404-10177-10239 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Wasnincron.D.C, 20505 "y MEMORANDUM FOR: Mr. John Warner. Chief, International Intelligence Division _ Office of Intelligence Drug Enforcement Administration , ; ; . ATTENTION: Mr. Robert Goe — ‘SUBJECT _. : Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA. REFERENCES ©: A. SEC-IGI-76-0048(z), 06 February 1976 B. SEC-IGI-76-0062(1), 20 Februai, 1976 THIS DOCUMENT HAS BERN C. SEC-IGI-76-0665(1), 25 February 1976 ov Hotined i. 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 revolu- tionary intrigue.” DEA, concerned that it may be the target of a provocation operation by anether govern- ment, réquested 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: was Of interest - OUT records he THIS DOCUMENT is NOT TO BE DISSEMINATED ABROAD OK OUTSIDE THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE RECEIVING AGENCY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE ORIGINATOR OUT Oy EXEMPT FROM GENERAL DECLASSiFICATION SCHEDULE OF & fa\. % E.0. 116052, EXEMPTION CATEGORY: $ (b) 2 3 z, - DECLASSIFICATZON-DATE IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERNINE £ ; fp ORL EST TE roy eee ed 3 CLE PEG Co- j } no Rye ve Bee me ete mre ee permet,
14-00000 SUBJECT: (ROI) by Alfredo Duncan (DEA December 1975 indicates that &. Cuban Exiles Involved with ora Pase 2 was at no time used operationally. Our files contain no additional information onf __Jsince 1960 except for a 1969 FBI report dealing with his invelve- ment in a plan to assassinate Fidel Castro. (DEA already has a copy of this report.) fornation obtained from a Report of JT Although in- nvestigation dated 01 is a U.S. citizen, resides in Caracas and has contacts with m various GOV officials, we have no information in our Headquarters files to substantiate this information. 78 ' In November 1975-the Caracas Regional Office (CRO) ‘ ; real sd traces from our field represcntative on ‘| who was reportedly in contact with the CRO. e fo lowing traces were forwarded to our represen- tative in Caracas on 03 December 1975 for passage to DEA: “Following data on (Nario EYoy J taken from his own undated handwritten bio summary which apparently submitted to the anti-Castro Frente Revolucionario Democratico Cee paatiand about 1260, and from an FRD Personnel Form formally registeredg - ‘be Tregistered in the ISK as.a DEA Source, (Ye was + more oe ane o
14-00000 SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA Page 3. 3. Orlando GARCIA Vasquez. DPOB: 16 June 1927, Havana, Cuba. GARCTA (at one time a naturalized U.S. citizen/18 May 1945 in South Carolina). became a Venezuelan citizen ca 1962. GARCIA has a Jong history aS a political thug since pre-Batista days in Cuba, He was a menber 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- iegedly 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 Preventicn (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 169 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 heine in Volved in narcotics trafficking | me
14-00000 SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA Page 4 ed thath ji em f 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 sescribed 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 Qctober 1974, written by S.A. Brom at Miami reported that GARCIA was in the United States | and was in contact with Ricardo MORALES (sce 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.
14-00000 SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA Page § 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 doubie 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 BETANCCURT, 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 madé 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
14-00000 J 3 SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA Page 6 and again on 07 January 1976 to resubmit his offer and insisted on a Pesponse. 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 Miani 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 604 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 o e_D MA se by SAIC Duncan on 13 February 1976. was very interested in having De ARMAS r z or use asa , possible source on Cuban intelligeace activities / | sansa ["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. a The press interview has thus far not been published, presumably because it is too far fetched. De ARMAS
14-00000 SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DELa Pape 7 6 4 received a bank loan of $1,500 in Miami and has‘defaulted on some $800 of the ameunt. 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. Ail 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. We have no subsequent reporting on his movements. 7. Three of the five aforgmentioned individuals are : had past connections: GARCIA Vazquez and were b i ina at one fime an Lh 2 4 kas in contact wi ; in e wing 1974-75. Although there have been CYORALES “a allegations aimed at. nd 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 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 moncy from the U.S. Government based on a poorly conceived idea of his own. The De ARMAS case appears 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. 2 hee sie
14-00000 dmomg . ara . SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Lavelved with DEA Page & &. 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 7 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: - oo . One degree or another; however, the information on ’ _ hand does not suggest their motivation would go beyond : f ve personal, financial or influence objectives. . While one a - .. cannot absolutely rule out the possibility, for example, oy ; 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. hte to . yee i et) * ous “] _¢ Special ASSYIstant for csararnat ion of Foresgn Narcotics Information DONC - 00038/76
14-00000 SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involved with DEA Page @ “ane DBO/OPS/NARCOG, Jas Distribution: Orig. & 1 - Addressee 1 - NARCOG CHRONO 1 - IP/AN* aFije-in 201-0067860 X 201-0285923 X 201-0286570 Index: Justo LAZARG Alfonso, aka Justo Alfonso ’ Index: Manuel Leonardo De ARMAS Coordination: (in draft) 17 March 1976 G in draft) 17 March 1976 Goyer