DISPATCH: DEBRIEFING OF BONIFACIO HERRERA FERNANDEZ AKA 'BONY' AND 'EL GUAJIRO'
Originator: CIA
From: CHIEF OF BASE, JMWAVE
To: CHIEF, WESTERN HEMISPHERE DIVISION
Document date: 05/22/1961
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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1104-10308-10034

2022 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET

IMSTRUCTIONS

PRIOR TO FILING

1. Fild in soot. 2.

on back.. Detach back

flap and forward to RID.

2. Destroy front cover sheet, unless it

records significant action

taken or

comments requiring preservation.

FROM:

TO: ACTION BRANCH

Is file no, and title shown are not

proper, insert proper file no. below

and forward document to RID/AN.

PROPER FILE NO.

RID/

TO: ALL ADDRESSEES

PILL IN SECTION 1 ON BACK, IF APPROPRIATE

COMMENTS

HELA REGISTRY

TO

WELL REGISTRY

z.

КОНАН PA

Wife /CE

Н/ЧРІ

UHHH/F

HICKS

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

FE/4 REGISTRY

17.

RID/FI

TRACE

REQUES

DATE MICROFILMED

ROOM

NO.

DATE

RECEIVED FORWARDIO

29 MAY 1961

OFFICER'S

INITIALS

KAUG 1961

COPY DETACHED

pret

до.

Done a. (mise this is tha

Contaco Hussesa

SANE 6543(2711) 01W

Сида

Bell

Cy delicho

1984 6100 USERONOUS

EDITIONS

FILE TITLE

19-120-134 DRS

ABSTRACT * *

FILE NUMBER (PRIMARY CODE)

INDEX

+9-+20-18-19-120-13

DOCUMENT DAT

DOCUMENT NUMBER

UFGA 01647

25 Mozle!

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(40)

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DISPATCH

CLASSIFICATION

SECRET

TO

Chief, Western Hemisphere Division

INFO.

FROM

Chief of Base, IMWAVE

SUBJECT

PROCESSING

FACTION A,

MARKED FOR INDEXING TE

NO INDEXING REQUIRED

ONLY QUALIFIED: *

HEADQUARTERS 'DESIX 1

CAM JUDGE INDEXIRO.!

ABSTRACT 1/

ACTION REQUIRED - REFERENCES

Debriefing of Bonifaco HERRERA Femandez ala "Bony" and El G

None - for information and files

ACCOM

PLISHED

I. Subject arrived in Key West by fishing boat from Cuba on,20 May 1961. He

story follows.

2. Subject was born 12/16/35. He vad raised in Oriente Province where his

parents were owners of two small fincar. He has a brother named Victor Vidales

HERRERA. After his father's death a few years ago his brother sold one of the

fincas and he stayed on with his mother at the other. This was a finca of 16

caballerias known as Las Gordas. He worked the finça and also collected fresh milk

for a dairy.

3. About 4 November 1958 Subject came to the U.S. but was refused admittance,

allegedly because he refused to ask for asylum because he interpreted asking for

asylum at that time as being in favor of Fidel CASTRO. On 9 February 1959 he began

revolutionary activity with a small group affiliated with the Movimiento Democratico

Cristiano. One "Cuchg" FLEITES jwas his first chief. Another person in this group

was one Jose FAdUl who now lives at 435 Winthrop Street, Westbury, New York.

4. During 1960 and 1961 he worked in both Havana and Oriente.: He eventually

came under the command of a Dr. (SIERRA)who was chief of the underground in-

Holguin. He organized a group in Tunas who were prepared to go into combat upon

the receipt of arms.

These men were organized into 16 smaller groups.

5. In early 1961 Subject met SORI Marin, the military coordinator of the Unidad

Revolucionaria, while in hiding in the same house in Havana. SORI later went to the

U.S. to coordinaté military plans and to arrange for the delivery of arms.. Part of

the arms were to be delivered to his group in the Pueto Padre area.

escops

5 CROSS REFERENCE TO

19-120-13

DATE TYPEB RS

DATE DISPATCHED

per

22 May 1961

SPATCH SYMBOI

CANNIER

UFGA164Y

HEADQUARTERS FILE NUMBER

CLASSIFICATION

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6. In March 1961 SORI, Rafael, and Francisco were arrested as the result of

information furnished to G-2 by one Captain BERMUDEZ who was working under SORI

and supposedly in command of a group of guerrillas in Pinar del Rio. BERMUDEZ has

now infiltrated another guerrilla group in Quivaron, Subject tried to organize a rafi)to

break sORI out of the military hospital but his plan was betrayed to e-2 by somebody

on the hospital staff. After the arreat of SORI an Englishchan hamed Bob GEDDES took

over the job of arranging for arms deliveries. The deliveries to the Puerto Padre area

were scheduled several times but delayed each time for various reasons. The final date

was set for the week after the invasion.

7. When the air attack on Havana came on 15 April the militia took control of the

streets by nine o'clock in the morning and further movement was impossible. Three key

men were arrested immediately in the initial round-ups that were made by the militia.

This was a general sweep in which they picked up anybody on the smallest grounds.of

suspicion. Subject escaped by hiding for two days in the apartment of the Interventor

of the Havana motion pictures theaters.

The Unidad Revolucionaria had some arms but

only five magazines of ammunition for each gun. Some members of the group were in

favor of beginning to fight even with these limited arms, but they were dissuaded because

of the impossibility of moving people or materiel through the streets.

8. A large number of the key people in the Unidad Revolucionaria were arrested

or went into asylum during the next few days. (Bob GIDDIS was arrested about

06 April on the basis of an accusation from the manager of the Hotel Capri where

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GEDDES) was staying. Subject was given this information by the two telephone operators

in the hotel who worked for the UR.

9. Subject learned that five or six of his group leaders in Tunas were arrested in

the initial round-up but they were later released. He believes that the organization in

that area is substantially intact. He believes that the UR was badly damaged in Havana

but that it is still functioning. He says that the MRR and various smaller organizations

are practically destroyed. He believes that a small group called the Martianos have

some assets left, but they cooperate with the UR.

10. Subject was offered the opportunity to get out of Havana by paying two thousand

pesos for which he could get a false passport with an American visa and a ticket on one

of the airlines. He said that he strongly believes that this is a racket organized by the

Cuban G-2. It not only gets them a lot of money but also gives them a chance to smoke

out people that they are looking for. Finally he arranged to leave Cuba via fishing boat.

He had to hide under one of the seats until the boat was safely out of the harbor.

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11. Just before hia departure. " Subject'a chief in the UR, one Manuel RODRIGUE)

who goes under the name of Luis LOPEL, tried to persuade him to stay because

RODRIGUEL new of a plot to capture or assassinate Fidel CASTRO during the week

of 21 May.OThere were supposed to be six "Comandantes" and eight civilians in the plot.

They were all people placed close to CASTRO, and they had access to the keys to the

arms depots throughout Cuba. It was their intention to open these and give arms to

anybody willing to take them. They hoped by this means to provoke a general uprising.

Subject said that he had had enough of such plots. He felt that if this one didn't come off

right away it wouldn't come off at all, and that he was too hot to stay in Havana any

longer to wait for it.

12. Subject said that Ramon FONT who works with Alberto FERNANDEZ of the

Tejana was a member of the UR now in Miami who could confirm his identity and role

in the underground in Cuba.

13.. In commenting on his experiences in the recent past Subject said that from the

standpoint of the underground the invasion came three of four weeks too soon. Not

enough people had received arms to enable them to engage in combat. He also said

that if they had received some warning of the air attack they would at least have been

able to get ready to use the arms they had. As it was they were completely paralyzed.

He believes that now it is very difficult to hide or transport arms and that in any future

uprising the delivery of arms will have to be more or less simultaneous to all groups and

will have to take place at the time that we want the uprising to begin. The groups can be

organized in advance and the places for the arms deliveries selected, but the actual

delivery would have to be done in the manner described.

06

14. He knew of a UR leader named JUSTO who was supposed to be a very capable

fle did not know if JUSTO was still at liberty or not.

06

END OF DISPATCH

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