, . “. & . * “SECRET SUBCOMMITTEE oN CUBAN SUBVERSTON 13 March 1963 TO COMMITTEE MEMBERS: This is our final working draft on the paper on propaganda. I have sought to work in your contributions wherever feasible. Please submit your views by 1700 today. V. H, KRULAK Ma jor General, USMC ; Ss GROUP-1 SECRET EXCLUDED FROM AUTOMATIC DOWNGRADING AND DECLASSIFICATION gi, ASG Control NoZS 47 1 HY 50955 DBocld:324273671 Page 4
"SECRET & SECOND WORKING DRAFT CUBA MOVEMENT OF PROPAGANDA MATERIALS I, Introduction The actions proposed herein are designed to impede the movement of Communist propaganda materials from Cuba to and within Latin American countries. Actions contemplated to control the movement of propaganda are closely related to, and in many cases identical with, those which control the movement of persons and arms. As noted in the earlier paper which addressed the problem of movement of subversive trainees to and from Cuba, the successful execution of all the pro- posals expressed below will materially reduce the flow of propaganda materials but will not eliminate it entirely. Communist Cuba has many legitimate outlets through - ‘which propaganda materials flow. As these legitimate out- lets are blocked by the initial steps herein proposed, it will be necessary for the Cuban propagandists and their sympa- thizers elsewhere to turn from the mass exportation of materials, and to rely more heavily upon production and dissemination of the same materials in a clandestine environ- ment within each Latin American country. of the two threats, the illicit production of propaganda materials in each country will be by far the more difficult to abate. SECRET 1889 HY 50955 DBocld: 324239671 Page 5
" SECRET ae | © HW 50955 It. Nature and Scope of the Probiém While the Castro image has faded somewhat in Latin America, by virtue of his own imprudent actions, the susceptibility of the Latin American people to communist propaganda remains high. The basic social and economic factors which have made this true in the past have not greatly altered, and the variety and quantity of propaganda materials with which the Latin Americans are now beset are impressive, as exemplified in the one hundred million dollars which the communists are estimated to be investing in the project annually. It is a large program and it presents a continuing threat to the tranquility of Latin America. For the purpose of this paper, propaganda materials include radio program scripts, tapes and recordings, printed materials, (posters, pamphlets, magazines, leaflets, books, newspapers, news service output), motion pictures, duplicating or reproducing equipment, electronic communications equipment, and printing resources, particularly paper stockplies. To. be complete, moreover, "movement of propaganda materials" must extend to small quantities of selected publications which are hand-carried into a country by legal or illegal travellers for subsequent reproduction, It must also include materials transmitted through Cuban and Soviet Bloc diplomatic channels, shipments via postal channels, quantities intro- duced through smuggling operations, oral transmission of SECRET 2 Boclda: 3242793621 Page 6
HY 0955 SECRET propaganda guidelines by indiviaual travellers or by Radio Havana, and the dissemination of slanted news by Prensa Latina, the official Cuban news agency, for pick-up and reproduction by local outlets, Finally to be considered are thematic guidance which can be reproduced and exploited locally by returning trainees, front groups and sympathetic publi- eations and, in some countries such as Mexico, Argentina and Uruguay, the products of those commercial establishments which regularly print or proadcast pro-Castro materials as a matter of policy or ideological conviction. Press and Publications There are 326 Communist and pro-Communist newspapers and periodicals in Latin America. Beyond this, infiltration of the democratic press, coupled with the non-critical attitudes of some newspapermen gives wider diffusion to the Cuban propaganda line. In addition, there are 228 communist oriented publishing houses and bookstores in Latin America, serving as outlets not only for 30 different Cuban period- icals, but for a large variety of other Communist printed material. Every Latin American country except the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Nicaragua, and Venezuela permits these bookshops to operate. Many of them offer publications at very low prices or even give away two or three books with the purchase of one, and easy credit terms are available, SECRET 3 Bocld: 324273521 Page 7?
HW 450955 Se SECRET ad Excluding TASS and New China News Agency (NCNA), Prensa Latina is the principal Communist news agency in Latin America. It operates openly, but not entirely without restriction, in ten countries -~- Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama and Uruguay. Although its users are chiefly leftists or overt Communists, in some countries there is fairly extensive un- attributed use of Prensa Latina releases, especially in radio. All of this is essentially overt. However, decrees banning Communist activity and propaganda have not prevented the clandestine publication and distribution of a number of periodicals, books and other printed materials in some countries, notably Argentina, and propaganda materials continue to seek undetected entry through the mails. In Panama, for example, postal and customs authorities destroy an average of le tons of Cuban propaganda per month. Another ten tons, from the unknown quantity which enters Costa Rica each month, 4g identified in the post office or the airport and destroyed. Radio Short wave radio is the principal direct mags audience medium used by Cuba to carry subversive propaganda to Latin America. The Castro regime has constantly increased Radio SECRET 4 Doclda: 32742738271 Page 8
HY 0955 ~ SEORET sd i Havana's short wave proadeasts to Latin America to a eurrent level of 115:30 hours per. week. Cultural Activities Penetration under the guise of "cultural" activities is a favored Communist propaganda technique in Latin America. There are 644 Cuban binational centers and Friendship Societies in the area. Films Feature films and short documentaries produced by the Cuban Institute of Motion Picture Art and Industry (ICATC) ‘play a direct propaganda role, These films are shown primarily in binational centers, pro-Communist labor and student groups, and in private or clandestine meetings. It will be seen from this brief review that Latin America is the target of a broad scale propaganda program, “comprising not only propaganda materials but including also the ideas, the knowledge and the resources which are necessary to make those materials effective. III, Direct Actions to Impede Legal Movement of Propaganda Materials. Presented below is a summary of actions contemplated to impede the legal movement of propaganda materials from Cuba to and within Latin American countries. For the purpose of this paper, legal movement is defined as movement by recognized private and governmental carriers and communications, as well as postal systems and diplomatic pouching. SECRET 5 BDoclda: 3274273521 Page 3
HY 0955 " SECRET These actions offer promise of achieving early and effective results in some Latin American countries. They do not have universal application and that those which are feasible in one country may not be so in another. SECRET 1. Political Actions a. Induce newspapers in countries in which Prensa Latina operates to cancel their subscriptions to the service, on the basis of its subversive character. b. Persuade those governments which receive Cuban and Bloc diplomatic missions to maintain close surveillance over the propaganda activities of the Communist embassies with a view toward prohibiting abuses of diplomatic privilege for subversive purposes. ec, As applicable and feasible, induce Latin American countries to: (1) Adopt adequate internal security legis- lation which would provide severe penalties for any person engaging in dissemination of Cuban Communist propaganda which inspires terrorism or proposes the overthrow of the legal govern- ments by force and violence. (2) Preclude attendance of Cuban delegates at international meetings held in Latin America. (Delegates are propaganda disseminators. ) 6 Docld: 3242738271 Page i0
HW 450955 SECRET ~ 2. Intelligence Actions a. Continue U.S; intelidgence efforts in each country to identify individuals, organizations and facilities involved in propaganda importation, repro- duction and/or dissemination; make available to each country selected intelligence concerning these individ- uals, organizations and their activities. b. Encourage each country in which the Communist Party is illegal to offer rewards for information lead- ing to interception of Castro Communist propaganda and conviction of persons supplying or disseminating materials considered dangerous to the country's tran quility. | c. In separate diplomatic approaches to each country, urge full and effective cooperation with the appropriate organs of the OAS, and bilaterally among the several nations, in the interchange of information concerning movement of propaganda materials. d. Persuade Latin American countries to report promptly to the diplomatic mission of the country concerned, the identity of any national of that country who arrives from Cuba and who is discovered to have been carrying Communist propaganda materials. 3. Covert Actions | Be Cause disruption in the reproduction and distribution of propaganda materials, and in the SECRET 7 Doclda: 3242736271 Page il
* gEerET e ad procurement and delivery of related supplies and equipment, b. Induce Latin American printing craftsmen to deface, destroy, or misprint Castro Communist propa~ ganda in the process of reproduction. ec, Disrupt Castro Communist sponsored labor and youth congresses, industrial and agricultural exhibits in Latin Americcen countries. d. Maintain or increase economic pressures on media owners, local advertising agencies and film producers and/or distributors who accept Communist materials. e, Modify texts of Communist propaganda, inserting anti-Castro/Communist material into the distribution chain. f, Dissuade U.S, and local business firms from advertising in Latin American media which carry pro-Communist materials; prepare and circulate to” U.S. firms, for information, lists of such media in order to encourage their support of a non-Communist press. | g. Inhibit the spread of Cuban and Bloc binational centers and Friendship Societies in Latin America by an active program to expose their subversive activities and objectives. SECRET 8 HY 50955 DBocld: 324236271 Page i2
HW 450955 h. Provide selective financial support to non-Communist newspapers or press services in order-to make them economically competitive with Communist-aligned publi- cations. i. Organize surveillance over in-country sources of newsprint and related supplies, and deny or inhibit the use of these supplies for printing Communist materials. kh, Military Aseistance Action Obtain and make available, through U.S, Military Groups, U.S. materials on the realities of Communist propaganda, suitable for use in Latin American troop education programs. IV. Direct Actions to Impede Tllegal Movement of Propaganda Material. - As the actions outlined in the preceding sections become effective, movement of propaganda materials will be forced into clandestine channels, Although many of the actions outlined in Section IIT will serve to restrict {llegal movement, additional measures to impede this clandestine traffie will acquire increasing importance. 1. Intelligence Actions a. Use penetration and other intelligence techniques to identify efforts to move propaganda materials from Cuba to and/or within Latin American countries; determine routes and methods employed; report eelected information, SECRET 9 Doocld: 324273621 Page i135
° ” -* se @ consistent With pequirenents for protecting our own intelligence program, to governments concerned. b. Utilize the U.S. intelligendé community to determine the nature and extent of clandestine air- craft and small boat traffic between Cuba arid other countries in the Caribbean and Central American area, with special attention to Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and Dominican Republic. Use the evidence obtained to induce governments concerned to initiate surveillance and other control measures aimed at interception of propaganda materials. 2, Surveillance and Reporting Action Exploit the mechanism of the Caribbean surveillance system approved by the President in the study on move- ment of personnel, for discovering and impeding the movement of propaganda materials by illicit means. 3. Political Action Where legally feasible to do so, induce each Latin American country to improve police procedures to seek and destroy the subversive Communist propaganda apparatus in that country, and to detect and eliminate corrupt officials who permit illicit shipment of propaganda materials. h, Techineal Assistance Action ‘a, Provide technical assistance to enable local officials to locate clandestine transmitters. SECRET 16 HW 350955 DBocld: 3242356271 Page 14
HY 0955 SECRET b,. Assist Latin American governments, which so desiné, to develop a jamming capability against Communist radio broadcasts. 5, Military Action Assist in the accelerated improvement of Latin American internal security forces, especially patrol and intelligence activities aimed at preventing clandestine propaganda activities. Provide equipment, training and advice as required. 11 Docld: 3242738271 Page 15