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178-10004-10416

2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992)

JiK Assassination System

8/27/201

Identification Form

Agency Information

AGENCY:

ROCKCOM

RECORD NUMBER:

178-10004-10416

RECORD SERIES:

TESTIMONY SERIES

AGENCY FILE NUMBER: COLBY STATEMENT--APPENDICES

Document Information

ORIGINATOR:

FROM:

TO:

CIA

TITLE: THE MIAMI STATION

DATE:

PAGES:

SUBJECTS:

01/13/1975

7

BAY OF PIGS

ANTI-CASTRO ACTIVITIES

CIA

PERIODICAL, RAMPARTS

MIAMI, FL

CUBAN EXILES

DOCUMENT TYPE: REPORT

CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified

RESTRICTIONS: Consulted

CURRENT STATUS : Redact

DATE OF LAST REVIEW:

11/06/1995

OPENING CRITERIA:

COMMENTS:

Appendix J to Statement of William Colby to Rockefeller Commission, 13 January 1975.

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• 178-10004-10416

Appendix J

THE MIAMI STATION

In March 1960, President Eisenhower approved the project later to become

known as the Bay of Pigs. In April 1960 a Western Hemisphere Division Forward

Operations Base (FOB) was established in South Miami, Florida, for the purpose

of coordinating all support, training, and preparatory activities for operations against

Cuba. The FOB simultaneously supported our busy Havana Station which was

operating under difficult circumstances, including inhibiting surveillance of our

officers by Castro security services. After the Station was closed in Havana when

US diplomatic relations were broken with Castro's government in January 1961,

it was envisioned that selected personnel assigned to the Miami Base would, upon

the overthrow of the Castro government, become a nucleus to reopen the Havana

Station. During the Bay of Pigs landing, the FOB provided support for the

operation.

In September 1961, the Miami Station was established at a new location,

replacing the FOB. About 300 persons were assigned to the Station at one time;

Headquarters responsibility was in an autonomous group until 1965, when the

Western Hemisphere Division resumed charge.

Utilizing former Cuban assets in Havana who had fled to the United States,

indigenous Cuban organizations were formed to continue the overt struggle against

the Castro government. In addition, a Cuban Intelligence Organization in exile was

formed to collect information on the activities of militant autonomous Cuban exile

groups in the United States who were not affiliated with the US Government effort

against the Cuban regime. The Cuban intelligence organization in exile participated

in a number of activities including the issuance of anti-Castro publications,

maintaining relations with anti-Castro governments and groups in the Caribbean

and Latin American countries, and debriefing Cuban exiles arriving in the United

States for positive foreign intelligence and counterintelligence to identify Cuban

agents being infiltrated into the United States via the Cuban Freedom Flights and

small boats. Allied with this effort was an electronic intercept capability directed

at Cuban government communications which was manned by indigenous Cuban

exiles. Close working relations were maintained with US Government agencies in

the Miami area such as the FBI, INS, Coast Guard, Customs, Navy, Air Force,

etc., to coordinate activities. A small support base was established in Key West.

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During the period 1962-66 the Miami Station engaged in classical intelligence

operations directed against the Cuban regime. Radio Americas was established and

broadcast daily from Swan Island in the Caribbean. Psychological, economic, and

political activities were undertaken in an effort to undermine confidence in the

Castro government and underscore the Soviet presence and total Cuban dependence

on the USSR. Maritime operations were also undertaken. Among other missions,

Cubans who desired to escape from the Cuban mainland were assisted.

In late 1966 a substantial cutback in the pace of operations began and a

reorganization of the Station was undertaken as a result of a review by higher

authority (303 Committee). Many cover entities were terminated and personnel

reassigned. Increased emphasis on the collection of intelligence and

counterintelligence through operations in other foreign areas, limitation on maritime

activities, and consolidation of written and radio output achieved considerable

savings in money and manpower.

In early 1968 it became apparent that as a result of sustained operational

activity in the Miami area over a period of years the cover of the Miami Station

had eroded to a point that the security of our operations was increasingly

jeopardized. This erosion was more significant following the Rampartsexposure of

CIA operations and the possibility that the location of our Station on property

leased

from the University of Miami might be especially embarrassing to the

University. At the same time, it became apparent that activities would have to

be reduced drastically for policy, budgetary, and operational reasons. It was decided

to deactivate the Miami Station and replace it with a smaller Station which would

• be better able to respond to current needs. Security had deteriorated seriously

at the large Station (then 150 persons) which was under commercial cover near

Homestead; the new Station of about 50 persons had good official cover on a

government-controlled area in a run-down part of Miami Beach. It was felt, also,

that the new Station could facilitate adjustments in the objectives and targets of

Miami-based operations and enable the new Station to reduce our dependence on

those Cuban exiles who were no longer in tune with current or future needs.

In August 1968 the new, smaller Miami Station was activated, and during

the ensuing months the maritime activities were terminated; a new and much smaller

media operation was activated, and intelligence collection was expanded to include

the Bahamas and Lesser Antillies. Increased emphasis was given to third-country

Cuban operations (agent recruitment and technical operations against Cuban

Embassies abroad) under the guidance of the new Station. The Cuban emigre

organizations supported by the Station were drastically reduced and activities were

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phased down. In 1974, responsibility for the residue Cuban operations was

transferred to Headquarters and the remaining Cuban emigre organizations were

terminated.

Currently, some 20 staff personnel in the Miami Station are engaged in

collecting foreign positive intelligence and counterintelligence in those areas of the

Caribbean that are of strategic importance. to US policymakers and in which

unfriendly overt or covert actions would be inimical to US interests. (For Support

Activities in the Miami area,

see the attachment.)

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Support Activities

in the Miami Area

Communications

Prior to 1968.

From the late 1950s through 1968, CIA communications activities in

the Miami area supported DDO covert action against the Cuban government.

The CIA radio station transmitted and received enciphered messages to and

from agents at sea or in Cuba.

A radio intercept facility also monitored Cuban and other selected foreign

radio signals. Apart from Cuban operations, some high frequency Morse and

teletype messages were exchanged between the" Miami radio base station and

selected CIA field stations in Latin America. In 1964 the CIA Latin American

area electronic equipment repair facility was relocated from Panama to the

Richmond Naval Air Station.

Miami-based CIA communications personnel were responsible to the DDO

for training staff and agent personnel and for equipping teams and boats with

the means of maintaining communications during operations directed against

Cuba.

Liaison was conducted with the FCC, the FBI, the Department of State,

and the Department of Defense.

Other non-communications liaison existed between the Miami

communications facilities and various organizations: the Miami Beach Police,

the University of Miami, and the Coast Guard/GSA.

From 1968 to Present.

The focus was on communicating with CIA agents in-place on the island

of Cuba or in Latin America. Communications links were established with

foreign police authorities in several countries during this period.

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During the 1968 Republican National Convention, secure electronic

circuitry was

installed between the Fountainbleu Hotel and CIA Langley

Headquarters. The circuit was patched through the Langley facility to the

CIA communications radio station at the Richmond Naval Air Station.

Provisions were made to provide the Secret Service with name trace

information on foreign nationals on a timely basis during the 1968 Republican

National Convention and the 1972 Democratic and Republican National

Conventions. In the latter instance, requests were made by Secret Service

Headquarters to CIA Headquarters and communicated to CIA/DDO, Miami,

for action.

In 1969 the CIA Latin American Communications Activity (AMCA)

Headquarters was relocated from Washington, D.C., to Miami. This activity

- provides the operational, technical, and management support to the Diplomatic

Telecommunications Service and CIA covert operations throughout Latin

America. AMCA Headquarters also took over all CIA communications facilities

and responsibilities in the Miami area.

All CIA monitoring activities ceased in 1972. The Richmond Naval Air

Station radio base station ceased operation in early 1972. In May 1974 the

special DDO contract facility that monitored Cuban communications, located

in Homestead, Florida, was closed. At the same time, the secure

communications circuitry between the DDO cover office responsible for name

traces was also terminated.

Liaison was conducted with the FCC, the GSA, and the Army for

purposes of cover and with the Armed Forces Courier Service.

Although very little communications support for Cuban operations was

provided after 1968, on one occasion an anti-Castro group was given support

in the form of radio signal plans and technical guidance on how to best install

radios in small boats.

The Burns Detective Agency was contracted to provide security service

and operated CIA-owned radios as part of their security posture. Cover. for

the Naval Air Station communications facility continued to be provided by

the Army for cover.

Contact with the Miami police did occur after 1968 as the result of

using an office in a Miami police station for three months to train a Surinam

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National Police Officer in high frequency communications. No communications

instructions were provided to the Miami police.

Finance

The First National Bank of Miami has been used by the Monetary Division

to provide the Office of Finance with essential services in support of operations.

These included: purchasing foreign currencies; purchasing bank cashier's checks;

establishing bank accounts, both commercial and individual; providing letters of

credit; initiating and receiving bank transfers, and placing of home mortgages in

one or two instances where the individual's cover precluded the normal credit

investigations.

Medical Services

• "Bay of Pigs" Project.

. The Project Medical Advisor made two TDY trips to Miami prior to the

Bay of Pigs to discuss medical training plans with Cuban medical personnel.

A four-man evaluation team from OMS made at least two TDY trips

to the Miami area to medically evaluate Cubans as cadre personnel for the

invasion brigade.

The Assessment and Evaluation Staff (A&ES) sent teams to Miami during

the same period for psychological evaluations.

A Medical Technician from the OMS was also temporarily assigned to

Miami for first aid and medical training for the project activities in the Miami

area.

Post-Invasion.

A Medical Technician from OMS was assigned PCS to JMWAVE in Miami

from September 1963 to June 1966.

During this same period the A&ES (by then part of the OMS) would,

on request, occasionally send a psychologist to Miami for psychological

evaluation for these continuing WH operational activities.

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OMS support of the type mentioned above was phased out about 1964.

Since that time, OMS relationship to any Agency activity in Miami has been

rare.

Since 1960, OMS has continuously had an average of three independent

contractors in the Miami area who function as professional consultants to

OMS.

Personnel

The Office of Personnel conducts or has conducted normal personnel activities

including: recruiting, position surveys, and contract preparation. Correspondence

is carried out with personnel in the Miami area relative to: retirement benefits,

insurance, disability and casualty claims, and the shipment of employee household

effects and automobiles.

Security

In July 1968 the Office of Security established a field office in Miami to

run investigations and provide liaison and operational support to the DDO Station,

Miami. Prior to 1968, such support was physically integrated into the DDO activity.

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