JFK Assassination System , Date: 6/5/2015 Identification Form Agency Information /- AGENCY: FBI RECORD NUMBER: = 124-10214-10381 RECORD SERIES: HQ AGENCY FILENUMBER:  97-4546-30 Document Information . ORIGINATOR: FBI FROM: DIRECTOR, FBI TO: TITLE: DATE: 03/17/1967 PAGES: 38 SUBJECTS : ; MR, AKA, ASSOC, ACA, JURE, EMP, CUBAN EXILE, TEST, CORRECTION SUMMARY, SEE REFERENCE DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT CLASSIFICATION : — Secret RESTRICTIONS: 1B; 1C; 4 CURRENT STATUS: — Redact DATE OF LASTREVIEW: — 06/11/1998 OPENING CRITERIA: INDEFINITE COMMENTS : ¢ a A v9.1 Docld: 32295105 Page 1
\ \ a ; Co 2 . _ Ne SECRET 7 | Eduardo. Jose capbonelt Carbonell (105- 152035); a Cuban exile, entered the US sometime after 1963. In Miami, Florida, he. joined. JURE. However, he was separated from JURE about the time when Manuel Ray, Rivero tried to enter Cuba (date not given), as there were some unclear points concerning Carbonell's past activities. (CIA) GQ(u) ; 10531520351 p.l , (163 oy The 4/26 /6l issue of the Washington "Sunday Star," reported that Pedro Entenza (105-140095) was then JURE representative in Wash- ington, D.C. It further stated that he had worked for Manolo Ray; when Ray “e Minister of Public Works of Cuba under Fidel Castro (date not given -105-140095-1 p.4 (207 “ On 4/28/64, PSI Dimas Armando Perez Torron (protect identity) advised that Gaston Riera (105-132887) was a Cuban refugee who was ~ working at the Morton Plant Hospital, Clearwater, Florida at that “ time. Riera, the Clearwater delegate to JURE, claimed to be "close" to Manolo Ray, who was then, living in Puerto Rico and was international head of JURE. KL) \ 105-132887-2 p.1- (2% - | oe By letter dated 2/8/66; Andrew St. George, free lance photographer and magazine reporter working in Florida advised that he had solved the enigma of the impressive arsenal of Mitchell | \Wer Bell, III (62- 108665), and stated as follows: He accompanied Manuel Ray Rivero, when Ray attempted unsuccessfully to enter Cuba in May, 1964. St. George was absolutely sure that the ‘same set of weapons in the possession of Wer Bell as of ‘January, 1966, were the same ones which had been assembled for Ray's invasion attempt in May, 1964. Somehow or other, Wer Bell had gotten’ hold of the entire lot of Ray's weapons. It was St. George's personal opinion that Wer Bell was using the weapons to raise funds and other _ Support.’ . It was noted that allegations had been made that Wer Bell was developing plans to assassinate Fidel Castro. \ 62- 108665- 23 p.3eh (430% Docld: 32295105 Page 2?
oo : “es. ocunkT Dr. Herminio. Portell Vila, a Cuban exile journalist, 5431 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., advised that he believed that Jorge Julian Beruff Jimenez (105-132553) was in May, 1964, con- nected (location not given) with Manuel ("Manolo") Ray Rivero, leader of the JURE. 5-13255 .1l CAA: 2857 | While furnishing information she believed of value in. the Lee Harvey Oswald (105-82555) investigation, Miss Josephine Miller, Drift, Kentucky, advised on 8/7/64 as follows: She observed a photograph of Manuel Ray, described as a Cuban rebel leader, in the 5/19/64 issue of "The Courier-Journal," Louisville, Ky. She said that Ray resembled one Sam Marsh who in the summer of 1963 was report- edly working as a construction engineer at the Jenny Wiley State Park, Prestonsburg, Ky. She met Marsh in Prestonsburg in 1963, through Howard Caddell. who said he was working for Marsh. Miss Miller said that Caddell stated he was with the CIA at the time he was in Prestons- burg and she believed that he might have been connected with Ray » since his photograph strongly resembled Marsh. 105-82555-4665, p.7-3. ( (Ff In the Spring of 1964, a 32-day mobilization of men took place in Cuba. This mobilization took place before and after 5/20/64, when an invasion attempt by exile forces led by Manugl Ray Rivero was anticipated by the Castro Government. (CIA) CR u) [alge -3647 p.l xD MM 639-S advised that Laureano Batista Falla, Military Chief of Movimiento Democrata Cristiano (97-4110), claimed that the failure of Manuel Ray to be in Cuba'on 5/20/64, had caused the death and impris+ -onment of a°number of underground members in Cuba. Batista claimed Ray had lost his following in Cuba ; he was considered a part of the "sad past," and was considered a "dead issue" by the underground in Cuba. ( UU) , 4 97-4110-123 p.3 - (oF - SECRET Docld: 32295105 Page 3
SLE S (continued) leader, and that the "MRR" had nothing to do with it. » Mom (wy | oe 105- 112098- 475 pi | (A + ! - On 7/27/64, at Miami, Florida, Sergio Lopez Ruiz de Porras, - Communications Chief for SFNE (105-112098) said that he had received a message from Eloy Gutierrez Menyo, Military leader of SFNE, informing him that Gutierrez intended to go ahead with his plan to enter Cuban territory. Lopez said he believed the SFNE was counting on a large. number of rebel army officers and also many prominent persons with a following in the Cuban Government, to join him at the opportune moment. He said he knew that Manuel Ray Rivero, leader of JURE, also had similar connections, but SFNE felt that the officers and prominent persons would join the person who entered Cuba first. (CIA) OK) u). , | aet 112098- 489 p.2 Carlos Zarraga Martinez, PSI (protect identity) advised on 7/28/64, that the Movimiento: Recuperacion Revolucionario (MRR) | (97-4133) raid against Puerto Pilon, Cuba, on ‘5/13/64, was the only _ raid conducted by the MRR. According to Zarraga, Manuel Ray and other leading figures in the Cuban exile community in Miami, Florida, claimed that MRR conducted this raid to offset press publicity given to Ray during May, 1964. Ray also claimed that the raid was motivated by political considerations. 7 y 97-4413 -115 p.4-5 (24 sy . On 7/29/64, Juan Casasnovas Garrido (105-125608) (location: not given), an exiled leader of the Dominican Revolutionary ‘Party, Said that former Dominican President Juan Bosch had been. acting’ as — the political advisor to Manuel Ray. According to Casasnovas, Ray visited Bosch a AY in Puerto Rico before Ray went (date not given) to hams (CTA) RY a ~~ §T_105-102049-221 p.4 | (oF : 105-125608-17 p.3 So (ay | “ { ‘ a SECRET -11-- oe 7 - Docld: 32295105 Page 4 ‘
—— (. oO SECRETE In August, 1964, Jose Garcia Valdez, an associate of Manuel Ray Rivero, furnished information concerning an SNFE encamp- ment on Williams Island and Andros Island in the Bahamas. (cTA) RY) ~ - 105- =11 2098 - -507 p.l (553% 2 (4) yA Pon 8/14/64, at Miami, Florida, Antonio Cuesta_and Ramon Font advised that they were two of the military leadérs] of Comandos L (105-117222), an anti-Castro organization, which had cOnducted raids. in the past against Cuba. They further advised that Manuel Ray Rivero was then operating out of the Dominican Republic, and Comandos L had arranged for a base there too. 105- 1172222 “186 p.2 (3 2 . ‘ fa. Joaquin Godoy (protect identity), Coordinator of the MRP. ; (105-92704) in Miami, advised on 8/19/64, that JURE, which was headed by Manolo Ray, had been contributing $400. OO per month to "Replica," but was being compelled to discontinue these payments due to lack of funds. "Replica" was a small anti-Castro publication published in >. Miami. “MRP was also forced to discontinue their contributions to Replica" for the same reason. -105-92704-95 p.3 (Gr:) anes In August and September, 1964, Carlos A. Zarraga Martinez, PSI ‘(protect identity) advised as follows: . He was an officer of JURE which was headed by Manuel Ray Rivero. Ray would not join or cooperate with RECE, Cuban Representa-  ' °. tion in Exile, and he (Ray) felt that RECE would have little success in forming unity among the Cuban.exile groups. Since the 5/20/64 failure of Ray to effect an operation inside Cuba, JURE had suffered a psycho- logical letdown. This letdown has been compounded by Ray's July, 1964 failure to infiltrate Cuba. In July of 196 Ray was stopped by US Customs Agents at Key West, Florida, and in a subsequent attempt to go to Cuba, he was stopped by the US Coast Guard. Rogelio Cisneros, head of JURE in Ray's absence, resigned, and minor groups withdrew from , JURE. The Dominican Republic (DR) refused JURE. permission to set up a military base, stating that while JURE sought permission to set up a.base, Ray sat in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and conferred with the DR Provisional Governor's political enemy, Juan Bosch, past President abp - . (continued) wens ‘SECRET ee Docld: 32295105 Page 5
Oo | , Co | . , | PEUNET | In connection with the request mentioned in the preceding reference, Manuel Ray Rivero was contacted on 9/25/64 at the home of -his father (not named) at 3802 N.W. 19th Ave., Miami, Florida. Ray advised JURE had nothing whatsoever to do with the attack on the "Sierra Aranzazu" on 9/13/64. He said it was contrary to the belief © and rule of JURE, which was to fight Castro from within Cuba. Ray said he had no information concerning the identity of those responsible for the attack. KY) On 9/25/64, Manuel Varéla Castro, 149 East 3rd St., Hialeah, Florida, in charge of JURE military operations, advised it was impos- sible for JURE to have conducted the attack. JURE had no boats in operation. The launch "True," previously used by Ray to secretly enter Cuba, (date not given) had been sold. JURE ship "Venus" was in dry dock in the Dominjcan Republic and the boat "Gina" was at Miami and was up for sale. GU) . The State Department was advised of this matter by letter dated 9/30/64. ~ 2-1877-37 p.1-2 (4,307 SI as paragraph 1: ig "The Miami News" 9/16/64 1 . SI as paragraph 1: , 2-1877-A Washington Capital News (177 Service 9/18/64 _ On 9/4/64, Manuel Ray Rivero advised that JURE had suffered some setbacks but still planned to infiltrate into Cuba before the end of 1964. Ray said that the recent resignations of leading individuals and groups from JURE was a weeding-out process, and in ‘the best interest of the organization. Ray claimed to have representatives in and cooper- ation from the Dominican Republic. oy ; . On 9/28/64, Carlos A. Zarraga Martinez (protect identity) advised that he was previously in charge of supplies for JURE, zZarraga charged that Ray workéd in’ an autocratic manner, lacked organization ability, and insisted on being the "star" of the organization. Zarraga advised that he and a small action group resigned from JURE in June,,1964, as he felt that Ray had failed. Several other independent groups joined Zarraga and his group. Their thesis was to be "left of center" and would follow the thinking of Ray. (continued) _16- | | SECRET _— Docld: 32295105 Page 6
Crane 2 (continued) ; . SECRET In October, 1964, Zarraga stated that it had been reported that Ray donated some military equipment to Pierre Rigo, a Haitian _ political exile leader in the US. ; 109- 58h 4114 p.1,5-6,8,16 OEE EE ‘ ! Co, In early October, 1964, while in Caracas, Venezuela on a tour, representatives of Cuban Representation in Exile, aka RECE (105-126039) claimed that they had succeeded in unifying the combat forces of the Cuban exiles. This included the lieutenants of Manolo : Ray, who were disgusted with Ray's deceitful: conduct. The lieutenants: were told to remain where they were for the time being. STAG) . 105-126039-16 p.2 (197 | In early October, 1964, it was reported that factionalism and mutual distrust continued to prevent any cooperation in planning between the principal active Cuban exile groups. Eloy Gutierrez 7 Menoyo, military leader of SFNE (105-112098) (location not given) had issued strict instructions that there should be no collaboration’ at any’level with JURE during the process of infiltrating Cuba. Gutierrez had no faith-.in the ability or willingness of Manuel Ray, © JURE's leader, to adhere to a joint infiltration program. RW 105-112098-540 p.2- (Fo - .. ; On 10/9/64, Juana Castro Ruz (105-66204), sister of Fidel Castro, arrived in Miami, Florida, from Mexico- City. Many prominent 515}3 exiles were on hand to greet her, enone them Manuel Ray. i (8254 ey Miami Herald," Miami, 10/10/64) . 105-66204-25 p.2,6 (4 is - Georgia Vila Arias (protect identity), who was present ints the reception room of Juana Castro (105-66204) at the Hotel DuPont Plaza, Miami, Florida, on October 14 and 15, 1964 ana interviewed Juana briefly on 10/15/64 , advised as follows: ‘ (continued) Le : . oo Docld: 32295105 Page 7
Sa Se , “ . ) (contimuea) SECRET) During: the previously mentioned period there appeared to. be from five to ten people visiting Juaria at almost all times. Manvel Ray was present in the suite on each occasion. Vila regarded Ray as a man possessing. dangerous socialist tendencies, who probably would not: return any private property to owners in Cuba iff he should come to' power there, and as an individual who was certainly anti-American. Vila noted the presence of a woman known as Adela in Juana's reception room, who indicated that she was a very close friend of Ray. Vila stated that she did not feel that Ray and the other radical leaders around Juana were friends of the US. 105- 66204-26 p.2, 4 5 (of 4 On October 16 and 22, 1964, Alicia Rivas Cardoso Vda De Rodriguez: (105-132664 ) advised of an anti-Castro underground. _ organization within Cuba as of July, 1964, when she left Cuba: She stated that this organization consisted of all of the leading anti- 4 Castro groups within Cuba, excluding JURE, led by Manolo Ray. \ 105-132664-7 p.2 (20% ae af oh 10/22/64, MM Q74- slaavisea that Syza Roque Cuervo Castillo (105- 135300), after leaving* tHe US military service, became a military instructor for Manuel Ray Rivero, -aka. Manolo Ray, leader of JURE. No further information given. va 1057135366-3 p.2 *Cuervo. was discharged from the. US Army on 3/16/64 , according to serial l-in this same file. . I . 4 . On 10/28/64, Sila Maria,Segredo Carreno (105-125518) advised -that she was a member of JURE in NYC. She stated that. she was well known to Manolo Ray and he was the only one who could vouch for her anti-Castro attitude. ON 105-125518-17 >.7-8 . ae | (197 | : 7 SECRET ~18- Docld: 32295105 Page &