404-10113-10158 ANTI-CASTRO ACTIVITIES IN THE (Summary) 15 January 1960 SECRET UNITED STATES a
14-00000 SECRET I. ANTI-CASTRO ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES Efforts of Cuban exiles based in ‘the United States since the fall of Batista and the assumption of power by the Castro regime on 1 January 1959 have been characterized by continu- ally shifting alliances aimed at securing for their leaders a paramount position in any successor government in their homeland. Programs have been enunciated by individual leaders, organization lists drawn up, and funds solicited. Consider- able propaganda has been published, and leaflets attacking | Pes Castro have been dropped over Cuba periodically. Some mili- tary and paramilitary training has been undertaken, particularly in the Dominican Republic where a force ranging from a claimed 80 men to several thousand has been training for the past nine months. Some exiles claim to have armed followers in Cuba as well as a larger number of sympathizers. There has been one abortive invasion attempt. These efforts have been weakened, however, by rivalries between the more prominent exiles for leadership of any for- mal anti-Castro movement established, and their failure to agree on any program. Their activities also have been affected by the fact that most of the exiles were connected either actively or passively with the Batista regime. They recognize, although they do not always admit this, that Batista's rule is still too unpopular with the mass of Cubans for them to engage in a successful effort to overthrow Castro unless they are supported by a force far larger than any can command at present. These rivalries plus Castro's followers' long training in revolutionary methods appear to have enabled Castro to learn the plans of most of the alliances formed thus far well before they are put into action. Nevertheless there has been, and continues to be, a general recognition by most of the more prominent exiles that they must unite if they are to succeed in removing the present re- gime. The most important potential leaders of any such move- ment to emerge so far are listed below under separate headings. SECRET
14-00000 A. General Jose Eleuterio PEDRAZA y Cabrera When mention is made of military measures to eliminate the Castro regime attention inevitably focuses on General Jose Eleuterio PEDRAZA y Cabrera. While opinions differ “as to his suitability for the role of leader of a military attack on the Castro forces, he is regarded by the most prominent and most active exile leaders in the United States as the only military leader in a position to take effective action in the field against Castro. The forces at his disposal in the Dominican Republic, the loyalties he can command within Cuba, and the help he can get from exiles in the United States have been variously estimated from a mere handful to several thousand. He, himself, has stated in a memorandum to a prominent American businessman that he hoped he could count on a force of 2,000, led by 100 former Officers and Non-Commissioned officers of Cuban origin. The remainder of his force would be made up of Spaniards, Yugoslavs, Germans, and perhaps a few Dominicans. (1) PEDRAZA has expressed his willingness to work with General Martin DIAZ Tamayo and Colonel Ramon BARQUIN and would wel- come their cooperation but he has never hinted that he would turn over leadership of his forces to either. Former Castro supporter Francisco RODRIGUEZ Couceiro, who claims to have been one of the prime organizers of two anti-Castro groupings The Anti-Communist Crusade (CRAC) and The Christian Democratic Action (ADC) has backed PEDRAZA as the military leader of any expedition which should be launched against Fidel Castro. Rodriguez claims to have visited.the General late in October 1959 and to have reached an agreement whereby Pedraza committed himself to clean up his force of men in the Dominican Republic and put them under the direc- tion and control of the ADC. Rodriguez asserts that the agreement provides for the elimination of all but Cuban nationals from the forces in the Dominican Republic under Pedraza. Fabio FREYRE, a wealthy young Cuban--who also claims to be the founder of the ADC--has made known his connections with Pedraza and claims to have drawn up points of agreement with him. (3) Freyre has stated that General PEDRAZA is the SECRET
14-00000 only Cuban general whom the constitutional army would follow. He adds that Pedraza was not closely identified with Batista's coming to power but when the Dictator needed help Pedraza _was made head of the army. FREYRE believes that the Cubans do not haye¢ confidence in Martin DIAZ Tamayo nor in Ramon BARQUIN. (4) . Dr. Emilio NUNEZ Portuondé, now resident in Washington, D.C., and one of the more prominent anti-Castro exiles, has consistently tried to align the various anti-Castro elements in the United States, Mexico, and Cuba behind General Pedraza. (9) Carlos MARQUEZ Sterling, who at the moment appears to be Pedraza's choice for provisional president, if efforts to unseat Castro succeed has supported the military role of the General. (6) : . General Pedraza's service under Fulgencio Batista has left a bad taste in the mouths of many Cubans who hated the Batista dictatorship as vehemently as they now detest the Castro regime. There seems to be reasonable doubt that Dr. CUERVO-RUBIO, whom RODRIGUEZ Couceiro has claimed CRAC sup- ports as a presidential candidate, would support Pedraza. CUERVO-Rubio is reported to have stated that responsible opposition to Castro inside Cuba would be reluctant to asso- ciate with Pedraza and might join in the fight against him should he attempt an invasion. Some of these people have repeatedly expressed the fear that Castro might use such an invasion as a pretext to suppress all opposition.(7)  Prom- inent Orthodox Party leader Antonio VARONA also is reported to be worried about the possibility of an invasion of Cuba by Pedraza, to whom he is bitterly opposed and has sworn that he and his followers would join with the Castro brothers in repelling any invasion led by Pedraza.(8) It is considered a distinct possibility that a Pedraza led invasion would play into Castro's hands, leaving internal opposition no alterna- tive but to join Casty9 in a national effort to repel a Bastistiano invasion. ) It is known that FREYRE's ADC which supports Pedraza for military leader would welcome the assistance and the support of the former Chief of the Revolutionary Air Force Major Pedro Luis DIAZ-Lanz. However, DIAZ-Lanz has made it very evident that he wants no part in military affairs run by General Pedraza whom he categorizes as an enemy of SECRET
14-00000 ShUKEL Cuba along with Castro, Batista, Masferrer. (9) Recent evi- dence, however, indicates that there is a possibility that the former Chief of the Revolutionary Air Force may be reconsidering his previously inflexible attitude towards Pedraza. B. Emilio NUNEZ Portuondo NUNEZ Portuonde, now residing in Washington, D.C., was one of the first to declare his candidacy for the leadership of an anti-Castro movement. A former politician, lawyer and diplomat Nunez was Cuba's delegate to the United Nations from 1952 until 1958. During this period he cooperated with the US delegation and was outspokenly critical of the USSR. Most Cubans in the United States, and. in those Latin American countries where he and his followers have solicited support for their anti-Castro activities are under the impression that he has some type of commitment with the US Government. Al- though he continues to be mentioned, along with Carlos MARQUEZ Sterling, as the most likely candidate for provisional president of a successor government to Castro, some sources have alleged that he would not make an effective president. (1) Nunez' announced aim is the overthrow of the Castro re- gime and its replacement by a civil government friendly to “the US and excluding individuals associated with Batista. To this end he and his immediate followers have published a newsletter and periodically dropped leaflets over Cuba at- tacking Castro. They also have directed. the paramilitary. training of a small number of Cubans in Miami, some of whom subsequently participated in an abortive invasion of Cuba in August. ( ) In addition Nunez and his followers have been in close contact with other leading exiles in the US. Dur- ing the fall of 1959 he and his adherents travelled to Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Argentina and Peru to solicit support for an anti-Castro movement. They also have attempted to organize units in Venezuela. There is no firm evidence that these efforts have suc- ceeded. However, Santiago REY's group in Mexico has supported Nunez for provisional pagsident if the efforts to overthrow Castro are successful. General Pedraza, in the Dominican Republic, has supported Nunez for president and Nunez in turn 4 SECRET
14-00000 ee ee has promoted Pedraza as military leader since the spring of 1959. Nunez as recently as 14 December 1959 still claimed to be the leader of Pedraza's group but the General _had previously asserted that he was disposed to work with both Nunez and Carlos MARQUE? sterling but he preferred the latter as interim president. 5 7 Another possible adherent of Nunez is Pedro DIAZ-Lanz, who is reported to have declared that he, and other with whom he is working, would consider Nunez acceptable if he should divorce himself from Trujillo. A step in this direc- tion was taken by Nunez at the end of December when, irritated by Trujillo's reluctance to permit a Pedraza invasion of Cuba from the Dominican Republic, he told Trujillo that he would take matters in his own hands if the. action they had planned was not taken by 7 January. ) = ‘ C. Carlos MARQUEZ Sterling Carlos MARQUEZ Sterling comes from a family with.a dis- tinguished record in Cuban History. He was born in 1899 in Camaguay and received his education in Cuba, graduating from the University of Havana with a law degree in 1920. Three years later he became a professor at the University. It was from the same Univeristy that he was removed in 1959 by Castro forces. MARQUEZ Sterling told American officials- that Fidel Castro had been one of his students at the Univer- sity of Havana 1945-1947, and that Fidel had been reared in an atmosphere of hatred for the United States. His political career began while he was still in his teens and he was arrested and imprisoned for his activities in the revolution of 1917. During the thirties he lived in Washington while his father was Ambassador. Later he re- entered politics and became Speaker of the House of Repre- sentatives. He had a hand in the establishment of the Ortodoxo Party in 1946. Previously Marquez had presided over the drafting of the Constitution of 1940. A former Presidential candidate and a leader of the Partido del Pueblo Libre (PPL) which he established in July 1957, Marquez Sterling appears to enjoy the respect, if not necessarily the full confidence, of many leading Cuban exiles in the United States. @) 5 SECRET
14-00000 CRAC leaders OLIN asked him to accept the position of Presi- dent of the government-in-exile but he was reluctant to do so because he feared for the safety of his son, still in Cuba. (4) Marquez has been in contact with most of the Cuban _exile leaders in the United States and has had some discus- sions with NUNEZ Portuondo, his chief rival for the presi- dency . -.50me sources maintain that Pedraza prefers him over Nunez. It is believed that Marquez still has the support of the Ortrodoxo Party in Cuba. D. Pedro Luis DIAZ-Lanz fajor DIAZ-Lanz has gained considerable publicity for his break with Castro, his appearance before the Eastland Com- mittee and his spectacular leaflet dropping over Havana on 21 October 1959. His brother Marcos, who was Inspector General of the Revolutionary Air Force (FAR) joined him in Miami in July and the two were until December closely associated with Ricardo LORIE Valls, a former underground leader of the 26 July Movement. have professed to These three and a few other associates have vigorous plans to overthrow Castro but aside from the leaflet drop have not performed any par- ticular actions of special importance. The Diaz-Lanz brothers broke with Lorie, who appeared to have been the most mature member of the group, for reasons which are not al all clear. (2) The small group about Diaz-Lanz in conversation with U.S. officials and private citizens has steadfastly refused to have anything to do with former Batista officials while they . have stated their intention to take any,measures to insure the downfall of Castro. In July 1959 Pedro DIAZ-Lanz stated that there is no connection whatsoever between the anti-Castro forces in Cuba and those in the United States. He regarded the followers of MASFERRER, Justo Luis PORO, former Mayor of Havana, Jose Luis PUJOL, NUNEZ Portuondo“and others as remnants of former dictatorships which yould not be acceptable to the Counter- Revolution in Cuba. At the end of the year, however, Pedro DIAZ-Lanz was reported as being willing to support Nunez Portuondo if the latter would break with Trujillo. At the same time Diaz-Lanz is reported to have attempted to obtain $50,000 from agents of Pedraza in Miami. actually was made, If this attempt it seems to indicate at last a willingness on the part of Diaz-Lanz to work with Pedraza, something he had hitherto steadfastly refused to consider. 6 SECRET
14-00000 SECRET E: Fabio FREYRE ; Fabio FREYRE, a wealthy Cuban now residing in Miami, claims that he has organized the Accion Democratica Cubana “(ADC), which (bas selected General Jose Pedraza as its mili- tary leader. Freyre says the ADC and Pedraza have drawn . up the principal points of an agreement for the liberation of Cuba, which include the organization of commandos, seiz- ing of the Isle of Pines to be used as an operational base for the invading forces, sabotage and various psychological warfare techniques. Freyre's following in the U.S. is esti- mated at some 200, while those based in Cuba, under the leadership of Juan Antonio RUBIO Padilla, number about 350, including commandos, army pilots and young officers. Freyre claims that the Cuban people have no confidence in General Martin DIAZ Tamayo or Colonel BARQUIN.(2) Hence, it is as- sumed that they are not among FREYRE's supporters. F. Dr. Francisco RODRIGUEZ Couceiro Dr. Francisco RODRIGUEZ Couceiro claims to be the founder and leadgy of another ADC, former prior to Freyre's organi-— zation. He has similar plans for the reconaygst of Cuba but has for the most part different following. Among his principal supporters are Orlando PIEDRA, Rolando RASFERRER, and Julio LAURENT, all of whom were Batistianes. ( Rodriguez claims he asked Trujillo and General Pedraza for arms to defend the Isle of. Pines once he had taken it but they turned him down. (6) Recently, however, Rodriguez stated that General Pedraza had signed an agreement ‘putting his men in the Dominican’ Republic and the Dominican anti-Castro -radio under the ADC. Rodrigygz also claims he has the promise of support in Guatemala. ; G. Orlando Eleno PIEDRA Negueruela PIEDRA enjoys the distinction of being considered by the Castro regime as one of the principal war criminals in the United States. He served for 18 years in police work in Cuba and attained the position of Chief of the Department of Investigations until the fall of Batista. In the United States he has openly aveygd his former connections with and his loyalty to Batista. He has been associated for a time 7 SECRET