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2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F_ KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992
SECRE''
24 April 1970
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: Mee ting With WUSLAB/1/ on 22 April 1970
1 Arrangements and Security: The meeting took place
in the [@fficezisafehouse at 1400 on the above date and ended
at 1500 There were no incidents of a security nature
2 _ Production: Bolivian Ambassador Julio Sanjines
2 Goytia talked on the phone to president Ovando on 20 April-
Ovando said that there was pressure from the civilian members
of the cabinet on the Debray case They related their request
that Debray should be released to a letter Ovando wrote the
Italian novelist Alberto Moravia which they claimed stated
he would release Debray _ Ovando commented to Sanjines that
1
he had not committed himself to release Debray _ The civilians
think that the release of Debray and Bustos would take the
pressure off the government Ovando admitted that the govern-
ment could not control the students The Minister 0f Education
had been destroyed when the USIS installation was damaged .
2
Ovando commented that he would reconsider the Debray situation
and commented that there were no legal precedents for Debray' s
release The military will go along with it if Ovando and
the cabinet will put down the union members if needed _ Marcelo
2
1
Quiroga still claims to be able to influence a segment of the
mineworkers . Ovando does not want to suppress by force the
1 student demonstrations Ovando indicated that there is a wave
of uneasiness in the country _ He is thinking about taking a
stronger hand in certain issues and compromise on other issues
3 Minister of Planning Jose Ortiz Mercado is coming to
Washington on 2 for a four day visit before he goes to
San Jose for the inauguration of Figueres _ WU SLAB/1
believes that Ortiz will be
Een_KeReh
him] and tell him what
the tuation is like back in La Paz He will attend the
review of the Bolivian program
4 Sanjines described the Rogelio Miranda Baldivia
problem (Miranda is the Army Chief of Staff in Bolivia) as
a personal matter which has now become ideological - He does
not get along with General Juan Jose Torres , the Commander of
the Armed Forces Miranda is now trying to change some
commanders in field commands
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5 _ I' asked some clarifying questions on the OAS report
of a possible demonstration against the OAS Assembly in Santo
Domingo in June 1970_ He said that Rolz-Bennett normally
maintains contact with the OAs Deputy Secretary General
Urquia who is a close personal friend and is also a Central-
American The head of the UNDP office in Santo Domingo is
Hugo Navegas He has been asked to the information on
the possibility of such a disruption _
6 Victor Paz Estenssoro is one of three experts picked
up under an OAS contract with the University of Engineering
in Lima . In actuality, Paz will receive a P-4 salary from
the OAS_ The project is up for board approval and will last
at least a year
7 WUSLAB/1]went on at length on the difficulties between
Miss Alexander the former Bolivian ambassador to the OAs whose
parents were murdered in La Paz and Sanjines In brief Miss
Alexander was accompanied to Washington by a catholic priest
Father Eduardo_ Sanjines offered to find him lodging in a
Washington monastery, but he demurred . Whenever Sanjines
called Miss Alexander during crises in Bolivia at early morning
hours the father would answer the phone _ He also helped with
Miss Alexander work at the OAS and was around the Embassy
office Sanjines once found them doing some research in his
files _ Colonel Banzer when assigned to Washington, said
that there was an inte
iligence
report that Father Eduardo
had been involved with the guerrillas The military finally
forced the father to leave the Embassy _ Miss Alexander sent
him $100 on which to live When her parents were killed he
reappeared When Miss Alexander returned to La Paz she read
a written report submitted by Sanjines on her affair with
the priest , and when she came back to Washington she called
up Sanjines_ and told him off_
8 _ Sanjines said that his relations with the State
Department have cooled off_ He thinks that the nationaliza-
tion of Gulf 0il has Weakened the government There is 2
vacuum in Bolivia and this has caused the present Bolivian
government to be much more subservient to the United States
than was the government of Rene Barrientos_ He believes
)
however that his own position with the Bolivian government
had been strengthened _ Sanjines is going to San Jose for
the presidential inauguration_ He heard from Colonel Ayoroa
that Victor Paz Estenssoro as a personal friend of Figueres ,
had also been invited to the inauguration_ Sanjines said
that it would be interesting to talk to Paz _
9 _ I
asked WUSLAB/]7if there were any recent deve lop-
ments between his 'assistant] and the Soviet Embassy . During
SECRET 3 /3c
get
's
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3
8,6
his absence Mr Peary, his assistanf] received a telephone
Zall from KUTArov the Soviet Under-Secretary , who asked
that DPeary send directly to him Congressional reports on
Chemical Warfare USSR-US cultural exchanges , hearings on
the United Nations_ These documents are being sent to
KUTAKOV _ WUSLAB/1 remarked thatgthe Soviets are a lways
interested in theTinformation assistants in his office
and never the lffice 3directoj]:
They were interested in
Manton , Tlompson
and Peary}
10 _ Plans: The will be on 28 April at
1400 _ wUsLAB7i/goes tof Ba
oe8tteaoref
timorelon 29 April to have his
eyes checked .
Fb m
FLOYD B_ MCCULLY
(uuseab]ots
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