CUBAN
SITUATION
MAY 1959
[REFERENCE: County Intelligence
File "Cuban
Revolution File", 1959, #18335-A]
DATE: May 27, 1959
TO: Thomas J. Kelly, Metropolitan Sheriff
FROM: Frank Kappel, Supervisor, Criminal Intelligence
SUBJECT: CUBAN REVOLUTIONARY ACTIVITIES, ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
ON FELIPE SARRAIN; PRIVATE SECRETARY
OF
THE FORMER MAYOR OF HAVANA
On May 7, 1959, Agent A.L. TARABOCHIA, while on a routine
tour of the International
Airport observed two W/M's that appeared suspicious due to
the fact that
they were loitering in an area not open to the general
public. When
asked to identify themselves, one of them produced a U.S.
Immigration Parole
form and stated that his name was FELIPE SARRAIN and that he
and his companion,
who identified himself as RICARDO PEREZ, were looking for a
suitcase that
was to be shipped from Cuba.
SARRAIN gave his address as 704 N.W. 24th Street,
Miami. The subject
stated that he had just fled Cuba on a small boat and had
landed in Key West
the previous Sunday, May 3, 1959. He also stated that
he had been the
private secretary of the Mayor of Havana, during the Batista
regime and at
the time of his departure was actively sought by the
Revolutionary Police.
He believed that if caught he would be tried and executed
since his persecutors
had already burned his home.
SARRAIN stated that a great part of the Cuban population
lives in a state
of terror of the police and t he victim of any accusation is
sometimes held
incommunicado by the police for days or weeks until tried or
freed.
The outcome of most trials is usually the death sentence.
The subject also mentioned that the Communist party is
gaining strength in
Cuba because in most key positions the power has been seized
by Communists.
Foremost was DAVID SALVADOR, head of all the Trade Unions in
Cuba.
SALVADOR, according to SARRAIN had invited members of the
Trade Unions of
the U.S.S.R. to visit Cuba and observe the progress made by
the "democracy"
after the fall of BATISTA.
The communications media and the army have also been
infiltrated by Communists
and recently the soldiers stationed at Camp Libertad
(Columbia) were forced
to see an anti-American and controversial picture by CHARLIE
CHAPLIN.
When asked about the expeditionary forces that have been
active in alleged
liberating expeditions to neighboring Caribbean Countries,
SARRAIN stated
that a Corps bearing the name of LEGION LIBERTADOR with
headquarters near
Calle 23 or 32 or Vedado in Havana was most active in the
field. (See
case # 1890-B) The commander of these forces was reputed to
be ELOY MENOYO
GUTIERREZ former Commander of the second front in the Sierra
del Escambray,
(CARLOS PRIO'S Directorio Revolutionario).
The main reason for the existence of such bands was to be
found in the fact
that most of the revolutionaries not belonging to the 26th
of July movement
had been excluded from positions of responsibility or even
incorporation
in the Army and have turned mercenary in order to satisfy
their economic
needs and spirit of adventure. This fact accounts also
for the harshness
that FIDEL CASTRO used in denouncing the Panamanian
adventure.
SARRAIN told this Agent that he had knowledge of fighting in
the Sierra Maestra
and that there were about 4,000 men of the dissolved Batista
Army engaged
in guerrilla warfare.
The recent transfer of all the Army Units to the Sierras
announced by RAUL
CASTRO was to be attributed to this fighting and not to
training maneuvers
as the rebel chief had stated.
Recent flareups in Las Villas province resulted in a direct
attack of the
Santa Clara jail where eight prisoners condemned to death
were freed by a
former American sergeant who had fought with CASTRO and now
had changed factions
after realizing the progress of Communism in Cuba.
SARRAIN was unable
to identify the sergeant. JOSE PEDRAZA, former police
chief and now
in exile in the Dominican Republic is considered by many
Cubans as the leader
of an action by counter-revolutionaries in Cuba.
Information received from a different source revealed that
the Cuban Navy
has in training at a Naval Base called "GRAMMA", twenty-two
frogmen who are
receiving training on all kinds of underwater demolition
operations.
This group is commanded by Commander ROLANDO DIAZ ASTARAINA.
At the same base, 600 men, constituting the first echelon of
the Cuban Marines
is being trained by former officers of the U.S. Marine
Corps. This
number is to be increased in the near future. There
were four prefabricated
ships of a capacity of 400 men each being assembled at the
base.
Respectfully submitted,
A.L. Tarabochia
Intelligence Agent
Frank Kappel, Supervisor
Criminal Intelligence
cc: C.I.A.
Frank Watterson
U.S. State Department
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Justice Building
Miami, Florida
End of Page
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