. 29. Return Travel 31. . fundS needed for procuremen 5-E-C-R-E-T . NO FOREIGN DISSEX . = -~n- CS-311/04298-64 é radic frequency data on film, which was rolled and put into a false heel -on one shoe, prepared by the EMB Section, Agents who are to uge radies do ‘Rot take scts with them: the: ‘Pel preters 0: - have them purchase their communications eq ; country and provides money. for the purpose ; the  adiee tte te not attributable to Cuba.» oe isualiy carries with hin the Ot SEs ue Fath wily. Sceasion- ally act as a courier: carrying special neasag for guerrilla operations are s-nt hy diplenagic pouch. OF 868 carried by ciandest ine couriers, in Septenter ‘3963, . forex oe the DGI sent..U. oN $25,000 concealed in the lining: Of suiteede “ earried to Mexico: ‘by @ 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 able to leave Cuba at once when they have com- pleted their training, they remain under the orders of the scheol 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. 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, brohe 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 sSuit- able documents... The DGI case officer is responsiblo for procure 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 period. For - Example, of a group of about 25 guerrilla agents from the Dominican Republic who completed six .mcnths of training near the end of 1963, about ten were still in Cuba in April 1964 because the DGI had been unable either ro provide passports for their travel or to arrange for their return home illegally. At that time the case officer was trying to have additional passports ‘collected and sent to Cuba via the DGI station in Mexico so that the stranded Dominicans could travel, As noted above, 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 sponsoring group; for illegal agents normally at is their own courtry, but occasion- ally, although rarely, one is assigned to another area, Guerrilla agents who have been trained 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 Czechoslovak authorities on their arrival in Prague, From there, agents travel on passports of their own or some related nationality, or even their own pass- ports, containing entries carefully made to account for their period of absence from their country without showing any connec- tion with Cuba. Both passports are provided the agent 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 svectateaparsta nance, Rogmaliy, — . ‘however, large sypms for the purchase of ‘jarge ‘equipment: or arama 8 ane:
32, 33. 34, 35. S-E-C-R-E-T Ce, NO FOREIGN DISSEM co | ‘ - 12 - + €8-311/0atsee6a. The second stuge ‘Of - the- Jour Maree country, is. arranged ‘by. he i Bs tg agent's departure’ from Cuba and the first. leg Of the trip, ‘t Prague, are ari od. by ICAP, cite the DGI has a liaison: officér, pseudon ; wd: ch atvers ... hea. guerriiia «a Stgteot notifies yticeraes 9 Bk dee need ‘duritg the rest of: ihe cose officer. ines. remain an the. country. if: they: are: travel in Cuba, and in any case he pros pocket money, He also, ‘through Biss + procures’ their required | immunizations; “an ECAP request - fear vaccination for a traveler is an ‘Indicatioa-that. he person is.of interest to the Cuban intel- ligence services, Since the ordinary. “departing visitor or resident secures his immunization through normal civilian channéis,.. Cote "Ricardo" also -ebtains airline tickets aad flight reservations; the DGI retnsbuises ICAP tor “any ‘funds expended by “Ricardo” for agent travel and handling. 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 via Prague to Western Europe and thence to his own country. At the final stage of his journey, he may enter his own country illegally. As soon as he is back and established, he is ready to initiate communica-~ tions with DGI headquarters in accordance with the instruct tons he has received and using the achedule he carried with him in-a 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; 1% he departs legally, he uses the normal route via Prague but travels on a passport of another nationality than Cuban, Of threé 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 tn 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 aS considered an independent operator with no communication with Cubans except through his clandestine channels, although in an emérgency 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 illegal 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 DGI 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 PISSEM
agents home as crewmen has materially declined and in 1964 was S-E-C-R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEM ~ 13 - CS-311/04298-64 especially into the Céntral Am rican area and to the north coist of South America, Since 1962, however, the practice of sending - @ 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 Gipacity, and adjustment to discipline. The DGI has successfully trained a few highly efficient agents, but some of its trainees have not come up to expectations, One agent with an excollent 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 to purchase @ radio spent the money on himself 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 alse distrusted by his group as cowardly and spiritiess, As noted above, instruc- tion in secret writing has not always been productive of readabie. reports, The main difficulty appears te 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 of the organization of the DGI and the functions of its departments, from the same source, see €$-~311/00115-64. 2. Cuba has diplomatic rslations, 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 1964). 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 ccnvention of the International Union of Architects in Havana in September, For the latter occasion, the Soviet ship NADEZHDA KRUPSKAYA called at Santos, Brazil, to embark passengers for Havana, Among the traveling delegations were Cuban agents, 5. Source Comment. A11 DGI ofticers are also assigned pseudonyms, which they normally use in all their pro- fessional work; even close colleagues do not always ‘know their real names, G.- Headquarters Comment. The Cubans have also used special and charter flights from Cuba to return agents to their S-E-C-R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEM
14-00000 S-B-C-R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEM - 14 - 7S C3-311/04298-64 own countries, as, for example, those arranged for the International Union of Architects in September 1963, S-E-C-R-E-T NO FOREIGN DISSEM