Airgram
Originator: Embassy Madrid
From: Madrid
To: DOS
Document date: 07/22/1963
Document type: PAPER-TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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176-10036-10046

2023 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY : NARA

RECORD NUMBER : 176-10036-10046

RECORD SERIES : National Security Files

AGENCY FILE NUMBER :

ORIGINATOR : Embassy Madrid

FROM : Madrid

TO : DOS

TITLE : Airgram

DATE: 7/22/1963

PAGES : 3

SUBJECTS :

DOCUMENT TYPE :

CLASSIFICATION :

RESTRICTIONS :

CURRENT STATUS :

DATE OF LAST REVIEW : 9/10/2000

OPENING CRITERIA :

COMMENTS : National Security Files, Box 44: Cuba Cables, 7/16/63-7/31/63. Box 1

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

AIRGRAM

POL 30.0U04

FOR MUSCiONEY

4-62

NO.

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INFO

3 VIENNA

Department of State 24

GROUP. 4

tul Dowagraded at 3-year intervals.

Declassified 12 years after

date of origin

ANALYSIS & DISTRIBUTION

SRANCH

FROM :

Amembassy MADRID

DATE: July 22, 1963

SUBJECT

Cuban Cultural Counselor in Vienna Defects to Spain

REF

Aldo MaNaNDEZ Peret, Culturel Counselor of the Cuban Legation in

Vienne; who defected to Spain, visited the Embassy July 17 and was

received by Mr. E. J. HILLIAMSON and the reporting officer. Through

GAS channels, the Embassy had already received a report on a Spanish

police interrogation of Menendez, held & few days earlier.

Menendez related that he had held his job in Vienna since November

1961 and that he had left on account of ideological incompatibility witk

the Castro regime. He gave as the reason for his late defection, the fact

that he was trying to convince his wife to accompany him; she refused and,

as far as he knows, is still in Vienna and will return to Cuba.:

According to Menendez, there remain three officers in the Gubar

Legation in Vienna, all of them thoroughly convinced communists.

Charge d'Affaires Amado PAINQUE, & Commist theorist, was sent frui

Havana to replace Fernando CAINZA, Who also defected

to Spain (See

Airgram 1-520) Akrs. Pelenque is also accredited to the Austrian Governa

ment, and has the title of Third Secretary. The third officer is Roberto

BIHAR, Mrst Secretary of legation, a forceful man of little education.

Menendez considers Mrs. Palengue very clever and thinks she really runs

the offloe.: Described

as security-conscious, Mrs. Palenque has the keys

to the safe, bandles all classified correspondence, and in not above

listening in on telephone conversations made through the Legation switch-

board. She is in charge of the two-key safe.

The only other Cuban Government employee residing in Vienns is Luis

Orlando RODRIGUEZ, Cuben Ambassador to the Atomic Energy Commission.

Kenendez, interestingly enough, described Rodriguez in terns similar to

PORN OS- 323

д. 02

Gillandauseg.

FOR DEPT. ISE ONLY

100:

7-19-63

By

Coarcat

pao classicacon approver by?

DECLASSIFIED

_NARS, Date 919180

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A-62-snadid

those used by CAINZA during his interview with Embassy officers. Both of them

thought that Rodriguez was a decent fellow end an anti-communist.. However, he

was in 111 health and had a wife and & number of children, which nade 1t difficult

for him to break with the Castro regine. Menendez expressed the opinion thst

Rodriguez was saving some money to be prepared for the day when he receives

orders to return to Hevans, at which tine he would most likely disregard bie

instruction and remain outside of Cuba. His wife is outspokenly anti-commnistic.

Henendez described the Legation as not being exactly a hotbed of activity.

Chores are minor and involve mainly contact with other bloc diplomatic repre-

sentatives and increasingly closer contact with the Austrian Commist Party.

While under Gainza's regime locals were hired by the Legation; now they are taker.

on only upon recommendation by the Austrian CP.

KOPINIG, FISCHUR and otber Austrien Communist leaders were frequent visitors

to the Cuban legation, Menendez said, as was an Austrien newspaperman by the name

A1?

of Bruno FREY, Who had lived some time in Mexico. Menendez believed that Frey

"es on the cuban payroll, turnishing political information on the austrian scene.

Prey's daughter, Elizabeth, was employed by the Legation as a receptionist.

Frontl

Formerly, the Legation employed a Peruvian by the name of DI. José CALDERÓN as

Calderon, however, stauchly anti-communistic and a good Catholic,

wy1. Nowas firedo. He was replaced by a lady with the first name of dora, recommended by

Dr plian the Austrian CP. Another Austrian woman, whose name Menendez did not recall,

Turnagsists her part time.

The Palenques live in the same building in which the

Legation is. located, on Wiedner Hauptstrasse No. 47, but on & different floor.

Behar lives nearby.

NATA

Menendez described his own work as insignificant, and said he was mainly

concerned with the nonthly mailing of 2000 copies of & cultural magazine, which

was edited in Havana but translated into German by the Legation. Additional copies

were given out by the legation to visitors. Moreover, he attended eultural

functions and lectured in Austrian institutes of higher learning on Cuba. He also

assioted in the recent drive of the Cuban Government for the hiring of foreigm

technicians and interviewed Austrian technicians Interested in working in Cube.

He set the number of those interviered at sit. Menendez claimed not to have hac

to classified inforiation and said that Mrs. Palenque, who controlled the

safe was so careful, that he was not able to take eny papers out when he defectedo

He claimed to have had no knowledge of the intelligence and communications wors

transnittal to Prague and onward to Hevena. A Cuban diplonatic courier came

once

a nonth on a swing through the European capitals.

There was only one Cuban student in justria.

He was David GARCIA Sentamaria,

studying in Graz.

In Menendez' opinion, Garcia ras disillusioned with castro

and would probably not return to Cuba.

A visitor frequently seen in the Legation was DOMINGUEZ (fnu), a Spanish exile,

who was active in the World Peace Organization. Menendez recalled also that

during the last few months, he had seen three Americans at the legation. Ore w3s a

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Lage

A-62, Sadna

student,

thon he characterized as a beatnik type who cane with a girl, who

probably was also an American, inquiring about the possibility of obtaining & visa

For Cuba.

The second man, whose name he believed to häve been Robert GOOD; came

five or six times. in June.

le was also interested. in going to Cuba. He thought

that bir. Good was about 30 years old. Finally, about eight monthe ago a

Mr. PORTER called

at the legation.

Mr. Porter, who returned to the Legation in

June, claimed to be an ex-serviceman; to have been in the US Army and to have

participated in the Normandy landings. Porter described himself as a student of

history and sociology at the University of Vienna and asked

for magazines and

books about present day Cuba.

Menendez was reluctant to tell anything about his training for his job,

and clained

! to have been instructed briefly in the Foreign Office by RUIZ DE VELASCO

on cultural

affairs.

He alleged that he received his position through a passing

goquaintence with Cuba's present Ambassador to Bolivia Roberto AJA, whom he

befriended during the Batista regime.

Comments. From Menendez' story and the Spanish police report it appears that

his motivation for defection was only in part-if at all-connected with his

ideological opposition to Castro. At the Legation; working as a receptionist-

typist was & Spanish girl, Matilde HERRERA, and it seems that Merendez got

enotionally involved with her, and when he received orders to return he abandoned

his wife and son and followed her to spain, where she had gone a few days before

It would appear that Menendez had a more active part in the operation of the

Legation than he admits, and at least in the times of Gainza had access to

classified material. This he plays dom, because his stay in Spain depends on bie

ability to convince the Spanish authorities that he had never been a Commmist and

that he is only a snall fish. Additional debriefing on sone intelligence points

"will. be

conducted through CAS channels.

FOR THE AMBASSADOR

LungelenO, Vitos

Livingston D. Hatrous

Counselor of Embessy

for Political Affairs

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