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Thiil is the first of a series of Latin Listening ,.,..,.,

Post interviews of persons more or less directly concerned 'with

the conflict between the United States and Cuba. In subsequent

programs, we will present talks with people who are connected

with the Cuban Refugee Organizations, people who are connected

with President Batista and United States citizens with direct

stakes in the outcome of the Cuban Situation. Tonight we have

with us a representative of probably the most controversial

organization connected with Cuba in this country . The organization

is Fair Play for Cuba Committee. The person, LEE OSWALD, Se cre-

tary of the New Orleans Chapter for the Fair Play for Cuba

Committee. This organization has long been on the Uustice

Department's black lis t and is a group generally considered to

be the leading pro-Castro body in the nation. As a r.eporter

of Latin American affairs in this city for several years now,

your columnist has kept a lookout for local representatives of

this pro-Castro gr01-iP· None appeared in public vie'.v until this

week wbf'n young LEE OSWALD was arrested and convicted f or

disturbing the peace. He was arrested pass ing out pro-Castro

literature to a crowd which included several violently anti-Castro

Cuban refugees. When we finally tracked Mr. OSWALD down today

and asked him to participate in Latin Listening Post, he told

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us frankly that he would ',· because it may ~ help · his or"an1zation

to attract more members in this area. With that in mind, and

knowing that Mr. OSWALD must have had to demonstrate a great

skill in dialectics before he was entrusted with his present

post, we now proceed on the course of random questioning of

Mr. OSWALD.

Mr. OSWALD, if I may, bow long has the .Fair Play for

Cuba Committee had an organization in New Orleans?

We have had members in this area for several months

now up until about two months ago however, we have not

organized our members into any sort of active group, until

as you say, we had decided to feel out the public, what they

think of our organization, our aims and for that purpose we

have been as you said, distributing literature on the street

for the purpose of trying to attract new members and feel out

the public.

Do you have any other activities other than distri­

buting literature at the present time?

Well, I assume you mean do I have any organizational

duties myself?

Yes.

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Well, the Fair Play for Cuba C01111111ttee with its .

headqu~rters at 799 Broadway in New York, bas been investigated

by the Senate Sub-Committees who are occupied with this sort

of thing. They have investigated our organization from the

viewpoint of taxes, subversion, allegiance and in general,

where and bow and why we exist. They have found absolutely

nothing to connect us with the Communist Party of the United

States. In regards to your question about whether I, ~yself

am a COllllllunist, aa 1 said 1 d.o not belong to any other

organization.

I notice from your pamphlets, one bears the title

of "Hands Off Cuba". I am curious as to whether this applies

to the Soviet Union as well as to the United States.

This organization is not occupied at all with the

problem of the Soviet Union or the problem of International

Communism. Hands Off Cuba is the main slogan of this committee.

It means, it follows our first principle, which bas to do with

non-intervention, in other words keeping your bands off a

foreign state which is supported by the Constitution and so forth

and so on. We have our own non-intervention laws, that is,

what Hands Off Cuba means. As I say we are not occupied at all

with the problem of the Soviet Union.

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Does your group believe that the Castro Regime 1n

CUba is not actually a front for a Soviet Co\lony in the Westem

Hemisphere?

Very definitely. Castro is an independent leader

of an independent country, He has ties with the Soviet Union

with the eastern block, however !,,think it is rather obvious

as to why and when they are because of the fact that we certainly

don't have any trade with them, we are discouraging trade with

that country, with our allies and so forth, so of course he has

to turn to Russia. That does not mean however, that he is

independent upon Russia. He receives trade from many countries,

including Great Britain to a certain extent, France, certain

other powers in the Western Hemisphere. He is even trading with

several of the more independent African States so that you cannot

point at Castro and say that he is a Russian puppet. He is not.

He is an independent person. An independent leader in his

country and I believe that was pointed out very well during the

October crisis when Castro very definitely said that although

Premier Khrushchev had urged him to have on-sight inspection at

his rocket bases in Cuba, that FIDEL CASTRO refused,

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Do you feel that the Fair Play for Cuba Committee

would maintain its present line as far as supporting Premier

Castro if the Soviet Union broke relations with the Castro

Regime in Cuba?

We do not support the man. We do not support the

individual. We support the idea of an independent revolution

in the Western Hemisphere, free from American intervention.

We do not support, as I aay, the individual. If the Cuban

people destroy Castro, or if he is otherwise proven to have

betrayed his own revolution, that will not have any bearing

upon this committee. We are a committee who do believe that

Castro has net so far, betrayed his country.

Do you believe that the Castro Regime is a communist

regime?

They have not, well they have said .. ~bat they are a

Marxism country, on the other hand so is Ghana, so is several

other countries in Africa. Every country which emerges from a

sort:of a futile state as Cuba did, experiments, usually in

socialism, in Marxism. For_ that matter, Great Britain has

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socialized medicine. You cannot say that Castro is a

collllnunist at this time, because he has not developed his

country, his system, so far. lie has not had the chance to

become a communist. He is an experimentor, a person who is

trying to find the best way for his country. If he chooses

a socialist or a marxist or a communist way of life, that is

something upon which only the Cuban people can pass. We do

not have the right to pass on that. We can have our own

opinions, naturally, but we cannot exploit that system and

say it is a bad one, it is a threat to our existence and then

go and try to destroy it. That would be against our principles

of democracy.

As a representative. of Fair Play for Cuba Committee,

do you feel that capitalism in any form, or at least capitalism

as we know it , has any place in the future of Cuba.

Well, so far the situation has developed where they,

Cuba is irrevocably lost as for as capitalism goes and there will

never be a capitaliat regime again in Cuba. Cuba may go the

way of Czechoslovalda, ~ygosla.via or it may go the way to the

other extreme. It may go the way of China, in other words, a

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dogmatic communist system, that depends on how we handle the

matter here in the United States.

Does the Fair Play for Cuba Committee have any

particular position in the Cuban, or rather the Chinese and

Russian conflict? Has it taken sides as opposed to China's

position as convlict or as opposed to Russia's position?

. Well, no, we do not believe on international situations

of that sort. As the name implies, Fair Play for Cuba Committee,

we are occupied only with the one narrow point of Cuba, the

problem of Cuba and what it is to us. We are not occupied at

all with the problems of the Russians or the Yugo-

slavian Russian problems whatsoever.

I have here with me tonight, various pieces of

literature that Mr. OSWALD has been distributing on street

corners here in the last week. I'd like to read to you some

of the titles. The first is a yellow handbill entitled Hands

Off Cuba. Join the Fair Play for Cuba Committee in New Orleans

Charter Member Branch. There is another pamphlet by the name

of "The Revolution must be a school of unfetered thought--

Fidel Castro . There is still another pamphlet entitled Fidel

Castro Denounces Bureaucracy and Sectarianism. And a fourth

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pamphlet entitled Ideology and Revolution by Jean Paul Sarder.

I am curious about a fifth pamphlet I have, Mr. OSWALD. This,

to me, was the most interesting. It is entitled The Crime

Against Cuba by CARLOS LAMONT. The theme of this pamphlet

is that the fact that the United States was committed a

grave injustice when it backed the Bay of Pigs Invasion in

1961. Now it has probably a complete ideology here for the

National Liberation Movement type of philcsoi;Jlly that we here

know of in the new countries. Picking among the paragraphs

I see one here that I'd like to here Mr. OSWALD's comment on

and I'd like to quote, "It is well to recall that the national

emergency proclaimed by President TRm~N in 1950 during the

Korean War is still in effect in the United States and has been

utilized constantly for the curtailment o:f' civil liberty''.

What is your comment about the veracity of this statement?

Well of cource, that is the last paragraph of a very

long page. That has to do with the fact that propaganda in

the United States has slanted and shown Cuba and Castro to me

to be in a very bad light. Now they have mentioned, the United

States Government, has mentioned that Castro has declared an

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emergency in Cuba. He has not held elections fo~ i~stance,

because of the fact that there is an emergency situation in

CUbar Now the Castro Government is declaring tbat it is doing

just what this points out. It is doing what we did in 1950 and

you recall what happened in 1950. That was dux·ing the beginning

of the Korean War when we felt that we were goini to be 1n a

very very dangerous situation. We adopted an emergency law

which restricted newspapers, broadcasters, radio and TV from

giving any opinions, any comments wh~ch were not a~eady checked

out by certain administrative Bureaus of the United States

Government. That was under our emergency. At thi.s time, Fidel

Castro bas his emergency. It is because of us and our

attitude and because of the attitude of certain other people,

certain other countries in Latin America, certain other countries.

This is the parallel, the parallel which this is talking about.

An ~mergency ' in our country at that time and an emergency in

their country at thiB time.

~T. OSWALD this is very interesting to me to find out

about the restriction on newspapers in 1960 because I was in the

newspaper business at that time and I do not recall aeeing any

such government bureau established in my office to tell us what

to print. Exactly what do you have reference to?

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Well, I have reference to the obvious fact that

during war time haphazard guesses and information are not

given by anyone. In regard~ to military strategical comments

such as comments or leaks about new fronts or movements and

so forth. News was controlled at that time to that extent as

it is always controlled during a war or a national emergency,

always.

Do you feel that news is controlled in the United

States today regarding Cuba?

It is a self control, yes, imposed by most newspapers.

Of course I don't know whether I am being fair but of course I

would have to point to the Times Picayune-States Item syndicated,

since it is the only paper we have in New Orleans and a very

restricted paper it is. The Fair Play for Cuba Committee has

often approached this paper with information or comments and

this paper has consistently refused, because of the fact that

it is sympathitic to the anti-Castro regime. It has system-

atically refused to print any objective matter, giving the

other man's viewpoint about Cuba.

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Would you care to list the dates and the persons

who you talked to at the paper that refused to print your

material?

I do not know the name of the reporter. I did

speak to the City Editor. I spoke to him one week ago and I

spoke to him yesterday, Friday, which was inunediately after

our demonstration when I and several other of my members had

a demonstration in front of the International Trade Mart which

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was filmed by li'DSU-TV and shown last night on the news. At that i.

time, 2:00 I went to the Times Picayune, informed theill of our

demonstration, which was very well covered by WD~1I-TV and they

told me at that time that due to the fact that they were not

sympathetic to this organization or to the aims and ideals of

this organization that they would not print any information that

I gave them. They did say that if I would care to write a

letter to the editor they might put that in the Letter to the

Editor Column.

Mr. OSWALD does it make any difference to you if

any of the activities of the local branch of the Fair Play for

Cuba Committee benefit the COilllllunist Party or the goals of

International Conununism'?

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Well, that is what I .believe you would term a loaded

question. However, I will attempt to answer it. It is

inconsistent with my ideals to support communism, my personal

ideals. It is inconsistent with the ideals of the Fair Play

for Cuba Committee to support ideals of international cownunism.

We are not occupied with that problem. We are occupied with

the problem of Cuba. We do not believe under any circumstances

that in supporting our ideals about Cuba, our pro-Castro ideals,

we do not believe that that is inconsistent with believing in

democracy. Quite the contrary. We believe that it is a

necessity in supporting democracy to support Fidel Castro and

his right to make his country any way he wants to. Net so much

the right to destroy us of our rights about defense, In other

words, we do not feel that we are supporting international

communism or communism, in supporting Fidel Castro.

What other political leaders in Latin America do you

feel fulfill the Fair Play for Cuba Committee's requirements

for a demo<ratic political lea.dor?

Well, you know there's a funny story about Latin

America. It goes something like this. Coffee, bananas, sugar

and a few other products. In other words that refers to the

so called banana countries which like Cuba up to thiS time had

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a one crop agriculture, a one crop economy and where did those

crops go? They went to the United States. Now the attitude of

those countries who are controlled by the United States, whose

economy depends almost 100 per cent upon who much money the

United States pours into them, those countries can be expected

to give an independent viewpoint on Cuba or Castro. The few

countries which abstained at certain international inter-American

meetings during the last year, are those countries which are

big enough to support themselves. Those countries being only

Brazil, Argentina and perhaps on some occasion the democratic

republic of Costa Rica, which is by the way, the only democratic

republic in all of Central America.

What is your definition of democracy?

My definition , well the definition of democracy,

that's a very good one. That's a very controversial viewpoint.

You know, it used to be very clear, but now its not. You know

when our forefathers drew up the Constitution, they considered

that democracy was creating an atmosphere of freedom of discussion

of argument, of finding the truth. The rights, well the classic

right of having life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In

Latin America they have none of those rights, none of them at

all. And that is my definition of democracy, the right to be in

a minority and not to be suppressed. The right to see for

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/., yourself without government restrictions. Such countries

as Cuba and we are restricted from going to Cuba.

lllr. OSWALD when was the last time you were in Latin

America'?

I have been only to Mexico in my life, sir. I am

not fully acquainted with Latin America personally but then I

am not the president of this organization either, I am only a

volunteer, a secretary of this local chapter. I do not claim

to be an expert on Latin America, but then very few people do.

Certainly it is obvious to me, having been educated here in New

Orleans and having been instilled with the ideas of democracy

and objectiveness, that Cuba and the right of Cubans to self

determination is more or less self evident and one does not have

to travel through Central and South America. One does not have

to travel through these countries to see the poverty in Chile

or Peru or the suppression of democratic liberties between the

Samoa brothers in Nicaragua in order to draw one's conclusion about

Cuba.

Does the Fair Play for Cuba Committee have any opinion

about the suppression of democratic liberties in Hungary in 1956

or the poverty in any of the eastern blocked countries today?

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Officially no, but of course we have our own

opinions about such situations. We consider that Russian

imperialism is a very bad thing. It was a bad thing in

Hungary. We certainly do not support dictatorship or the

suppression of any peoples anywhere, but as I say and as I

must stress, we are prco<>.cupied only with the problem of

Cuba, officially.

We'll return for more questions after this message.

(conunercial).

Mr. OSWALD you have the title of Secretary of the

New Orleans Chapter of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, however

you have just said that you have never been to Latin America

except for a few ventures into Mexico. In that case, just

exactly how do you get your information concerning Latin American

affairs or Latin American conditions?

Well, as I say we are preoccupied with the problem

of Cuba. There are correspondents t~at correspond with the

headquarters in New York from Cuba, directly fr0111 CUba, that

is where we get the information about ~~ba. Now in regards to

Latin and Central America, you do not have your own correspondent

there • The AP and the UP cover it very well and they certainly

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give a very clear picture of the situation in certain countries,

Nicaragua, etc., as I mentioned, which have very undemocratic

regimes, dictatorships, and as I say these things are well known

by everyone and they are accepted as truth. For instance, who I

will be able to find any official or any person who knows about :I Latin America who will say that Nicaragua does not have a dictator-

libip?

Very interesting that you should mention dictatorships

in Nicaragua, because we, naturally familiar with tbe place,

have beard about these dictatorships for. ... many many years but it

is curious to me as to why no Nicaragu~ns fled to the United

States last year whereas we bad poss ibly 50 to 60,000 Cubans

floeing from Cuba to the United States. What is the Fair Play

for Cuba Committee's official reply to this?

Well, a good question. Nicaraguan situation is

considerably different from Castro's Cuba. People are inclined not

to flee their countries unless some new system, new factor, enters

into their lives. I must say that very surely no new factors

have entered into Nicaragua for about 300 years, in fact the

people live exactly as they hav& always lived in Nicaragua • . I

am refering to the overwhelming majority of people in Nicaragua

which is a futile dictatorship with 90% of the people engaged

in agriculture. These peasants are uneducated. They have one

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·II ---of the lowest living standards 1n all of the western hemisphere

and so because of the fact that no new factor, no liberatini

factor, has entered into their lives, they remain in Nicaragua.

Now the people who have fled Cuba, that is an interesting

situation. Needless to say, there are classes of criminals;

there are classes of people who are wanted in Cuba for cr~nes

against humanity and most of those people are the same people

who are in New Orleans and have set themselves up in stores

with blood money and who engage in day to day trade with New

orleanians. Those are the people who would certainly not want

to g~ back to Cuba and who would cert&~nly want to flee Cuba.

There are other classes. There are peasants who do not like

the collectivization in Cuban agriculture. There are others

who have one reason or the other in their legitimate reasons,

reasons of opinion for fleeing Cuba. Most of these people flee

by legal means. They are allowed to leave after requesting

the Cuban Government for exit visas. Some of these people fore

some reasons or another do not like to·apply for these visas or

they feel that they cannot get them; they flee, they flee Cuba

in boats, they flee any way they can go and I think that the

opinion and the attitude of the Cuban Government to this is

good riddance.

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Mr. OSWALD, this is very interesting because as a

reporter in this field, for some time I have been interviewing

refugees now for about three years and I'd say that the last

Batista man, officially, that I talked to left Cuba about 2~ years

ago and the rest of them I've talked to have been taxicab drivers,

laborers, cane cutters, and that sort of thing. I thought this

revolution was supposed to benefit these people, What is the

Fair Play for Cuba Committee's position on this?

Well, as I say there are different classes, A minority

of these people are as I say, people who were Batista criminals

and so forth. It may not be true that the people fleeing

nowadays are completely cleansed of Batista elements, certainly

some of these Batistaites have been hiding or have been engaged

in counter-revolutionary activities ever since the Bay of Pigs

Invasion and even before that, just after the revolution, in

other words they have remained underground. Undoubtedly the

overwhelming majority of people during the last year for instance

who have fled Cuba have been non-Batistaites, rather peasants

class. You say the revolution is supposed to benefit these

people. You know its very funny about revolutions, Revolutions

require work, revolutions require sacrifice, revolutions, and·--"'

our own included, require a certain amount of rationing, a

certain amount of calluses, a certain amount of sacrifice,

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Sacrificing ones own personal ideas about countries, citizen­

ship, work, indicates poople who have fled Cuba have not been

able to adapt themselves to these new factors which have entered

these peoples' lives. These people are the uneducated. These

people are the people who do not remain in Cuba to be educated

by young people who are afraid of the alphabet, who are afraid

of these new things which are occurring, who are afraid that

they would lose something by collectivization. They were afraid

that they would lose something by seeing their sugar crops taken

away and in place of sugar crops, some other vegetable, some

other product, planted, because Cuba has always been a one

product country, more or less. These n.re the people who have not

been able to adapt.

Mr. OSWALD, you say their sugar crops. Most of the

Cubans I have talked to that have had anything to do with

agriculture in the last year and a half have not owned one

single acre of ground, they were cane cutters.

That i~ correct and they are the ones that are fleeing

the Castro Regim~.

That is correct sir. That is very very true and I am

very glad you brought that point up. You know, it used to be

that these people worked for United Fruit Company, the American

companies engaged in sugar refinery, oil refinery in Cuba.

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They worked a few months every year during the cane cutting

or sugar refining season. They never owned anything, and

they feel now that that little bit of right, the right to work

for five months a year has been taken away from them. They

feel that now they have to work all year round to plant new

crops, to make a new economy and so they feel that they have

been robbed, they feel that they have been robbed of the right

to do as they please because of the fact that the Government

now depends upon its people to build its economy, to industrialize

itself, so they figure they have been robbed. What they do not

realize is that they have been robbed of the right to be

exploited, robbed of the right to be cheated, robbed of the

right of New Orleanian companies to take away what was rightfully

theirs. Of course they have to share now. Everybody gets an

equal portion. This iS collectivization and this is very hard

on some people. On people prefering the dog eat dog economy.

What do you refer to as the dog eat dog economy?

Is that capitalism in your definition?

No that iS an economy where the people do not depend

on each other, they have no feelings of nationality, they have

no feelings of culture, they have no feelings of any ties

whatsoever on a high level. It is every man for himself. That

is what I refer to by dog eat dog,

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'· • Are you familiar with the existence ·of a Black

Market in Soviet Russia or in Red China, whereas the majority

of the populists get their food, their truck crops and vegetables

and such from this market. Do you know of such a market?

Well I know about the fact that there is a market

in the Soviet Union only for western apparel, and certain other

items. There is no black market in the Soviet Union for food

none whatever. By black market, I assume that you mean a

situation where food is either stolen or grown in one area

and taken to another area and sold covertly, under cover. No

such system exists in Hussia.

Mr. OSWALD, I am curious about your personal background.

If you could tell something about where you came from, your

education and your career to date, it would be interesting.

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in 1939,

I would be very happy to. I was born in New Orleans

For a short length of time during my childhood, I

'lived in Texas and New York. During my Junior High School days,

I attended Beauregard Junior High School. I attended that school

for two years. Then I went to Warren Easton High School and I

attended that school for over a year. Then my family and I

moved to Texas where we have many relatives and I continued my

schooling there. ·1 entered the United States Marine Corps in

1956. I spent three years in the United States Marine Covps,

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t REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES •

starting out as a Private, working my way up through the ranks

to the position of Buck Sergeant and I served honorably, having

been discharged. Then I went back to work in Texas and have

recently arrived in New Orleans with my family, with my wife

and my child.

What particular event in your life made you decide

that the Fair Play for Cuba Committee had the correct answers

about CUban-United States relations?

Well of course, I have only begun to notice Cuba since

the Cuban Revolution, that is true of everyone, I think, I

became acquainted with it about the same time as everybody else,

in 1960, In the beginning of 1960. I always felt that the

Cubans were being pushed into the Soviet block by American

policy. I still feel that way. Our policy, if it bad been

handled differently and many others much more informed than

I have said the same thing, if that situation bad been handled

differently we would not have the big problem of Castro's Cuba

now, the big international political problem. Although I feel

that it is a jest and a right development in Cuba, still we

could be on much friendlier relations with them and had the

Government of the United States, its Government Agencies,

particularly certain covert, under cover agencies like the new

defunct CIA.

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REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

' ~·"';1· lY. : • Now defunct? · .

Well, its leadership is now defunct. ALLEN DULLES

is now defunct. I believe that without all that meddling, with

a little bit different humanitarian handling of the situation,

CUba would not be the problem it is today.

Is there any particular action of the United States

Government do you feel that pushed Castro into Soviet arms?

Well, as I say, Castro's Cuba, even after the

revolution was still a one crop economy, basing its economy

on sugar. When we slashed the Cuban sugar quota, of course

we cut their throats. They had to turn to some other country.

They had to turn to some other hemisphere in which to sell this

one product. They did so, and they have sold it to Russia and

because of that Russian sugar is now down quite a bit, whereas ours

is going up and up and up and I believe that was the big £actor,

the cutting of the sugar quota.

Do you think that the United States Government, under

President EISENHOWER ever wanted to help the Castro Regime?

Ever offered or shown any help to it?

True to our democratic policies, certain policies

were adopted, very late, but adopted, but the government helped

Fidel Castro while he was still in the mountains, that is very

true. We cut off aid to Batista just before the revolution,

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1 REPRODUCED AT THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

just before it. That was too late. We had already done

more harm than we could have done before. We were just rats

leaving a sinking ship, you see. That was not the thing to do.

We have however, as I say, helped him. We have now cut off all

that help.

There is one point of view which I have heard to the

effect that Castro turned left because he could not get any

aid for industrialization in Cuba from the United States. Does

the Fair Play for Cuba Committee believe that?

Not entirely, no. We feel that was a factor, certainly.

But we feel that the current of history is now running to that

extreme, in other words countries emerging from ------domination are definitely adopting socialistic, ------' marxist even on occasion what will be in the future, communist

regimes and communist inclinations. You see, this is something

which is apparently a world trend.

Does the Fair Play for Cuba Committee believe that

this trend should also be copied in the United States?

No, the Fair Play tor Cuba Committee is occupied only

with the Cuban problem. I do not thirut that they feel that way,

no.

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Thank you very much Mr. OSWALD. Tonight we have .. been talking with LEE OSWALD, the Secretary of the New Orleans

Chapter of the pro-Castro, Fair Play for Cuba Committee. In

subsequent programs, we will present the comments of other

leaders concerned with United States-Cuban conflict. Good night.

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·APPROVED fOl!llELE.~SE 1993 CIA HISTOH!CAL-icEVJEW PROGRAM

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WH/C 67-336

MEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, CI /R&A

SUBJECT

REFERENCE

: Garrison Investigation: Belle Chasse Training Camp

: CI/R&A Memorandum Dated 26 October 1967

1. Listed below is the information pertaining to the Belle Chasse training camp which was requested ·in reference memorandum:

a. The training site was activated on 12 February 1961 and the first group of trainees arrived on 18 February 1961.

b. at the active

The site was located u.s. Naval Ammunition for five years.

8 miles from New Orleans Depot which had been in-

c. The site covered 3500 acres of marshland adjoining the Mississippi River. The depot consisted of ammunition magazines storage areas, warehouses, various frame and brick buildings, many miles of interlocking railroad tracks and both hard surface and improved roads and the entire site was enclosed by a chain-link fence. Since much of the terrain was inaccessible and unsuitable for training purposes, due to the marshy ground and poisonous reptiles, a limited area was used for actual training purposes. This area was located where the activity could neither be heard nor observed.

d. The Base was closed on.21 April 1961 and the training site was completely sterilized by Base and cleared Navy personnel after all demolition, ammuni­tion, ordnance items, and field equipment was sterilized and air-lifted to a midwest depot. Materiel

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on loan from the military was restored to original condition and returned to the appropriate military component.

e. Approximately 300 Cubans were trained at the site ov~r a six week period. The only known list of trainees which was available at Headquarters has not been located to date. A search has been initiated for this. list.

f. The training consisted of weapons firing, demolition, guerrilla warfare, communications, UDT, etc. One group was trained as a strike force assault battalion and was sent to Guatemala on 22 March 1961 to join the Bay of Pigs invasion strike force.

g •. The training camp location never came to public knowledge through press media. However, the New York Times and New Orleans radio and television stations reported that a Cuban training camp was located outside of New Orlean&, according to infor­mation aminating from Miami. Inquiries were directed to high level military, and Louisiana officials, who denied knowle~ge of such a camp and the site was not identified. Subsequent to the above publicity, the representative of a leading TV station appeared at the main gate of the installation and requested permission to enter and take pictures. Naval authorities denied permission and there were no further inquiries. The actual training site was quite some distance from the main gates of the depot which was identified by an inscription cut into concrete "u.s. Naval Amnunition Depot". Whether the TV representative was trying to identify the location of the rumored training site or simply take pictures of a deactivated historical landmark for posterity, ia not known.

h. The training camp was entirely Agency controlled and the training was conducted by Agency personnel.

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·- APPROVED FOR RHBSE 1.S93 CIA HISTORICAL-REV!~W PROGRJ\M

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2. During the initial phase of activiation, the depot was sterilized to avoid any indication of government interest and to provent disclosure of the actual physical location of the training camp to newly assigned trainees. For example, all U.S. Navy references on boxcars, buildings, etc,, were painted out or destroyed, Although the first group of trainees transferred to the Base from Florida knew they were going to an abandoned ammunition depot located near New Orleans, maximum precautions were taken to insure that the site location could not be pinpointed while the trainees were being transported from the airport to the camp. Despite all precautions, one i~cident occurred that is significant in view of the recent publication naming the Belle Chasse camp. One night a group of trainees arriving at the Moisant Airport frqm Miami were observed and identified by Orlando PIEDRA, the former Chief of the Bureau of Investigation' during ·the Batista regime. PIEDRA obtained the license numbers of the rental vehicles used for transporting the trainees to the camp. His license number was likewise obtained by our security officer at the scene. PIEDRA, who is one of the individuals included in the CI/R&A memorandum dated 15 September 1967 (page 3-item 21), and memorandum #5 (paragraph 4-J), may be the individual who provided the information contained in the recent publication. In any event, it would be surprising indeed if some of the 300 Cuban trainees involved have not discussed their training activities in ·detail over the past six years. With the clue that the camp was located at an abandoned.navy ammunition depot outside New Orleans, a long-time resident such as PIEDRA, ARCACHA Smith, FOWLER, or LABORDE, would eventually be able to narrow down the location despite the extreme security pre­cautions that were in effect during the training period, Although only the commanding officers of the ammunition depot and the Naval Air Station were knowledgeable of the activities on the grounds, an enterprising reporter or investigator could probably surface other corroborating bits of information which would help identify the training site, For example, de~pite the fact the majority of supplies and equipment was procured thro~gh the Navy facilities, certain items were necessarily purchased on the local market, thereby producing a sudden influx

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APPROVED FO.~ RHfASF 1.9113 CIA fiiSTOfliCA~-f(fVI~l'( rROGRA~

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of cash 1n an area that bad been dormant for five years. In any event. although the Garrison investigation may eventually lead to identifying the site as a government installation. there has never been any evidence or publicity identifying the Agency as the actual operators of the training ca.mp.

3. CI/R&A Belle Chasse tra Base Chief, and Mr.

are pre be reached at his at OS/SR.3.

DDP/WH/COG/CICS/N. Gratz:ear

Distribution: Orig & 1-Addressee

1-WH/Reg/C 1-C/WH/COO 1-WH/COG/CICS 1-0riginator

former ty

to Headquarters~ SOD office and Mr. 11111111

David A. Phillips Chief. WH/COG

31 October 1967

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2 6 OCT 1967

MEMORANDUM FOR: C/WH/COO

ATTENTION : MN, Nan<:ye Gzat:a

SUBJECT : Cla.rrlaon Invaallgatlon: :Selle C~aaa TralninJ Camp

I. A ucc:rAtly publlth•d booklet eoncerlli.Dg lh. Gaulaon eau and entitled Plot or Polletlca? was written by Stat<~a-ltem reporters Rosemal'y Jamea and Jaelt Wardl.'lw. The !oll~nvlng appeara on p. 49:

•·Meantime, .Exeeu.tlva Aasl.stant DA Alvin V. Oaar w:u looking for a target rane• acrGfla ~d Jl!)rth ol Lalte Pon~hartraln... In the proce•U, he !oun<i tho loc:at1ona o! two tra1n1ns camp• where eoldhtra were b~ing trained ln 196Z for a second CubaD lnvaelon. He aleo c:ame acrou a thlrd training ca=p near :Sell Cbaaae, Ln., by the Naval Alr Statloa on the othel' aldtt of the Mlasl:utlppl Rlver,"

2. Although the timing of Onr'a dlacovery la not elear, it waa probably nbout Jan~ry 1967.

3. As this Juncture, acc!!>rdlngly, we need a etudy or report on CIA's usa oi the Belle Cbaa~e :~~lte. The following are the key quutiou:

a. When did we begira to use the alte?

b. Wh11re wu U located?

c:. What wa• its aue?

d. How lOf:lg dld we u11e lt?

e. Who IU)d how mally were tralaed therel

(I{ any o£ th.a tral.nen o involved ln any way l

ratnees were person" known to be rrlaon'e lnveatlBatlon, wtt need their

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2.

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ldenUUea ~ad a\l available lnformatlon about them.)

t. Wh4lt was th• pu.rpo1e of the training glveQ at Bell• Cha1ae? What •ubject• or ~tt-Yltlea wero taught?

g.. Did CIA'.e ua• o! the slte come to publlc knowledt;e thr~ush new a media!

h. Dld CIA contr"Ol the camp aPd the tralnins dlrectly?

Dono""n E. Pratt

Distribution Orig & l - Adreas es

l - Office of Security (Mr. Paul Gaynor - info~·

l - Office of the General Counsel -(info) l - A /DC! (info) l - R &A Chrono l - DP for WH-CI Correspondence on Garrison file. ~ DP for file on Training Camps, New Orleans Area

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N.O. AND THE AMERICAS

Guerrillas Aided By Local Cubans

By BILL STUCKEY A small group of local Cubans have been

sending guns and general military supplies to guerrillas and saboteurs in Cuba for the past three months. ·

A member of the group, Y.ilo wanted to remain anony­mous, said the weapons and supply Hems are first sent to· 1ecret military camps in the Florida Everglades.

From there, the weapon!'; are either smuggled into Cuba to equip the Anti-Castro uriderground, or are used by F1or­Jda-based raiders in ligrtning sabotage strikes on the Cuban coast, the informant said.

The latest shipment of arms, including machine guns, .left over the week end on a boat manned by "Ameri-

. can soldiers of fortune and ex-Marines," he said. The boat- was docked at a se­cret site in ihe New Orleans 'B.:rea dur­ing the. loading operation.

The informant insisted that his group Is an informal organization and has nothing to do \\1th the Miami·based Cuban Revolutionary Council, headed by Jose :r-.nro-Cardona.

''A lot o! us got tired of those who speak in pretty phrases and who have political ambitions in OJba," he said ... We were tired of wasting time. We looked

for men of action and found them."

* * * THE IXDICATIOXS ARE THAT THE LOCAL Cubans are llffiJiated, or are attempting to affiliate, ~1th the Revo­Jutionary Stl..ldent Directorate. The directorate, which

1 was

one or the member organizations in the CUban RevolUtion­ary Council Until it withdrew r;everaJ months ago, is credited wlth being the largest anti-Castro group fighting in the Clban ""clandestinaje," or underground.

The in:ormant said that most of the guns and supplies f.hlpped from here were donated by U. S. citizens in New Orleans or cities in other Southern states. ·

In recent weeks. the supplieS have been coming into Ne-w" Orleans-and going fo the guerrillas-at a sharply in­creased rate, he said,

In addition to weapons, recent items sent to the &Uer­rillas include radios, gasoline-pov..·ered electric generators and medical supplies, he said.

Some of the weapons are tested at a hidden site in this area before being forwarded to F1orida, he said.

The informant &aid the FBI and the U. S. government are aware of the local weapons·supply operation and of the F1orida raider bases. ·

I . * * * HE SAID TH.o\T l\IOST OF THE LARGE·SCALE sa}».

tag,; reoorted in Cuba recently-the d£'struction of l'l chemi-. cal plant ahd new national bank building in Hlivana,t a:........ 'burning of a fertilizer plant in Camaguey-was the r:-

.. of the F1orida·based 5aboteurs. · . . . V _

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NEW ORLEANS STATES-ITEJI 5/21/62 New Orleans, La. NEff ORLEANS OFFICE

LARRY LABORDE IS - CUBA

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used .jn Grre~e. Korea and Laos-supplying re«iers pw' .eu~rrlllas frorlt protected sanctuaries," he ss.id. • This Is necessary, he ~aid, because of the effectiveness of Castro•• counten-spionage service. As a result, the ••ciandeatinaje"' is rather loosely organized, he eid. . Beea:UJ.e or he&\.<>y Castro pressure, tht underground i'ightel"'l have requested the New Orleam; CUbans to aend them smaller weapons which are easier" to conceal, the w~~~~ .

* *· * ~JG!'\S OF IN\"ASION are popping out all oVer. The local Cuban arms·suppliers mysteriously predict

... liOmelhing really big"' within &everal week5 • . . a local pilot received a call a month ago from a U. S. civilian pilot, '"iw offered him $2000 a month to train CUban helicopter pilots at .a secret base in Mexico. The helicopters were re­portedly supplied by 8 Florida air force base ... Castro propaganda ort:ans cry of upcoming "imperialist ag·

~ssion."

* * * A:S V..'TERESTIXG MILITARY _A~ALl"SIS on what It would take to overthrow Castro was given The States·ltem by Gen. Raymond F. Hufft-I.Duisiana's most decorated World War U vet, commander of units in the nation'S first s~ dal forces {commando) section in the second war, 'BD au. thority on Latin American military operations and a mill· tary prophet whose predictions regarding Kor~an war cas­ualties "Were embarrassingly correct.

The best means or waging a Cuban war would be to use CUbans in a conventional Invasion-but only after sizeable numbers of ".special forces" guerrmas, &uch as ones D0\'1.' being trained Bt Fort Bragg, N. C., have softened up Olba for at least 90 days. The U. S.-traincd guerrillas would be parachuted in, or brought in by submarine, he said, and would co-operate with Cuban guerrillas now lighting.

However. if the pentagon decided to use U. S. troops instead of Cubans, it would take at least 40,000 airborne fighting men to carry off a conventional invasion. Again, the 90 days of erosion-by.guerrilla would be a neces­sity prior to the im·asion, he said.

Jl( ."JJil' "JJil' THE 11\"'\'ASIOX TALK COMES significantly on th~ eve

of fr..e 60th Pnniversary of Cuban independence. It was on May 20, 1902, that U. S. troops left Cuba aftq three .1;eau Qf post-Spanish-American war occupation duty, 'B.nd that CUban ch;lian leaders took over the island's government.

I. Carlos de la Vega, able information officer for the 1~ cal OJban Revolutionary Council branch, said a special \independence day Mass was celebrated at 9:30 a. m. yester· ·day in Our Lady of Guadalupe church. }Jterv.·ard a

lbli.ef cefemany ·-was held at the Spanish-Americin ~ar memorial at Claiborne and Canal.

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In both cases, U. S. air cover and naval proteetio.n '\\'OUld be required, he said. There could be no attempt at concealing the U. S. presence in such an operation, ·he ~- '

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Such a heavy fighting force would be necessary, he said, .. 1

because of the vastly strengthened Castro army, equipped · with much self-propelled artillery, Russian jets, Czech arms and many more tanks than last year.

And since last year's disastrous Bay ot Pigs invasion, Castro troops have had a valuable year of intensive miJitary training. The number of Russian, Czech and Red Chinese military men. or ••teclmical advisors," has also be-en sub­stantially increased, he said. -- Ru!i=".ia \\.'Ollld not intervene, he predicts, be< :a use o[ 1\e disadvantage&• of fighting a war so far away from home · &upply bases. ' ~,.,.·,

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~-~!).A..1ITY~ roa lffi:E REC0:'1DJ .. - . LoUislsna ·J<m:vm1 Ucc Depot • [ 5361.98 . ·, .· . :, · .

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The_ o:1l7 c:ce of the &bove -, s ppe.:~ red 1n neva 1 te=s 111 tl::at or - -te:;tified before -::he Lou1s1a!l!l __ the ~ tms that Gorooo BOVEL tesufiea~ llcm:L had been srsntcd .. .,._ .. · · 1=mfty 1'rm ~lrt. by GJ,._'t.qiCC!f 1n ~ to test1f7 before t;!le . __ , -C=iee!on. GARREOll h!>-s ~rgcd nOVEL \:ith but'glacy or the !loo::a .

. IiOVEL s:1 id V"'...S a CIA opera t1oo.. li.o\.:::ls ia -.. .: -- -can be See:l fr't:n the t:ap ot t.oo1s1cl::s 1n the ~ -. - - .

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00 1ndlces ver-e n~gs.tive o:1 ·tl:.e ne:::es lis~ exe{:pt ror rer~~eing '- -thea to tile above r.er.ti=ed. re~ •'hieh is <btcl 7 l~rch 1961; · - · _ -

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. -. <:.;y' . ··- . :::-~ :- By_BIL~-S:nJ~- _ : ;_-;:j, ,- ,;-{-:._:.,__ f!!llttiA troll! tmpo~t sabolol:;e massaoru. : _ . ... ·:;:·-7 . LocaL- CUbans and a· shadowy -American ad- ,_ 1 ._:;~ .. ~bell, , local_ delega~e to the CUban Revolu~onary ::-· t h b kina ( · -hl b t , Council, bow ever, coni1rmed that last week the 'Miama coun--- ven urer ave een wor o everl3 Y- u un- cil headquarters nixed the Covington base for undisclosed

successfully- for over a month to set up an anti- · reason.s. :-Castro guerrilla training base near ·covington. ---. · - - • • . -. ··-

The American soldier-o!-!ortune. The States-Item learned, ~no is this Patrick? is Gerald Patnck Hemming, who goes by the nomme RABELL DESCRIBES Bnl as a rangy, six-foot-seven de 6UerTe ot Jerry Patrick. He clajms to be an ex-Marine. tYpe who can shoot two heavy milchine guns from• the

PatricK nrst popped into the news' last summer when hip at the same time, cowboy ~tyle. Miami sources say he l\riami r:ewspapers found he was training anti-Castro guer• wears _an ·Australian bush hat; sports a neat beard and rillas in the l::veq;lades. He called his band the l{lter- wears .hl.s hair !on: and wa.,Y. He's been described as an continental Pcnetrarion Force. Both he and " Interpen," Erroll F1ynn type an appearance, a French ml.!sketeer type however, dropped out of sight last fall after the FB! began and as the "biggest, strongest and handsom~t'' man in chec.kin6 to see It he was violating U.S. neutrality laws. lnterpen.

Last February, Patrick showed up in New Orleans, AJthough he claims his group has little money, local apparently at the invitation ol local CUban Re,·olutionary CUbans guess that he has extensive hnancial backing. His -Council leaders · and other CUbans who :· . ~~ equipment is of tl'le latest model, and the power boat he­wanted to take direct action a gainst f • • ~ ·t ., Castro. With the help ot anonymou's U.S. • ~

).; .. I • t patroru, the CUbaru began supplying Pat- , f!:' _f.- r r ick with machine guns, explosives and ~7-re ., ; ot.'ler military supphes. • \~ ·"!-·~;:<'J

Patrick made regular trips here. slip- • (...~. ~...,~ < pbz in and out of the port secretly in :.'c l.~ .. a modem, well-eqwpped PT boat. · , - ~~;;:j

Last spring, another anonyr.tous U.S. ' ,.:· . -~ .. ~ patron o!lercd the Cubans and Patrick' ~ -·/fA i'j a large tract or land-<:omplete \vith ajr ,. , .A . s trip on the north shore of Lake Pontchnr- aTVcKEV train. Patrick agr~d to set up a training base, handlin' classes ot 50 or so Cuban recruitS at a time. After com­pletion of the training, the guerrillas would be like their Ever&lal!es counterparts, transported to Cuba secretly to work w1th the anti-Castro ' 'Clandcstinaje" (underground). ·

The men would also have been used to make lightnin.: ·ajds on the CUban coast to divert the attention ot Castro's

brings here periodically is ,"at leas t a S20,000 job.'' Patrick tells CUbans he wants to topple Castro because

the Fidelista rega.rne Imprisoned his CUban Wue on charges ot " counter-revolutionary activity." She has been sentenced to 30 years.

About 30, Patrick claim~ to have served with the Marine Corps for more than four years, including a stint 1n the Far East as a sel6eant- with the Marine Alr Win:. How­ever, when Patrick lint began to get b~adlines there, Miaml sources said .Marine records show no trace of either a Patrick or a Hemmi..r.g.

Patrick also says he was a pa.nttoop instructor with Castro in '1.958, and stayed on with the CUban reiUJ:e until Augus t, 1960. About the time he lett CUba, he was aJso involved .in an "Invasion" intended to topple the Somoza

·regime in Nicaragua. E stimates of the size ot his o~a.nization ' r an&e front

30 to 100 men-Cubans, Americans. La.tizu, Canadians and others.- •.•

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''We weed out~~ -~-;'ackpoti and.bums:.7' .. he- has;s~ -=- ·

Interpen ;i3-·.conneeted with the :int~~tion~. Antt--·.:: Co-mmunist Brigade headed by Fra:•k Fiorini another Amer-"""" ican who \fought with Castro (and who was rewarded by becoming overseer o! Havana gambling operations aftel' Batista's fall). Now at" odcU with Castro, Fiorini claimed. earlier this month that 20 al his men had landed in Cuba's Matanz!is province.

• • • :. !:~ BOTH FIORL"', A.."'tD PATRICK at one time had con­

nections with Sanchez ~ango, former-- minister· of foreign .relations -"and education under pre-Badsta· President Cc;r­los Frio Socarras. It's an educated guess.. that Patrick's

. big- backer might be Prio, who reputedly lett CUba with a.- btlge- fortune. · · •.. ~~"·· • · · -~_.:...:·Although the Patrick. gueii1.11a base- ·plan. fell through · hete.>·there:' is enough happening to- whet ·the· appetite of ciny inv3.sion-rumor connoiseur. r -~:

~-_La-31 April, The States-Item confirmed for the first tizr.e- that Cubans were trained here, at the old Algiers uni.:nunition: duffip. for the Bay of Pigs invasion: Their CUban.. leader, an ex-Castro officer ·named Nino Diaz, · re­turned "io l\oliam(·when the New Orleans force was unable to-land:

Latest reports now are that Diaz and a group ot from 80 to. 100 men renu-ned to CUba within recent weeks, and are fighting now in the Sierra 1Iaestra mountains of Oriente pro\·ince.

• • • .AT LEAST EIGHT OTHER refugees who lived in New

():-leans are now in CUba with the underground, RabeU said.- Tne only such retugee whose name he remembers. he said, is Carlos La.zaraba, a pilot.

Broadcasts !roin the three unde"rground radio trans 6

:nitt~rs iru:ide Cuba, which are occasionilly received here nn short wave, also indicate the presence of New Orle-an3 Cubans on the island. A favorite codt! message to relath·es

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~~;'S~"'t;a~~> ;a~ gq;.~~::!-0:7, oqPo- :;aC'~(')~~ c-;;;g--~1.11:::~~ >-'011 ~o~~ 0 ~c;r:rC::Cl ~ s~o.:t·~~:z> ~- ":]• Qlt'IJCI) 3c::l"~ Oa ..., l'.)a~:a"ttnr.~ ~ :!.:a.!';.~a:!:go:...o g :~;:J:J-:1::;-("latt;:jCA ~~ ... cnc:c~o ; " ao " ~ a"::l :::I t"'

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heie wOuld go· sOmething like thl;::·t.UI;;;~ G3.::--;;Sa-ys. hi~ ·· --~­cei-ta.inly misses that grocery star~ back'. ~a -j\·[fr~ street.;_~:~ Other-. local landmarks are aho referred. to •in the broad· casts.

And in <Miami a trem~ndous wave of optinilim has swept the large Olban colony there, accordln~ to Girardo Aha-icon o! th~ highly respected and ir..!onnative T:-u~ _About Cuba Conimittee. (Abascon, forme!' owner of a distillery in CUba befor-e- Castro, was her-e rec~ntly. He and other committee workers translated imp01tant n~,.,.-s

items from Castro news media ar.d circulate them . in

· ...

pr-inted form throughout thl.i country.). ·~

- All this comes on the eve oe a significant Castro an- ~~ . ·rtiversary-JuJy 26. On that date nine )eai:i ago, Ca.s-.ro -first bur:;~ into Cuban headlines \-.:hen rr.ore than 100 ol his followers made a suicidJ.l assault on the 1\Iancada ba~ racks, a Batista army bas a in Santi2.go, Oriente proYince. ··

.<\T IDS TR~-\L FOR THE l\oionceda aSS.::!.Ult, Caitro de­livered an eloquent addr-ess otulini.ng hls program for a "democratic and socially jus~·· Cllba-a.n addres3 admired by many of his anti-Communist followers. ,

The- upshot o_f the \.\'hole affair is that Ca31io' .i political group was named the "Mo\"imienro 26 C.e Julio."

Aba:.;con reports that Cuban press .sa.rs Castro plans -a tremendou;; demon~tration L1. Santiago on the 26th i.., ho:tor

of th~ anniversary. It might be jnteresti.n;: to k-now wl-:at kind of demonst:"atioru the anti-Castro underground are plan• -. ning the same day. ·" .

Interestingly er.ough, a newly-arrived refugee, Eduarti.g· Domil'!quez, told The States-Item he was in on pla.cJ:lln:" t.'lat 1953 Moncada assault .. He said he had lc.own Castro as a student in the University of Havana (where Domi•"'llU.U: studied 3.ccoUllt::icg).

Ah, but reliabl~ old fate stepped in and D.omi"'...q,li.eZ didn't get to go on the .i\Ioncada assault. Reason?

''I lost my pistol," .~te ~_aid. •. I· ·•! ·••

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