arms. The 31 submachine
guns found in the cache had their serial numbers and other
identifying marks recently ground off. Venezuelan technicians,
using a highly technical process, were able to raise the serial
numbers and the Cuban shield on some of the weapons. In inde-
pendent tests, US technicians were able to raise the numbers
and shields on three of these weapons. The numbers correspond
to those of weapons known to have been delivered to Cuba from
Belgium in 1959 and 1960. Similarly, in the case of the 81
light automatic rifles of Belgian manufacture found in the
cache, all identifying marks had been obliterated. In this
case, one-fourth inch of molten brazing alloy had been used
to cover the places where the numbers had been ground off and
it was not possible to restore the numbers. However, Venezuelan
military authorities have noted that these weapons are unique
to those manufactured expressly for the Cuban Government by
Belgium's Fabrique Nationale in 1959, when Cuba ordered 22,500
such weapons. (NSA 3/0/BLD/T2041-63, 6 December, TOP SECRET
DINAR; background data: SECRET NO FÓREIGN DISSEM)
08
The Venezuelan OAS delegate) dispatched a "personal, urgent,
and confidential" message to his foreign minister) on 6 December
expressing certain misgivings as to the attitudes of members
of the special (OAS) fact-finding committee with respect to the
Venezuelan charges against the Castro regime which the committee
was named to investigate. The ambassador) reported that he had
just received "strictly confidential information" that the pre-
vailing opinion within the committee is that it must investigate
the entire subject of Cuban subversive activities in Venezuela,
not limiting itself to the evidence on the Cuban origin of the
arms cache found in Venezuela last month.
-8-
ツ
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17110
29
(DAS) DEVELOPMENTS:
TOP SECRET DINAR
-
cont'd
об
The committee members, the (ambassador) stated, insist
that it is essential for the Venezuelan Government to "pre-
sent proof of the general Cuban conspiracy" against the Vene-
zuelan Government if the case against Cuba is to be proven.
The Venezuelan ambassador added that "one of the most important
members of the committee" had stated that the Cenezuelan evidence
on the Cuban origin of the arms cache is not airtight and "that
the arms could actually have been resold by Cuba to someone
else some years ago or stolen from Cuban arsenals.
The Venezuelan OAS ambassador) then stated that the editor
of a "very important US magazine" had asked him in all serious-
ness on 6 December whether the arms could not have been planted
in Venezuela by the CIA, as Castro has charged. The editor
added that this question had been asked of him by "important
об
persons" with whom he had discussed the problem. The Vene-
zuelan ambassador) used this to emphasize to his (foreign min-08
ister) that he believes the Venezuelan Government must not
dismiss this suspicion lightly. He pointed out that important
persons in the United States,|| both in government and the press,
have pointed out Venezuela's evidence on the arms cache may
provide "the first opportunity" to confront the threat of
Cuban subversion in the hemisphere. These individuals may be
critical of the Venezuelan Government, the ambassador warned,
if its sticks to its demand that the investigation be limited
to the arms cache evidence. (NSA 3/0/VED T514-63, 7 December,
TOP SECRET DINAR)
199
29
об
The (Brazilian delegate to the (DAS) was informed of his
country's position on the investigation of the Venezuelan
arms cache, according to a 2 December intercepted message.
The Foreign Ministry) informed him that he was to "avoid any
attitude which might seem to leave (Brazil) isolated in a posi-
tion which could be interpreted as one of sympathy or exces-
sive understanding in relation to Cuba. On the other hand,
he was instructed not to "openly state the opinion that the
matter falls exclusively under the competence of the Venezuelan
security authorities." The delegate was advised to delay his
departure "until the situation is clarified." (NSA 3/0/BLD
T206-63, 6 December, TOP SECRET DINAR)
११-
SOVIET-CUBAN RELATIONS:
Fidel Castro may have been in Moscow about 15 November
for talks with Premier Khrushchev, according to a civil
aviation expert who is apparently passing on a rumor he
heard in Cuba. The source reported as background that Castro
has not appeared on Cuban TV and did not meet people he ap-
parently would have met if he had been in Cuba.
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SOVIET BLOC RELATIONS cont'd
-
There have been no reported Castro appearances around 15
November. On 7 November he talked with a group of students
at Havana University and on 19 November he reportedly visited
a PURS meeting in Matanzas. However, between these two
dates there is no current evidence that he appeared on Cuban
radio or TV, and Hoy carried no reports of his personal appear-
ances in Cuba. This does not, however, rule out the possibility
that he was indeed in Cuba in mid-November. (CIA IN 75946, &
December, SECRET)
BLOC ECONOMIC RELATIONS:
-
Warsaw has assigned five merchantmen with a capacity of
44,000 tons to the Cuban Central American trade, according to
an announcement by Havana television. The ships, one of which
is refrigerated, will be operated by CUBALCO--the Rostock-head-
quartered joint company chartered by Poland, the GDR, Czecho-
slovakia and Cuba to carry goods between Cuba and the northern
satellites. In the words of Havana television, "the enterprise
will be responsible for guaranteeing supplies to the first
socialist country of America, thereby contributing to the
defeat of the US economic blockade against Cuba. (CIA/FBIS,
7. December, UNCLASSIFIED)
24
24
"
Soviet (air defense and Cuban (Civil air voice) communica-
tions on 7 December reflected the arrival in Cuba of a Soviet-
made AN-12. (See Daily Summary, 6 December). The following
day, Prensa Latina announced that "the Cuban air force" had
acquired a four-engine, turboprop craft with a 14,000-ton
freight capacity for use in a service between Moscow and Havana.
Prensa Latina said that the plane would be used to carry
freight between the two capitals and "three or four stops at
cities not yet announced by the Cuban consolidated aviation
enterprise.
"
The references to the AN-12 being acquired by the "Cuban
Air Force," followed by statements attributed to CUBANA offi-
cials as to its future employment, raise confusion as to
whether it is to be used primarily for military or civil air
purposes. As pointed out previously, however (see Daily
Summary of 3 December), the AN-12 can be used interchangeably
in both types of service. Its employment in bringing mili-
tary cargoes to Cuba from the Soviet Union would be hampered,
however, by range factors which would require it to refuel
at two or more nonbloc airports between Cuba and the USSR.
At these airports the aircraft could be subject to cargo in-
spections. (USA-71, 2/DG/CURUA) R-853-63, 7 December, SE-
CRET KIMBO; CIA/FBIS, Havana, 8 December, UNCLASSIFIED)
99
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NON-BLOC RELATIONS:
The Moroccan foreign minister has received a three-man
Cuban "good-will" mission for the second time and the Istiqlal's
Nation claims that a resumption of formal diplomatic relations
is imminent, according to the US Embassy in Rabat (see Daily
Summary for 29 November and 6 December). According to a semi-
official account of the meeting, which took place on 4 December,
the Cubans reasserted their desire to normalize relations and
professed a lack of hostile intentions against the Moroccan
Government--which severed formal relations after Cuban "techni
cians" arrived in Algeria on 22 October. "Informed sources"
in Rabat claim that the government is considering the Cuban
demarché with "attention." The Nation explains that the Cubans
now recognize that Morocco has not been the aggressor in the
Algerian conflict and that they are "repentant" over their pre-
cipitous action in aiding Ben Bella. (Am Emb Rabat, 866, 6 De-
cember, LIMITED OFFICIAL USE)
10
The President of Dahomey:):) declined an invitation to attend
the 1 January anniversary celebration in Cuba, according to an
intercepted (radiotelephone conversation of 3 December. The
of Dahomean ambassador) in (Paris) received the invitation from his
Cuban counterpart; however so the president declined because he
said it was "hardly possible" for him to be in Cuba in January.
It is not clear if Dahomey) will designate an official representa-
tive to the celebration (GCHQ, K34/1/6/12/1963, 6 December,
CUBAN SUPPORT OF EXTERNAL SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITY:
00
The Chilean ambassador) in (Venezuela) informed his govern-
ment, in an intercepted 2 December message, that he is con-
vinced of the accuracy of the Venezuelan Government's charges
of Cuban subversion in Venezuela. He pointed out that the
heavy voting in Venezuela's 1 December national election dem-
onstrates that the legal opposition in Venezuela is not impli-
cated in the violence and terrorism. He also stated that the
Castro regime is so thoroughly repudiated by Venezuelan pub-
lic opinion that the Venezuelan Government has no need to use
artificial means to stimulate anti-Castro feeling there. The
Chilean ambassador) pointed out that many Venezuelan Communists
are in Cuba and from there "they permanently incite rebellion"
in Venezuela and Cuban propaganda supports their efforts. (NSA
3/0/Z-CLD T104-63, 7 December, TOP SECRET DINAR NO FOREIGN
DISSEM)
99
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CUBAN SUPPORT OF EXTERNAL SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITY
cont'd
There is additional information on Cuban use of a DC-4
aircraft allegedly to supply Venezuelan guerrillas with weapons
through British Guiana. A clandestine source who is a civil
aviation expert and affiliated with the Cuban Ministry of Trans-
portation reports hearing rumors to the effect that the recently
refurbished CUBANA DC-4 with CUBANA registry number CUT-785 has
been issued a "Guiana license," presumably a license for operation
in British Guiana, and has been operated by military personnel.
He adds that "it is said that clandestine flights have been made
to Venezuela." The same source had previously reported the re-
furbishing of this plane and some others and indicated that extra
fuel tanks had been installed on them. (CIA DD/P IN 75942, 8 De-
cember, SECRET/CONTROLLED DISSEM/NO FOREIGN DISSEM)
ac-
The Cubans are reportedly involved in the serious political
crisis now under way in Bolivia, where a split between President
Paz' section of the governing party and the leftist sector led
by Vice President Lechin threatens serious civil disorder. Cuban
Chargé Lasalle has given two boxes of arms to leaders of the left
section of the party for use in the Catavi-Siglo mining area,
cording to information received by a clandestine source. The
source, a medium-level member of the left section of the govern-
ing party who has excellent contact with national leaders of
that section and who is apparently trusted by Lasalle, was given
this information by a Bolivian labor leader who added that he
had personally received the arms from Lasalle. The source re-
ports that the arms are of German origin and had been stored in
Lasalle's house in La Paz. (CIA DD/P La Paz, IN 76093, 8 December,
SECRET)
Two unnamed Cubans are reportedly with a group of 18 members
of the Peruvian Army of National Liberation (ELN) who are cur-
rently hiding in Bolivia, according to a usually reliable medium-
level member of the Peruvian Movement of the Revolutionary Left
(MIR) who is in regular contact with MIR leaders. The members
of the ELN may have been returning from training in Cuba, since
several such groups from that movement have gone there in the
past. According to Gonzalo Fernandez Gasco, leader of the MIR,
his group will help them return to Peru by providing them with
the necessary documentation. In return, the weapons owned by
the ELN--automatic weapons and "San Cristobal" carbines--will
be turned over to the MİR, reportedly in accordance with an order
from Fidel Castro. Once the ELN youths are back in Peru, the MIR
will look after them and try to convert them to the cause. The
object is to eliminate the ELN as a rival force.
-12-
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:
TOP SECRET DINAR
CUBAN SUPPORT OF EXTERNAL SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITY
cont'd
Possibly related to this reported plan to upgrade the MIR
is a report from the same source that Fernandez said on 6 December
that Castro recently sent money to the MIR leaders and offered
to train more of its members in Cuba. Fernandez said that in the
future, groups of MIR members will go alternatively to North Korea
and to Cuba for guerrilla warfare training. (CIA Lima TDCS-3/566,-
662, 6 December, and TDCS-3/566,947, 8 December, SECRET NO FOREIGN
DISSEM)
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