14-00000 5-E-C-R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEN - 10 - , CS-311/04298-64 all the necessary cquipment. Only a few selected agents are given such instruction. One clandestine agent in the Dominican Republic, who spent 4 considerable time.in Cuba and was extremely well trained, was provided microfilm and microdot equipment for preparing and developing messages, but his case is exceptional. He was also taught how to make devices for transmitting microfilm and microdot material securely, The preparation of concealment devices and instruction in their use are handled by another section of the MI- Department, the ENB Section (Concealment Devices Section - Seccion Embutidos), which also prepares for the agent any devices he will need for carrying materiale or codes back to his own country when he returns. Final Briefings 27. 28, Whén guerrilla. agents have completed their training, the LN Department case officer-briecfs the group on its mission in ite home ares, which is usually support of local revolutionary activities: The briefing includes assignment of taSks, explana- tion of what support the group may expect and how it is to be / Supplied, directions for reporting to the sponsoring group, advice cn security and self-protection, and the travel route to -be followed. In addition, the group leader receives a special briefing on means of communication with DGI headquarters, special arrangements for supplying the group or its sponsoring organiza- tion, and perhaps the transportation to its home area of propa~ ganda or sabotage materials from Cuba, Although agents are - allowed to take notes during their training, they are not permitted to carry any compromising material on their return home, All final instructions are given orally and are memorized by the agent, Actually, however, guerrilla agents do not always observe security precautions about materials, One Salvadorian guerrilla agent succeeded in hiding in his luggage a copy of the Manual of Guerrilla Warfare he had used in his training course, even though the case officer inspected the luggage while it was being packed. The case officer commented that unless another inspection was made at the time the agent left his quarters to depart the country or at the airport just before boarding the plane, it was impossible to prevent agents from carrying off such classified matter, Illegal agents receive a more intensive final briefing. The case officer reviews with the agent the general mission and specific tasks he is to undertake, all of which have been covered during training, such as collection of information oan his home govern- ment or specific organizations, penetration of cfficial organs in the country or perhaps the local Communist Party or a leftist - group, assistance in communications and forwarding of material, etc, The briefing includes advice on security and self-protection, refresher instruction on accommodation addresses for secret “writing correspondence, an explanation of the travel route for the return journcy and the documents to be used, and specific instruc- Lions for reporting to a group or commencing his assignment after arrival, with a schedule for initiating communications, depending on his mission and his return itinerary, Illegal agents receive their final instruction on communications two or three days be- fore leaving Cuba, Instructions about frequencies, which are asSigned by the MI Department, and codes for radio communication, procurement and preparation of secret writing materials, etc., are photographed and prepared for the agent to carry with him ina concealment device, One agent returning to Salvador received his 5-E-~C~R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEM
30. S-E-C-R-E-T NO POREIGN DISSEM - li - C3-311/04298-64 radiv frequency data en film, “hich was rolled and put into a false heel on one shoe, prepared by the EMB Section. <Agents who are to use radios do not take sets with then; the DGl prefers to have then purchase their communications equipment in their own country and provides money for the purpose; the radios are thus not attributable to Cuba. The agent usually carries with him the funds needed for procurement .of small equipment and may occasion- ally act aS &@ courier carrying special messages or funds. Normally, however, large sums for the purchase of large equipment or arms for guerrilla operations are sent by diplomatic pouch or are ¢ carried by clandestine couriers, In September 1963, for example, the DGI sent U.5.$25,000 concealed in the lining of a suitcase carried to Mexico by a diplomatic courier; there it was turned over to an agent for the purchase of arms to Support revolutionary activity in Nicaragua, If agents are not abie-to-leave Cuba at once when they have com- pleted their training, they remain under the orders of the school if they are guerrillas, or cf their case officer if they are illegal agents. They are permitted to travel in Cuba or are assigned to public “voluntary” campaigns; the case officers try ' to keep them buSy, partly, at least, aS a Security precaution, f Delays in departure may be due to lack of suitable documentation, difficulties in arranging air schedules, special situations in the home country, or physical disability of the agent--one agent broke his leg while in Cuba and had to wait until he was able to travel, The principal cause of delay in returning home is lack of suit~ able documents, The DGI case officer is responsible for procur~ ing passports for his agents' travel, but he is often short one or two passports of the proper nationality, because procurement requires a longer time than the usual training pericd, For example, of a group of abcut 25 guerrilla agents from the Dominican Republic who completed” Six months of trarning near the end of 1963, about ten were still in Cuba in April 1964 because the DGI had been unable either ro previde passports for their travel or to arrange for their return home illegaily. <At that time the case officer was trying to have additional passports collected and sent to Cuba via the DGI station in Nexico so that tne Stranded Dominicans could travel... Return Travel 31, As noted abcve » While his training iS in progress, arrangements are made to return the agent to his operational area, For guerrilla agents, this is their own country and Sspoasoring group; for illegal agents normally it is their own country, but occasion- ally, although rarely, on® 1:3 assigned to another area, Guerrilla agents who have been traincd together may travel back as a group; illegal agents always travel alone, -All agents start their journey by air to Prague, on Cubana Airlines, using false Cuban passports, which they turn over to Czechcslovak authorities on their arrival in Prague.® From there, agents travel on passports of their own or some related nationality, or even t2sir own pass-~ ports, containing entries carefully made to account for their period of absence from their country without sShowirg any connec- tion with Cuba. Both passports are provided the ages t by the case officer at the time of the final briefing, when the travel route. is also explained, S-E-C-R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEM
32. 33. 35. S-F-C-R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEN -12- ' CS-311/04298-64_ The second stage of the journey, from Prague to ‘the agent's own country, is arranged by the DGI Central Processing Section. The agent's departure from Cuba and the first leg of the trip, to- Prague, are arranged by ICAP, where the DGI has a liaison officer, pseudonym "Ricardo", to handle such matters. When guerrilla agents are preparing to depart, the case officer . notifies “Ricardo", personally, by telephone, or by official docu- ment, and allocates the funds they will need during the rest of their stay in Cuba and for.their travel. The case officer in- Structs the agents to go to ICAP and establish contact with “Rieardo", who thereafter ‘is responsible for them as long as they remain in the country. If they are delayed, he arranges for . travel in Cuba, and in any case he provides them subsistence and pocket money, -He also, through ICAP, procures their required immunizations; an ICAP request for vaccination for a traveler is an indication that the person is of interest to the Cuban intel- ligence services, since the ordinary departing visitor or resident secures his immunization through normal civilian channels, . “Ricardo” also obtains airline tickets and flight reservations; the DGI reimburses ICAP for any funds expended by “Ricardo” for agent travel and handling, ; e The processing of illegal agents is somewhat different from that of guerrillas, They do not go through ICAP or come into “Ricardo's" hands; the case officer, working through the DGI Central Process- ing Section, takes care of procuring their immunizations, plane tickets, and reservations, They are thus not exposed to any Cuban agency outside of the DGI, The agent travels vin Prague to Western Europe and thence to his own country. At the final stage of his journey, he may enter his own country ftllegally. As soon ns he is back and established, he is ready to initiate communica- tions with DGI headquarters in accordance with the instructions he has received and using the schedule he carried with him ina ‘concealment device, which is opened only when he reaches home, A Cuban sent abroad as a DGI agent is considered an illegal agent and does not go through ICAP processing for travel, He may leave Cuba illegally: if he departs legally, he uses the normal route via Praguc but travels on a passport of another nationality than Cuban, Of three known Cuban agents prepared for assignment abroad, one was scheduled to go to Mexico during 1964; the assign- ments of the other two were not known, A Cuban agent abroad uses the Same Sort of communications channels as an agent of another nationality, according to the training he has received in Cuba, He is reimbursed through the usual channels--funds sent through a DGI field station, which for Latin America is always Mexico; and in addition his family is supported by the DGI during his entire period of overseas service, An agent of foreign nationality, once trained, is not expected to return to Cuba and is considered an independent operator with no communication with Cubans except through his clandestine channels, although in an emergency he is permitted to appeal -to a DGI officer in an official establishment if one is available, The policy regarding agents of Cuban nationality had not been decided in early 1964, since no such tllegal agents were then operating abroad, It was not certain, for example, how long the Cuban was expected to remain in place abroad nor whether he would be allowed access to OGI officers in the field. From 1959 to 1962 the Cuban foreign-intelligence service made considerable use of shipping for sending its agents out of Cuba, S-E-C-R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEM vt pe teth
§-E-C~R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEM 13 ~ CS-311/04298-64 especially into the Central Am rican area and to the north coast of Seuth America. Since 1962; however, the practice of sending agents home aS crewmen has materially declined and in 1964 was used only occasionally. : Effectiveness of Training 36, The capabilities of both guerrilla and illegal agents trained by the DGI vary greatly because of differences in background, native capacity, and adjustment to discipline, The DGI has successfully trained a few highly efficient agents, but some of its trainees have not comé up to expectations, One agont with an excellent training record, of whom the case officer had high hopes, was arrested for participation in illegal activities after only a short period of operation following his return home, Several agents who were considered promising proved disappointing when released from training supervision; one who was given funds te Purchase a radio spent the money on himst1f and was in trouble with the group with which he was affiliated because of his lack of discipline; another was accused of having misused funds en- trusted to him for arms procurement and was also distrusted by ' his group as cowardly and spiritless, As noted above, instruc- f tion in secret writing has not always been productive of readable reports The main difficulty appears to lie not with the quality of the training but with the lack of discipline and loyalty of the trained agent, Headquarters Comments 1. For a discussion cf the organization of the DGI and the funetions of its departmiats, from the same source, see C3-311/00115-64.. 2, Cuba has diplomatic relations, and hence consulates, in Latin America only in Mexico and Jamaica (relations were maintained with Brazil until May 1964, with Chile until July 1964, with Bolivia until August 1964, and with Uruguay until September 19643. Visas for Cuba can be obtained only in those countries; most are issued in Mexico, because that country has the only direct air connection with Cuba, 3. Cuban handling of visas and documentation is discussed at length by the same source in CS-311/00866-64, 4. During 1963, many travelers from Latin America were taken to Cuba on chartered flights by Cuban aircraft arranged to bring delegations to and from Cuba for Cuban celebrations and for the c«nventicn of the International Union of Architects in Havana in September, For the. latter occasion, the Soviet. ship NADEZHDA KRUPSKAYA |” called at Santos, Brazil, to ombark passengers for, Havana, Among the traveling delegations were Cuban agents, 3. Source Comment. Ali DGI officers are also assigned pseudonyms, which they normally use in all their pro- fessional work; even close colleagues do not always know their real names : 6, Headquarters Comment. The Cubans have also used special and charter lights from Cuba to return agents to their S-E-C-R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEM
S~E-C-R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSE - l4 = , CS+311/04298-64 if own countries, as, for example, those arranged for the International Union of Architects in September 1963, 5-E-C-R-58-T NO FOREIGN DISSE