"CUBA
TODAY"
A Channel 4 Special Report 28 July 1959
[REFERENCE: County Intelligence File "Cuban
Revolution File" 1959, #18335]
"CUBA TODAY"
A SPECIAL
WTVJ NEWS REPORT
TUESDAY - JULY 28, 1959
9:30 - 10:00 P.M.
PRODUCED BY: WTVJ NEWS
DIRECTED BY: MARTIN SAXON
REPORTERS: KEITH LESLIE
RON OPPEN
PHOTOGRAPHERS: AL DEMPSEY
LOTHAR GRAF
FILM EDITOR: JOE MARTINEZ
NARRATED BY: RALPH RENICK
_________________________
VIDEO AUDIO OPENING
DISS: FILM - SOF
CUBANS MARCHING
SUPER: TITLES
RENICK CU THEN
ZOOM BACK TO INCL
R.S. MAP OF CUBA
RENICK: GOOD EVENING. THIS IS RALPH RENICK. OUR NEIGHBOR
IS HAVING SOME TROUBLE. YOU MIGHT CALL IT A DOMESTIC SQUABBLE.
AND OUR NEIGHBOR IS ALSO HAVING DIFFICULTY MEETING SOME OF THE FIRST OF
THE MONTH BILLS.
ALTHOUGH YOU NORMALLY WOULD LIKE TO DO WHAT YOU CAN TO HELP A NEIGHBOR
IN TROUBLE...YOU DON'T BARGE INTO THESE DELICATE PERSONAL AFFAIRS.
HE HAS TO WORK OUT HIS OWN DIFFICULTIES.
BUT ALTHOUGH YOU CAN'T STEP IN TO HELP, YOU DON'T SIT ON THE SIDELINES
CALLING HIM NAMES...UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR NEIGHBOR TO TURN INTO YOUR ENEMY.
OUR NEIGHBOR IN THIS CASE IS CUBA...LESS THAN ONE HOUR BY AIR FROM MIAMI.
THIS COUNTRY IS NOW IN THE HANDS OF ONE MAN...FIDEL CASTRO. HIS PLACE
IN THE HISTORY BOOKS HAS ALREADY BEEN ASSURED.
CASTRO'S PATH TO GLORY BEGAN ON JULY 26TH, 1953, DURING AN UNSUCCESSFUL
ATTEMPT TO OVERTHROW AN ARMY BARRACKS IN SANTIAGO DE CUBA. FIVE AND A HALF
YEARS LATER HE WAS TOP MAN IN THAT COUNTRY:
DISS: FILM SILENT
PREPARATION & PARADE
MUSIC: SE, CROWDS
FILM: SPARKLERS
(RENICK) (VO) THIS WEEKEND... HAVANA WAS ONCE AGAIN THE GAY CITY.
IT WAS THE 26TH OF JULY ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION. SATURDAY NIGHT...A HALF MILLION
PEASANTS, OR CAMPESINOS...STREAMED INTO THE CITY...INVITED BY FIDEL.
WORKMEN HAMMERED AND SAWED THROUGH THE NIGHT...PREPARING FOR BLEACHERS WHICH
WOULD BE PACKED WITH JUBILANT CELEBRANTS FOUND AN OUTLET FOR THEIR HIGH
SPIRITS BY HURLING SPARKLERS BACK AND FORTH AT EACH OTHER...FROM STREET
TO BLEACHERS, AND BACK. AGAIN. THE PRADO WAS FILLED WITH REJOICING CUBANS
FROM MIDNIGHT ON.
FILM: SUNDAY MORNING
SUNDAY MORNING... THE FIRST CONTINGENT OF PARADERS FILED PAST THE REVIEWED
STAND. THE CAPITOL SQUARE WAS PACKED WITH A CHEERING GOOD-NATURED
MOB, WILLING TO WITHSTAND SUFFOCATING HEAT FOR A CHANCE TO SHOW THEIR SUPPORT
OF CASTRO.
PLANES ROARED OVERHEAD AS CUBA'S MAN OF THE HOUR WATCHED HIS PEOPLE, AND
HEAVY WEAPONS PARADE TRIUMPHANTLY BY. (HOLD)
GRIM LOOKING WOMEN TROOPS DREW LOUD APPLAUSE...AS DID VETERANS OF THE SIERRA
MAESTRA WARFARE.
(HOLD - MEN ON HORSEBACK)
FOR THE GRAND FINALE... HUNDREDS OF PEASANTS RODE THROUGH THE CRUSHING
CROWD...ON HORSES THAT HAD CARRIED THEM FROM ONE END OF THE ISLAND TO THE
OTHER. THEY'RE FIDEL'S MOST ARDENT SUPPORTERS. (HOLD-RAUL)
FILM: PARADE
FIDEL'S BROTHER, RAUL, SHARES THE LIMELIGHT...BUT NOT THE WILD ADULATION
DIRECTED AT THE ELDER CASTRO. FIDEL IS THE FIRST MAN IN CUBAN HISTORY
TO MAKE ANY CONCRETE EFFORT TO RELIEVE THE HOPELESS EXISTENCE OF THE CAMPESINOS..ALL
THEIR HOPE IS CENTERED ON HIM. (HOLD-HELICOPTER)
GROUND TRANSPORTATION IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR FIDEL TO USE IN A CELEBRATION SUCH
AS THIS.
A HELICOPTER CARRIES HIM FROM PLACE TO PLACE. WHERE EVER CASTRO IS...THERE
IS THE CELEBRATION:
(HOLD - BALCONY SHOT)
IT WAS AT THE MODERNISTIC PLAZA CIVICA THAT CASTRO TOOK THE STAND TO ANNOUNCE
HE WOULD RESUME THE JOB OF PRIME MINISTER. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CAME
AS A SURPRISE TO NOBODY...BUT WHATEVER TITLE CASTRO HOLDS HE'S STILL THE
UNQUESTIONED TOP MAN IN CUBA. IT WAS FROM THIS PODIUM THAT CASTRO
ANNOUNCED THAT THE MACHETE WOULD HENCEFORTH BE KNOWN AS THE SYMBOL OF THE
REVOLUTION.
CUT TO: PARTY-SOF
(FADE IN SOUND SLOWLY)
DOUBLE PROJECTOR AT
OPPEN'S CUE
RENICK: WTVJ NEWS WENT TO SUBURBAN MIRAMAR TO THE HOME OF HECTOR
AND EVANGELINE RIVERO.. WHO LIKE THOUSANDS OF OTHER HABANEROS...OPENED THEIR
HOMES TO THE CAMPESINOS. THESE PEASANTS HAD DRIVEN BY TRUCK FROM ORIENTE
PROVINCE IN SOUTHEAST CUBA. LISTEN NOW TO MUSIC FROM THE HINTERLANDS.
(HOLD - COP DANCING)
FILM: PARTY CONT.
THIS CELEBRATION STOPPED TRAFFIC FOR FIVE BLOCKS ALONG FIFTH AVENUE.
POLICE DROVE ALONG THE SIDEWALK TO FIND THE SOURCE OF THE TRAFFIC JAM.
THE GAIETY WAS CONTAGIOUS...AND EVEN THE POLICE JOINED THE IMPROMPTU CELEBRATION.
(HOLD TO END OF SOUND PIECE)
DISS: RENICK IN FRONT OF R.P. MAP
RENICK: CASTRO WANTED THE JULY 26TH CELEBRATION TO BE A SHOW
OF STRENGTH... TO PARADE BEFORE THE WORLD THE PEOPLE HE WANTS TO HELP...THE
CAMPESINOS..THE RANK AND FILE OF THE CUBAN POPULATION. THE CELEBRATION
WAS A SUCCESS. EVERYBODY...YOU MIGHT SAY...HAD A GOOD TIME.
BUT, UNDERLYING THE FESTIVAL IS THE QUESTION.."IN REALITY, HOW ROSY IS
EVERYTHING IN CUBA?" CASTRO OVERTHREW FULGENCIO BATISTA BY MILITARY
REVOLUTION. NOW CASTRO IS TRYING TO REVOLUTIONIZE THE CUBAN ECONOMY...BY
SPREADING THE INCOME AMONG ALL CLASSES. TOP ITEM ON THE PROGRAM...IS
REFORMA AGRARIA..THE LAND REFORM.
DISS: FILM-SILENT FARM LANDS
RENICK: (VO) THERE'S NOTHING POOR ABOUT CUBA'S LAND. IT'S
AMONG THE MOST FERTILE IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. VIRTUALLY ALL OF IT IS
OWNED IN MAMMOTH TRACTS BY WEALTHY LANDHOLDERS..WITH FAMILIES HOLDING THE
TITLE FOR GENERATIONS. THE PEASANTS WORK FOR WAGES THAT GIVE THEM ENOUGH
TO SUBSIST ON...NOTHING MORE.
FILM - FARM LANDS
(CONT'D)
EVEN THOUGH LAND IS SO FERTILE THAT A FENCEPOST WILL SPROUT LEAVES AND
GROW A TREE...POVERTY HOLDS THE VAST MAJORITY IN ITS CLUTCHES. EACH
OF THE WORKERS YOU SEE HERE IS TO BE GIVEN 66 ACRES OF HIS OWN TO FARM.
PROPERTY WILL BE EXPROPRIATED FROM THE WEALTHY LANDOWNERS...THEY WILL BE
PAID IN 20-YEAR...FOUR AND A HALF PERCENT BONDS. BIG LANDOWNERS..CUBAN
AND AMERICAN...DON'T LIKE THE IDEA ONE BIT. EVEN CASTRO'S ADMINISTRATORS
ADMIT THAT THE TAKE NOW...PAY LATER PLAN IS ENCOUNTERING MASSIVE TECHNICAL
PROBLEMS.
SWISH TO PALM BEACH
(HOLD - PALM BEACH)
CUBA'S AGRICULTURAL PROBLEM IS HEIGHTENED BY U.S. IMPORT QUOTAS. SUGAR
IMPORTATION IS STRICTLY LIMITED. THIS YEAR THE QUOTA WAS REACHED EARLIER
THAN USUAL. ALL SUGAR ARRIVING FROM CUBA INTO THE PORT OF PALM BEACH
MUST NOW BE STORED AT THE DOCK UNTIL JANUARY OF 1960 WHEN THE NEW QUOTA
WILL GO INTO EFFECT. BY THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST THERE WILL BE STORED
IN WAREHOUSES AT WEST PALM BEACH ABOUT ELEVEN MILLION POUNDS OF CUBAN SUGAR.
(HOLD NEWS CONF)
SWISH TO NEWS CONF.
SILENT, THEN SOF
IN WASHINGTON THE CHIEF OF CUBA'S LAND REFORM... CAPTAIN ANTONIO NUNEZ
JIMENEZ...EXPLAINS THE PROGRAM...INSISTING THAT AMERICAN PROPERTY OWNERS
WILL BE COMPENSATED...JIMINEZ SAYS AN AMERICAN...NOT COMMUNIST...FORMULA
HAS BEEN USED.
NEWS CONFERENCE
SOF
FILM - SOUND
(JIMENEZ: SOF) (INTERPRETER SPEAKS FOR JIMENEZ) THE CUBAN AGRARIAN
REFORM HAS USED AS MODELS THE AGRARIAN REFORMS AS STARTED IN JAPAN BY THE
U.S. ARMY OF OCCUPATION, BY THE PUERTO RICAN AGRARIAN REFORMS AND MANY OTHERS.
(REPORTER:) CAPTAIN, ARE YOU A COMMUNIST? THAT CHARGE
HAS BEEN MADE HERE.
(JIMENEZ ANSWERS IN SPANISH - INTERPRETER REPLIES) HE CAN ONLY
SAY THAT HE IS NOT AND HAS NEVER BEEN A COMMUNIST. HOWEVER, THE CHARGES
OF TREASON AGAINST DIAZ LANZ HAS CERTAINLY BEEN PROVED. DIAZ
LANZ IS THE BENEDICT ARNOLD OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION.
DISS. RENICK IN FRT OF R.P. MAP
RENICK: BESIDE THE LAND REFORM LAW...OTHER REVOLUTIONARY LAWS
HAVE BEEN STRONGLY CRITICIZED. FROM HAVANA...HERE'S WTVJ NEWSMAN KEITH
LESLIE.
DISS: FILM-SOF DOUBLE PROJECTOR ON OPPEN'S CUE:
SOF: KEITH LESLIE
FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, HAVANA HAS BEEN IN THE MIDST OF A BUILDING
ROOM. HUGE APARTMENTS SUCH AS THIS ONE IN SUBURBAN VEDADO HAVE SPRUNG
UP ALL OVER. HOWEVER, AT THIS TIME, PRIVATE CONSTRUCTION, APARTMENT
BUILDINGS AND OTHERWISE, IS AT A STANDSTILL. UNDER A REVOLUTIONARY LAW,
OWNERS OF APARTMENT BUILDINGS, SUCH AS THESE, FOUND THEIR RENTS WERE SLASHED
FROM THIRTY TO FIFTY PERCENT. THEREFORE, NO INVESTOR WANTS TO TAKE
THE RISK OF NEW CONSTRUCTION. THE BUSINESS AND SHOPS SUCH AS YOU SEE
HERE DEPEND HEAVILY UPON INSTALLMENT BUYING. THEREFORE, IT WAS A BLOW
TO THE PROPRIETOR OF THESE BUSINESSES WHEN THE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT UNEQUIVOCALLY
EXTENDED THE INSTALLMENT TIME FROM 18 TO 26 MONTHS WITH NO INCREASE IN INTEREST
RATES. AS HAS BEEN THE CASE WITH OTHER REVOLUTIONARY LAWS THIS ONE
HAS HAD THE EFFECT OF BENEFITTING THE CUBAN OF THE LOWER INCOME CLASS WHILE
BEING HARMFUL TO THE MIDDLE CLASS BUSINESSMAN, UPON WHOM CUBA MUST ULTIMATELY
DEPEND FOR A CONSIDERABLY SHARE OF HER ECONOMY. WHATEVER ILL MAY BE
SAID ABOUT THE CASTRO GOVERNMENT, AND ITS DETECTORS CAN FIND PLENTY, EVEN
ITS HARSHEST CRITICS MUST ADMIT THAT THE CASTRO GOVERNMENT IS EXTREMELY CLEAN
AND COMPLETELY FREE FROM ANY TAINT OF CORRUPTION. ONE BUSINESSMAN TOLD
ME THAT OVERNIGHT CUBA HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED FROM THE MOST CORRUPT IN THE
WORLD TO ONE OF THE CLEANEST - CLEANER EVEN, I BELIEVE, THAN THE SWILL GOVERNMENT.
HERETOFORE, THE OCCUPANCY OF ANY OFFICIAL POSITION FROM TRAFFIC COP TO CUSTOMS
INSPECTOR ENTITLED ITS BEARER BY THE VERY FACT THAT HE OCCUPIED THIS OFFICE
TO THE MAXIMUM IN GRAFT PAYOFFS THAT HE COULD ACQUIRE. THIS HAS ALL
CHANGED. DIRECTLY BEHIND ME IS THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE CUBAN CUSTOMS.
UNDER THE BATISTA ADMINISTRATION THIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST LUCRATIVE CONCESSIONS
WHICH COULD BE OFFERED TO THE SERVANTS OF THE GOVERNMENT. IN THE MONTHS
SINCE THE CASTRO REGIME HAS TAKEN OVER, IMPORTS HAVE FALLEN OFF BY FORTY
PERCENT. HOWEVER, THE INCOME FROM TARIFF DUTIES AND CUSTOM TAXES HAS
INCREASED BY OVER ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT.
THESE CUBANOS ARE ATTENDING THE CUBAN INDUSTRIAL EXPOSITION. FIRST
DISPLAY OF ITS TYPE EVER HELD IN THIS COUNTRY. THIS IS AN IMPRESSIVE
EFFORT TO SHOW THE CUBANS THAT THEIR GOVERNMENT IS DOING GREAT THINGS IN
THE SUPPORT OF INDUSTRY. THE ENTIRE MASSIVE AFFAIR, HERE IN THE CUBAN
CAPITOL BUILDING, IS SETTING CARIBBEAN ATTENDANCE FIGURES. THREE-QUARTERS
OF A MILLION PERSONS HAVE JAMMED THROUGH THE DOORS TO VIEW ONE AND A HALF
MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF EXHIBITS. EMPRESSARIO OF THE AFFAIR IS A MIAMI
MAN - JEROME J. BERGER - WHO FINALLY SUCCEEDED AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF NEGOTIATING
WITH THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT.
PARAMOUNT INDUSTRY OF CUBA IS, OF COURSE, SUGAR. IT CONTRIBUTES SIX-
HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIVE MILLION DOLLARS TO THE ECONOMY EACH YEARS.
WITHIN THE LAST TWO MONTHS, AN ENTIRELY NEW BY-PRODUCT INDUSTRY HAS DEVELOPED.
BAGASSE BOARD - A STRONG WALL BOARD IS BEING MADE OF SUGARCANE. UP
TO THIS TIME THE CANE HAS BEEN DESTROYED OR USED FOR CATTLE FEED. FIDEL
CASTRO IS WELL-KNOWN AS A SUPER-SALESMAN. JUST HOW EFFECTIVE THIS
PROGRAM HERE HAS BEEN CANNOT BE DETERMINED BUT IT IS CERTAIN THAT AMERICAN,
CUBAN AND OTHER BUSINESSMEN WILL BE CONVINCED OF THEIR FUTURE ONLY AFTER
THEY SEE THE INTEREST RETURNING ON THEIR INVESTMENTS AND A FAIR PRICE, IN
HARD CASH, FOR THEIR CAPITAL INVESTED HERE DURING THE PREVIOUS YEARS.
THIS IS LA CABANA FORTRESS - ONE OF HAVANA'S BEST KNOWN LAND MARKS.
FIDEL CASTRO, AS ONE OF HIS FIRST MOVES AFTER BECOMING PREMIER, APPOINTED
ERNESTO CHE GUEVARA TO BE COMMANDANT OF LA CABANA FORTRESS. THIS WAS
VIEWED WITH SOME ALARM IN WESTERN CIRCLES SINCE GUEVARA IS KNOWN TO BE A
FAR LEFT COMMUNIST SYMPATHIZER. A FEW WEEKS AGO, FIDEL CASTRO DIRECTED
CHE GUEVARA TO TAKE A ROUND-THE- WORLD TRIP - A GOOD-WILL TOUR, AS IT WERE
--TO TELL THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTION TO OTHER COUNTRIES. WITHIN A
FEW DAYS, AFTER GUEVARA HAD LEFT ON HIS GOOD-WILL TOUR, CASTRO SAID THAT
LA CABANA FORTRESS WAS TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO A HISTORICAL MUSEUM.
HENCEFORTH, IT WOULD BE OPEN ONLY TO TOURISTS - ALL THE SOLDIERS WERE BEING
TAKEN FROM THE FORTRESS. SO CHE GUEVARA WILL RETURN TO FIND HIMSELF
COMMANDANT OF A FORTRESS THAT HAS NO TROOPS. HIS FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN.
PERHAPS HE WILL BE PROMOTED UPSTAIRS. SYMPATHIZERS OF THE UNITED STATES
AND THOSE WHO ARE PRO-CASTRO SEE THIS AS A HOPEFUL NOTE THAT CASTRO IS KEEPING
CONTROL OF WHATEVER COMMUNISTS MAY EXIST IN HIS GOVERNMENT.
DISS: RENICK IN FRT OF R.P.
(CASTRO'S FACE)
RENICK: THOSE ARE SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT CHANGES MADE BY
CASTRO'S NEW GOVERNMENT. EVEN HIS STRONGEST SUPPORTERS IN THE INNER
CIRCLE OF GOVERNMENT WOULD NEVER CLAIM THAT CASTRO IS WITHOUT FAULT.
IF HE IS NOT THE MOST IMPULSIVE GOVERNMENT LEADER IN THE WORLD...HE RANKS
NOT FAR BEHIND. AND GOVERNMENT BY IMPULSE IS A SHAKY GOVERNMENT..AT BEST.
DISS: FILM - SILENT
CASTRO SPKS.
RENICK" (VO) CASTRO HAS BEEN REPEATEDLY CHARGED WITH BEING COMMUNIST-DOMINATED.
BUT THOSE CLOSE TO HIM SAY HE'S FAR TOO MUCH OF AN INDIVIDUALIST TO SUBMIT
TO THE MOSCOW LINE...OR ANY LINE FOR THAT MATTER. HE WILL NOT BE DICTATED
TO BY ANYONE...AND THAT INCLUDES THE UNITED STATES. IF A MEMBER OF
CASTRO'S TEAM DOESN'T PRODUCE RESULTS HIS DISMISSAL WILL BE SWIFT AND FINAL...OR,
AS IN THE CASE OF PRESIDENT MANUEL URRETIA..HUMILIATING AS WELL. THE
CUBAN LEADER IS RIDING A WAVE OF POPULARITY..AND REACTS TO CRITICISM AS HE
WOULD TO A BEE STING. HE PERMITS RELATIVE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS...BUT
DOESN'T HESITATE TO REBUKE JOURNALISTS WHO MAY HAVE STEPPED ON HIS TOES.
DISS: RENICK IN FRT R.P.
CASTRO'S FACE
RENICK: CASTRO'S OPPOSITION STEM FROM THREE MAJOR SOURCES.
FIRST...FORMER BATISTA SUPPORTERS WHO HATE HIM FOR DESTROYING THEIR REGIME.
SECOND, LARGE LAND AND PROPERTY OWNERS. BOTH AMERICAN AND CUBAN...WHO
HAVE BEEN HURT...OR FEAR THEY WILL BE HURT..BY THE NEW LAWS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY
GOVERNMENT.
VIDEO
RENICK: (VO) AND THIRD..BY DISENCHANTED SUPPORTERS WHO FEEL
THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT PROCEEDING IN THE DIRECTION THEY HAD HOPED IT
WOULD. IN SOME CASES...THESE SUPPORTERS FOUGHT WITH DEDICATION EQUAL
TO CASTRO'S TO BRING THIS VICTORY ABOUT. HERE'S CAPTAIN UMBERTO RODRIGUEZ..ONE
OF THESE SUPPORTERS..
INTERVIEWED BY WTVJ NEWSMAN RON OPPEN: (SOF)
DISS: FILM - SOF
OPPEN INTERVIEWING
RODRIGUEZ:
(OPPEN) HOW LONG WERE YOU WITH FIDEL CASTRO?
(RODRIGUEZ) 23 MONTHS
(OPPEN) WHEN DID YOU JOIN HIM?
(RODRIGUEZ) I JOINED HIM THE BEGINNING OF MAY 1957
(OPPEN) THIS WAS IN ORIENTE PROVINCE?
(RODRIGUEZ) YES, IN ORIENTE PROVINCE
(OPPEN) CAPTAIN, WHY DID YOU LEAVE CUBA?
(RODRIGUEZ) I LEFT CUBA IN A SMALL BOAT. I ESCAPED FROM PRISON.
I WAS ACCUSED OF GIVING AN ORDER TO KILL A TOP COMMUNIST MAN.
(OPPEN) AND WERE YOU CONVICTED OF THIS?
(RODRIGUEZ) YES, THE CONVICT ME. 20 YEARS.
(OPPEN) DURING HIS FIGHT, WAS HE SUPPORTED BY THE COMMUNISTS?
(RODRIGUEZ) HE WAS SUPPORTED BY THE COMMUNISTS.
(OPPEN) IN WHAT WAY
(RODRIGUEZ) WITH MONEY
(OPPEN) IN YOUR OPINION, WHO ARE THE TOP COMMUNISTS IN
CUBA, TODAY?
(RODRIGUEZ) THE TOP COMMUNISTS IN CUBA, TODAY, ARE RAUL CASTRO,
CHE GUEVARA AND CASTRO HIMSELF.
(OPPEN) YOU THINK CASTRO, HIMSELF, IS A COMMUNIST?
(RODRIGUEZ) YES, YOU KNOW, THE WAY THAT HE ACTS, HE HAS TO BE
A COMMUNISTS DO WHATEVER THEY WANT.
(OPPEN) AND DID CASTRO SAY THAT WHEN THEY REVOLUTION WAS
OVER THAT HE WOULD CONTINUE TO USE THE COMMUNISTS?
(RODRIGUEZ) HE SAID THAT HE WAS NOT GOING TO USE THE COMMUNIST
ANYMORE. THAT WHEN THE REVOLUTION WAS OVER..HE WAS USING THEM ONLY
BECAUSE HE NEEDED THEM (AT) THAT TIME BUT HE DOUBLE CROSSED THE REAL REVOLUTION
BECAUSE WE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY AND FREEDOM. WE DON'T WANT, I SAY BECAUSE
I AM A REBEL, AND I FIGHT MORE THAN CASTRO AND RAUL, TOGETHER...I GOT MORE
COMBAT THAN BOTH. I FIGHT FOR MY COUNTRY. I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY...AND
I DON'T WANT TO SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CUBA NOW...THAT PEOPLE THAT ARE
COMMUNISTS OR PEOPLE THAT LIKE COMMUNISTS ARE THE ONES THAT GOT THE POSITIONS...THE
STRONGEST POSITIONS IN CUBA RIGHT NOW.
(OPPEN) WHAT IS THE FEELING IN CUBA, NOW, TOWARDS THE
UNITED STATES?
(ROD) THE FEELING IN CUBA TO THE UNITED STATES - THE CASTRO GOVERNMENT
IS TEACHING THE CUBAN PEOPLE TO HATE THE UNITED STATES.
CUT: FILM - SILENT
PAULA'S RESTAURANT
RENICK: (VO) LAST MONTH THE OWNER OF THIS DOWNTOWN MIAMI RESTAURANT
EMERGED UNHURT AFTER A WOULD-BE ASSASSIN PUMPED FOUR BULLETS THROUGH THE
FRONT DOOR. THE MAN IS
JOSEPH PAULA..MIAMI VICE PRESIDENT OF CASTRO'S
26TH OF JULY PARADE. HE'S ONE OF THE CUBAN LEADER'S STRONGEST FLORIDA
SUPPORTERS. IN THIS INTERVIEW..HE DENIES THE COMMUNIST CHARGE:
DISS: FILM - SOF
OPPEN INTERVIEWING PAULA
(OPPEN) IN YOUR OPINION, IS THERE ANY TRUTH TO THE CHARGE THAT
CASTRO HAS SURROUNDED HIMSELF WITH COMMUNISTS?
(PAULA) WELL, I WOULD SAY THAT IS SLANDER, BECAUSE EVEN THE
NEW PRESIDENT OF CUBA, A FEW DAYS AGO, YOU COULD READ IN THE AMERICAN PRESS,
WHERE HE CHALLENGED ANY NEWSPAPERMAN TO PROVE. HE HAS ANY COMMUNISTS
IN HIS GOVERNMENT. IN FACT, HE HAS INVITED ONE hundred AND FIFTY NEWSPAPERMEN
TO GO TO CUBA TO SEE. (OPPEN) TO GO TO CUBA TO SEE I THERE ARE COMMUNISTS
IN GOVERNMENT
(PAULA) YES. THAT'S RIGHT.
(OPPEN) IS CASTRO AS POPULAR NOW WITH THE MIDDLE CLASSES
AS HE WAS DURING THE REVOLUTION?
(PAULA) HE IS STILL POPULAR AMONG THE MIDDLE CLASSES.
IN FACT. THE OTHER DAY WHEN HE RESIGNED AS PREMIER OF CUBA, YOU COULD
SEE THAT THE PRESENT INFLUENCE WITH THE MIDDLE CLASS IN CUBA, THEY WERE
THE FIRST ONES TO WALK OUT IN PROTEST O HIS RESIGNATION IN CUBA. ALSO,
DOCTORS, LAWYERS AND PROFESSIONALS OF ALL TYPES -- THEY PROTEST AND
WENT ALSO ON STRIKE AND THAT'S THE MIDDLE CLASS OF CUBA.
(OPPEN) DOES FULCENSIO BATISTA HAVE MANY ARMED SUPPORTERS
IN CUBA?
(PAULA) WELL, I BELIEVE HE HAS A FEW, YET, OVER THERE IN CUBA,
BUT NOT ENOUGH TO HAVE A REVOLUTION INSIDE OF CUBA.
(OPPEN) DOES HE HAVE ANY SUPPORTERS OUTSIDE OF CUBA.
(PAULA) HE HAS MANY SUPPORTERS OUTSIDE OF CUBA AND I IMAGINE,
RIGHT NOW, IN SANTO DOMINGO, THEY ARE TRAINING HUNDREDS
OF MEN TO INVADE CUBA.
(OPPEN) DO YOU BELIEVE THEN THAT CASTRO WILL HAVE TO FACE A
COUNTER REVOLUTION?
(PAULA) I BELIEVE SO. NOT ONLY IN SANTO DOMINGO BUT I
UNDERSTAND IN SOME O THE LATIN COUNTRIES THEY ARE TRAINING MEN OF ALL
KINDS TO INVADE CUBA. I UNDERSTAND THEY HAVE AIRPLANES TO BOMB HAVANA.
(OPPEN) DO YOU THINK CASTRO WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IN TURNING BACK
THIS COUNTER-REVOLUTION?
(PAULA) THERE'S NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. THERE'S NO DOUBT.
THE PEOPLE IN CUBA ARE NINETY-PERCENT IN BACK OF CASTRO. IN CASE OF
AN INVASION, EVEN THE CHILDREN, WOMEN, EVERYBODY WILL FIGHT
AGAINST INVASION. THEY WILL BE VICTORIOUS.
(OPPEN) WHY HAS CASTRO BEEN CHARGED, THEN, SO MANY TIMES AS
HAVING COMMUNISTS IN CUBA?
(PAULA) BECAUSE CASTRO IS A MAN WHO IS FIGHTING FOR THE BETTERMENT
OF THE CUBAN PEOPLE, TODAY. CASTRO PROGRAM IS TO
BRING OUT THE STANDARD OF LIVING FOR THE CUBAN MASSES. IN OTHER WORDS,
WHEN HE BRINGS UP THE STANDARD OF LIVING - THAT MEANS THE WAGES WILL GO UP
HIGHER. THAT MEANS AMERICAN INTERESTS, CUBAN INTERESTS
AND EVERYBODY WHO HAVE INTERESTS IN CUBA WILL HAVE TO PAY HIGHER WAGES. AND
THAT IS WHY THEY ARE FIGHTING CASTRO AND IT IS A MISTAKE TO ACCUSE HIM OF
BEING A COMMUNIST BECAUSE HE IS ONLY A GREAT CUBAN.
(OPPEN) WELL, YOU THINK THAT THESE BUSINESS INTERESTS THEN ACCUSE
HIM OF BEING A COMMUNIST IN ORDER TO DISCREDIT THE GOVERNMENT?
(PAULA) ABSOLUTELY. THAT'S RIGHT.
(OPPEN) ISN'T CASTRO'S LAND REFORM BASICALLY A COMMUNIST TACTIC?
(PAULA) NO. THE LAND REFORM IN CUBA IS ONLY CUBAN REFORM.
THAT'S FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE COUNTRY. THE FARMERS IN CUBA WHICH
AMOUNT ALTOGETHER TO ABOUT THREE-MILLIONS, ARE STARVING
UP TO NOW.
(PAULA) THEY LIVE IN THE WORST CONDITIONS YOU CAN IMAGINE.
FROM NOW ON, THEY ARE GOING TO RECEIVE SALARY A MINIMUM
OF NINETY DOLLARS A MONTH AND THAT WILL CREATE A NEW MARKET FOR CUBA.
SO, THEREFORE, THE BUSINESSMAN IN CUBA WILL FARE WELL WITH THREE MILLION
PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY OUT OF MONEY UP TO THIS TIME. SO THAT
MEANS, YOU NEED A MAN WITH COURAGE - LIKE CASTRO - TO FIGHT THE
BIG INTERESTS AND TO BRING A PROGRAM TO THE CUBAN PEOPLE TO BETTER THEIR
CONDITIONS AND TO BRING PROSPERITY TO THE COUNTRY. WE NEED NOT ONLY
CUBA THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICAN MEN LIKE CASTRO WHO RAISED THE STANDARD OF
LIVING OF THE MASSES, THAT WAY WILL BE BETTER FOR THE UNITED
STATES, BECAUSE WE HERE IN THE STATES, WE NEED FOREIGN MARKETS. THE
ONLY WAY TO CREATE FOREIGN MARKETS FOR THE UNITED STATES IS WHEN THIS COUNTRY
MAKES ENOUGH MONEY TO PURCHASE AMERICAN GOODS. AND THAT IS THE POLICY
OF FIDEL CASTRO'S GOVERNMENT TODAY.
(END FILM)
DISS: RENICK IN FRT MAP
(RENICK) WTVJ NEWS CONTACTED METRO SHERIFF TOM KELLY FOR ANY
VIEWS HE AND HIS INTELLIGENCE SQUAD HAD ON COMMUNIST INFILTRATION INTO CUBA.
HERE'S KELLY:
FILM - SOF
DISS: FILM (SOF)
(KELLY) WE HAVE HEARD MUCH ABOUT THE RUSSIAN COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGHOUT
THE WORLD. FROM INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM RELIABLE SOURCES, IT IS INDICATED
NOW THAT THE ARE OF THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY, SUCH AS THE CARIBBEAN AREA,
IS AN AREA OF UNREST. INTO THIS AREA HAVE MOVED RUSSIAN COMMUNIST AGENTS
TO ASSIST. THIS CREATES A VERY SERIOUS THREAT TO THE SAFETY OF THE
UNITED STATES AND IT PRESENTS A THREAT TO ALL OF US WHO ARE ATTEMPTING TO
MAINTAIN A DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD IN ANY AREA.
FROM OUR INTELLIGENCE SERVICE, TO BE SPECIFIC, WE HAVE THIS REPORT.
A CHECK OF THE PAN AMERICA REVEALED THAT THREE RUSSIANS - TIMOFEY EREMIN,
VADIN LISTOV AND IVAN ARPOV RESERVED SEATS ON FLIGHT 436 FOR HAVANA, CUBA.
LISTOV INDICATED THAT THEY WERE TRADE UNION REPRESENTATIVES AND THEY WERE
GOING TO CUBA AT THE INVITATION OF THE CUBAN LABOR MOVEMENT TO OBSERVE THE
PROGRESS MADE BY THE CUBAN WORKERS SINCE THE FALL OF THE BATISTA REGIME.
NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN - THIS IS FACT...THIS IS NOT FICTION. THESE NAMES
AND THESE TRIPS, TIMES AND DATES ARE AUTHENTIC. I BELIEVE IT'S ABOUT TIME
WE REALIZED THAT AT OUR VERY DOORSTEP IS THE OPERATION OF THE MOST DEADLY
THREAT TO OUR EXISTENCE. IT AMAZES ME AND MANY OTHERS TO SEE T HE
NONCHALANT ATTITUDE THAT WE HAVE TOWARD THIS MENACE THAT IS DEDICATED TO
THE DESTRUCTION OF EVERYTHING THAT WE HOLD DEAR. WE G O ON ABOUT OUR
BUSINESS - WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE HOTEL SEASON - CONCERNED ABOUT THE
RACING SEASON - WE HAVE MANY CONCERNS. BUT THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT
CONCERN THAT WE SHOULD HAVE, AND WE HAVE IT RIGHT IN OUR OWN BACKYARD.
(END FILM)
DISS: RENICK IN FRT
CUBA MAP
(RENICK) THERE IS NO DOUBT THERE ARE COMMUNISTS ACTIVE IN CUBA.
WHILE IN RUSSIA A FEW WEEKS AGO...WE SAW FOUR RED TRADE UNION LEADERS FROM
CUBA HAVING DINNER AT AN ADJOINING TABLE IN A LENINGRAD HOTEL.
WE HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT CASTRO HIMSELF IS A RED...BUT NOBODY HAS PUT FORTH
SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE TO BACK THIS UP. IF AGRARIAN REFORM IS IN ITSELF
COMMUNISTIC...THEN GENERAL McARTHUR WAS GUILTY OF COMMUNIST ACTIONS WHEN
HE BROKE UP THE VAST LANDHOLDINGS OF THE JAPANESE FEUDAL OVERLORDS.
THE MERE FACT THAT RUSSIA AND RED CHINA HA VE USED LAND REFORM PROGRAMS DOES
NOT IN ITSELF PROVE THAT SUCH MEASURES ARE SOLELY COMMUNISTIC.
IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO SAY THAT BY PUTTING LAND INTO THE HANDS OF THE THREE
MILLION CAMPESINOS...AND THEREBY GIVING THEM A REASONABLE SOURCE OF INCOME...CASTRO
IS FOSTERING FREE ENTERPRISE BY CREATING A DOMESTIC MARKET FOR FOREIGN PRODUCERS
AND IS AIDING CUBA'S OWN DOMESTIC INDUSTRIALIZATION. CUBA NEEDS TO
DIVERSIFY.
THE COUNTRY'S ECONOMY IS LARGELY DEPENDENT ON PURCHASE OF SUGAR BY THE
UNITED STATES...WE BUY MORE THAN 50 PERCENT OF CUBA'S OUTPUT. ONE
HALF OF THE COUNTRY'S NATIONAL INCOME COMES FROM U.S. PURCHASES. OUR
GOVERNMENT MIGHT TAKE STEPS TO APPLY ECONOMIC PRESSURES ON CUBA...IN RETALIATION
FOR EXPROPRIATION OF AMERICAN OWNED PROPERTY...THE POOR TREATMENT OF AMERICAN
CITIZENS.
THE ANTI-AMERICAN ATTITUDE OF CUBA'S GOVERNMENT..BUT THEN THIS PROBLEM
IS CREATED:
RUSSIA MAY MOVE IN AND BEGIN HEAVY SUGAR PURCHASES AND GET CUBA COMMITTED
TO THE SOVIET ECONOMIC BLOC. AS IT IS NOW, RUSSIA PROBABLY WOULDN'T
SPEND THE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS YEARLY NECESSARY TO PULL THIS
OFF...ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CUBAN COMMUNISTS HAVE BEEN SO ACTIVE..AND APPARENTLY
SUCCESSFUL IN BECOMING AN INFLUENCE IN THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT. THIS A
NO COST TO THE SOVIET UNION. THE COMMUNISTS ARE IN NO POSITION TODAY
TO TAKE OVER THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT...THEY AND THE SOVIETS ARE PROBABLY CONTENT
TO CONTINUE THE GAINS THEY ARE MAKING...ORGANIZING IN CUBA..PROPAGANDIZING
AGAINST THE U.S....CREATING UNREST THERE AND THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA.
WE SHOULD NOT SIT BACK IN OUR COMFORTABLE LIVING ROOMS AND ACCUSE THEM
OF BEING COMMUNISTS OR RABBLE ROUSERS.
IN CONCLUSION...WE SAY THIS OF CUBA:
SHE IS A NEW-BORN REPUBLIC...SHE POSSESSES THE POTENTIAL TO DEVELOP INTO
A DEMOCRATIC AND PROSPEROUS NATION...BUT CUBA IS IN GRAVE DANGER FROM TWO
AREAS:
FIRST..IS SUBVERSIVE FACTORS. THERE ARE COMMUNIST ELEMENTS WITH THEIR
TREACHERY AND DECEPTION..AND THERE ARE ALSO THE BATISTA ELEMENTS AND OTHERS
WHO THRIVE ON THE CHAOS OF INSTABILITY.
SECOND - IS POOR LEADERSHIP. CASTRO IS AN OUTSTANDING PATRIOT..HE
IS AN IDEALIST...A MAN OF ACTION AND REVOLUTION.
HE IS A VISIONARY WHO BORDERS ON THE MYSTICAL. PROBABLY NO OTHER
MAN COULD HAVE SUCCESSFULLY ENGINEERED THE REVOLUTION.
BUT CASTRO IS NOT A GOOD ADMINISTRATOR..HE NEEDS TO DELEGATE DUTIES TO
MORE CAPABLE PEOPLE TO CARRY OUT THE PRACTICAL AND MUNDANE MATTERS OF STATE.
THERE IS A PLACE FOR IDEALISM AND A PLACE FOR PRACTICALITY.
CASTRO WOULD ALSO DO WELL TO EASE OUT OF TOP POSTS THOSE PERSONS WHO ARE
RED-TINGED. HE SHOULD ALSO MOVE SPEEDILY TO REINSTATE THE ELECTORAL
PROCEDURES SO THAT CUBA MIGHT HAVE A DEMOCRATIC VOTE FOR PRESIDENT AND OTHER
TOP OFFICES.
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