Evening star., 1961-01-01


These avowed enemies "a
Of water, hurting insults and
which could turn the Caribbes
noise and smoke, there is fac
Castro agents have infiltrat
Mexico. Honduras and Fl Sal
vador. Last summer they COM
bined with the local leftists to
spark q wave Of violence and
bombings. Gen. Ydigoras retail
ated by declaring martial law
and imposing strict curfew
hours. g
Last month, following q
short lived rebellion led by dis
gruntled army ofiicers. Gen.
Ydigoras Joined with Nicaragua
in soliciting United States Navy
protection against possible In
tervention from Cuba.
Gen. Ydigoras. o tough. willy
old general, knows the best de-
tense Is o good offense.
50 Expelled
He has expelled or irnpris-
oned more than so left-wine
troublemakers.
Although political exiles Of
earlier regimes are allowed 70
return. they are warned by
Gen. Ydigoras: "There are two
doors open to you. The door to
your house and the door to
jail"
Last spring. he closed Prensa
Latina, Castro's propaganda
arm. and booted out the Cuban
ambassador. charging him with
being . front for o beehive Of
subversives.
Gen. Ydigoras' army. esti-
mated at more than 5000
troops, Is the best in Central
America. though top-heavy
with colonies.
The President denies It. but
there Is substantial evidence
that anti-C Castro troops had
been training In the small
provincial outpost Of Retaihu-
leu in Southwest Gatemala.
The town is located in the
midst Of coffee-growing coun-
try. on the beaten track Of
travellers. A dirt airstrip there
had been used by spray planes.
Nearby is q large farm owned
by Roberto Alejos, brother Of
the Gatemalas1 Ambassador to
Washington.
About q year ago. O Jet strip
was constructed by an Ameri.
can frm in three MONTHS
record in slow-and-easy Cen.
tral America. Jet fuel tanks
and camoufiaged barracks also
were built. Cost Of the inys-
terious project was pegged at
$400, 900.
THAT kind Of money could
only come from the Ameri-
cans" the Cuban envoy de.
clared.
Commandees Trained
Then. reports that black
painted transport planes and
B-26 medium bombers were
using the field began to filter
back to Guatemala City. Visi-
tors carried word that anti
Castro rebels were being trained
In commando tactics after be-
ing flown there by American
pilots.
Next, the Guatemalan gov
ernment banned all flights over
the spot. Such tight secrecy
was considered odd for O re-
mote airfield.
The reports built up to Q
near international incident
and o group Of Guatemalan
congressman demanded an in.
vestigation. Gen. Ydigoras
claimed the base had been
converted into o training camp
for Guatemalan troops.
But Clemente Marroquin
Roja, director Of the newspa-
per La Hora. maintained that
the site was o staging area for
q planned invasion Of Cuba
and that between 200 and 800
anti Castro Cuhans were being
bivouacked there.
After several delays, Gen.
Ydigoras finally agreed to let
the Congressman inspect the
premises. The lawmakers de-
clined. claiming that the anti
Castro troops had been trans
ferred and all other evidence
removed.
Today, Retalhuleu lies al
most abandoned. Q half-million
dollar reminder Of the unde-
clared war between Castro and
Ydigoras.
Economy slump
Graphing with Castro has
taken its toll In Guatemala.
Gen. Ydigoras has siphoned the
country's budget to equip his
army and air force.