Transcript of 104-10177-10239.pdf
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14-Q0000 104-10177-10239 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Wasmington D.c zo535
1 Sil,'
MEAORANDUM FOR: Mr _ John Narner
Chief, International Intelligence Division
Office of Intelligence
Drug Enforcenent Adninistration
ATTENTION: Mr _ Robert Goe
SUBJECT Cuban Exiles Involved With DEA
REFERENCES A. SEC- IGI-76-0048() , 06 February 1976
B . SEC- IGI-76-0062(1) , 20 Februal_ 1976
10t8 DOCOMENT EA3 BEII
C SEC- IGI--76-0665(1) , 25 February 1976 aPBROVED Eor RELEASB BX
DEA ov LAPR7Y
01
nntiel
1_ This Agency was requested by . DE to check the
backgrounds of Cuban exiles who have come to the
attention of DEA either as potertial informants 01 as
liaison contacts: According co prelininary checks
conducted by DEA , there were indications that these_
individuals had Past records 0f "political and revolu-
Ii tionary intriguc DEA , concerned that it may be the
target of a provocation operation by another govern -
ment, requested this Agency 5 assessment of the
situation. This memorandum contains the results.0f a
check of cur Headquariers records on these individuals,
followed by a Sunmary of our findings and conc lusions.
The order of this response is keyed to Reference B:
2 . Nario Elox_JINENEZ-Rojo DPOBA 03Warq
1921_Lajas, Tas ViTas Zcuba, JINENEZ) was of interest
to this Agency in 1960 but according to: Our records he
THIS DOCUMENT IS NOT TO BE DiSSEMINATED ABROAD OR
OUTSIDE THE HEADQUARTERS OF TNE RECEIVING AGENCY
NITKOUT PERMI SSION QF THE ORIGINATOR
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14-00000
SUBJECI : Cuban Exi lcs Tovolved with DF^ 2
#Js at Jio timc used' opcrationally _ Our filcs
no additional infornation OnCLZCE Sincc {96gontain
except for a 1969 FBI report dea ] rith his iniolve- nent in a plan to assassinatc Fidcl Castro _ (DCI already has a cop} 0 f this report. ) Although in- formation obtaincd from a Rcport of Invest iGation
(ROI) by Alfrcdo Duncan (DEA/Caracas) dated 01 December 1975 indicatcs that QINENEZ is a U,S_ citizen, resides in Caracas and has contacts with variuus GOV officials, we haie no information in our Headquarters files to substant iate this informat ion.
In November 1975 the. Caracas Regiona] office (CRO) requested traces from our field represcntative QINENES who was reportedly in contact with the CRO . The
Toiioxing
traces were forwarded to our represen - tative in Caracas on 03 December 1975 for_passage to DEA: "Following data on Qazio By IMNI Koja
taken from his own undated handwritten bio sumna which subnittcd to the anti-Castro
rY
Revolucionario (FRD) in Miami
EbouEtiges_
and {ron an FRD Personncl_Form. QTNENEZ
1960 ,
Sarch 19z7 in Lajas Las Cuba _ He a
Ebenaea |
Ehe. University of Havana ad ma
Joredin business
adninistration} Erom 1948 until 1952 hias 'elected mayor for years (of
'Favanacy he
JINENE
was sectetary to the President of Congress in Hla Vana from 1941 (sic) until 1958 _ He came €o the U.S. (Miami) as aq immigrant in April 1959 _ JINENEZ stated his Pukpose in coin to the WS. was, to in the eradicacion of the:Cuban systen_
JiENGZssis
married to Dyalmg Balasquide At the time his Hio sunmary
was writter} he stated Ke was a second Hieu - tenant in the U.S, Xit highly unlikely thatl
JJIMENEZ was secretary to the President of the Cuban
ress at age fourteel ad only a little less un - Likely that he was J Eyor iC age twenty-one, as the dates given by JLMENEZ show suggest DEA ask the Department of Army for further information.)" #e) also notc that a statement on his processing for the FR indicated that JIMENEZ waSxa
iormezpers
nember 9f ehe Revolutionary Insurfectiona nion_KUIR
lin (Cuba a Cubin-stYfe_mifia_ rhich was prOminent luning_Lhe +940vs and T950*5 and was under thc Tatrbn? lage of anti-Batista political figures On 12 Deccgbe 1925 we receivcd a Ieduest_from the CRO that JMEIEZ be rcgistered in the ISR as a DEA source_ (Hle formally registercdon Z9 Decenber T9TSZ was
Pes?
ing
on
apparenblbemoctatico
was
ViTzs
four
ing
Army:
Cong
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SUBJECT: Cuban Exilcs Involved with DEA 3
3, OrJando GARCIA Vasqucz _ DPOB : 16 June1927 , Havana CuFa _ GARCTA (at onc time a naturaliacd U:S_ citizen/18 194 5 in,South Carolina) bccane-
a Venezuclan citizen ca 1962 _ GARCIA has a long history
as a political sincc pre-Batista days in Cuba . Hle was a menber o€ the Union Insurrectiona] Rero - lucionaria (UIR) in Cuba along with Fidel Castro and other persons who were involved in Political assasi - nations_ He claims to have scrved with the U.$_ 8 Znd Airborne Dirision from 1945-47 and to hare returncd to Cuba thereafter to attend the University of Harana
on the GI Bi)2 . About mid- 52 Subject left Cuba for Miami because of a scindal' in Cuba ovcr a crine a) - legedly comnitted by GARCIA _ In 1953 he becane a bodyguard for Costa Rican Prcsident FIGUERES , wvho introduced hin to Romulo BETANCOURT who was then in exile in Costa Rsca . It is beiieved
that GARCIA ' s fast rise in thc Venezuelan go ernment is based on his earlier service to Accion Denocratica (AD) cxiles in Costa Rica where hc reportcdlv eliminated several
gunmen sent to ki]l BETANCOURT , When BETANCOURT
became presidenc of Ver ezuela (1959-64 ) GARCIA ras appointed a division chief in the Directorate Gencral of Police (DIGEPOL) nOw the Directorate for the Services of Intelligence and Preventicn (DISIP)_ GARCIA left Venezuela for Miami In 1964 'for hea lth reasons (ulcers) and during this stay in Miami worked at thc Venezuelan Consulate He returned to Venczuela in 1966 and rc - portedly held positions within the Venezuelan Ministry
of Interior (exact positions not known) . In August 1869 GARC IA was ass kgned a5 First Secre to thc Venezuelan_ Embassy in George t8g76 Guyigz He rcturned to Venezuela somet ime during OT 1971 and was assigned as Special Assessor (Advisor) Ministry of ign Relations where he was mainly concerned with Venezuelan national border inc idents and riolations_ Apcorated to information dated 1974 GARCIA wa$
to head a special foreign intciligence
service within the Ministry of Interior:
In Novembcr 1973 our representativc in Caracas
wa $ qucried 0y DEA Caracas concerning
a report which
was prepared on 06 Septcmber 1973 in Miani by S.A._ Michael D _ Brom , whici cccused GARCIA 0f being in: rolved in narcotics trafficking a@ bqne 2 TIA
Pagc
Ma}
thug
tary_
Fore=
July
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SUBJECT: Cuban Exilcs Inrolvcd vith DLA Pagc 4
infarmane: DEA Caracas 6as adviscd that GRCTL t
7[QMTAgecy aSSrtttTc marcHaintaincd
contact With @m Qker thcFeacsz Althougl i: is Known
that GARCTA has associatcd kith known traffickcrs, no
hard [acts concerning his circct inroliement in
narcotics have bcen uncovcrcd. GARC IA has been
Gescribed over thc years as a political thuc, a
nurderer _ a con-man, a pa thological liar, and a
"bright, aggfessive Toguc who is ruthless- #hen ncces-
sary _ GARCHA has apparently a ) ways sided with the
men in power and seems to havc ga incd the confidcnce
of many leaders in the countrics around thc Caribbean.
A DEA ROI dated 10 Octobcr 197 4 Kritten by S.A_ Brom
at Miami reportcd that GARC IA kas in the Unitcd States
and was in contact with Ricardo MORALES (sce' paragraph
4) = GARCIA made sevcral trips to the U.$ on beha lf
of the GOV during 1974-75. Your.Agency is referred
to the FBI for infornation conccrning GARC IA ' s
activities in thc U.S_
Ricardo WORALES Wavare TPOB : T4 June
1939 Havana Cuba NORALES took Tefuge in the
Brazilian_Enbassy in Havana in October +960 an
entercd the United States as a Cuban Tc fugee at Niami
Flor id OI 29 Novenber 1960 He was a sexf-admitted
former G- 2 agent Although MORALES wa $ iterest
this Agency fv `964 hc was nut used operationally.
Information in 968 indicated that NORALES wa $ 2
nember Qf "Cuban Roker _ am1 anti-Castro tertorist
organization;_ whose was to fiquidate foreign
the Castra Tcgime MORALES was atrcsted syiro;
114 Fcbruary 1968 in MianiAna questioncd regarding
a reccnt bomb incident On 02 Oc tober 1972 DEA/
Niami registered MORALESinthe I SR as a DER informant
Accprding to a DEA cabxe from Miami R/o to Caracas Rlo,
17 February 1976 MORALES wvas Reported to bc an adtes
ive DEA infornart since 25__Februaxy 921 and to
havc reccntly left thc Mjani area co g8 tq Caracas to
take up an official position with a senSitive GoV
agency (This Agcncy has no upda ted iof3)?-Fion on
MORALES tosubstantiatc this information. ) Miami
R/dVrated MORALES 35 bcing an cxtrcncly reliable soyrc
and sugeested Caracas R/o use cauticn in utilizirg
JARALES_ duc to_his prcsent status ithin chc Goi A
DE:I RQ I (datcd 10 Octobcr 1974) Krittcn by s
diclaelD: ~Bron at_Wiani_reportelthat_MORALES wi$
tte
of
pai_ icy
for
ing
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64
SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Involvcd with DIA Pa gc 5
in contact wich onc Orlando GARCIA, who wa $ in thal
Miami area Tccrui Cubans for usc in a Vcnczuclan
Special Forccs Unit. Your Agcncy i{ rcfcrrcd to thc
FBIZ for infornat ion conccrning tke activities of
these individuaIs in the United Statcs _
5 Justo LARAZO Alfonso _ A chcck of our records
turned up one Justo ATFonso (no DPOB) = a Cuban-exile,
who was active in anti-Castro organizations in the
late 1960' s. Your Agency is referrcd to thc FBI for
information on this individuel_
6 Mlanue) De ARMAS _ DPOB: 06 November 1947 ;
Havana Cuba; na turalized U.S_ citizcn living in Miami.
On 17 October 1975 onc Manucl De ARMAS contacted our
ovcrt Domestic Contact Division (DCD) office in Miami
offering his serrices as a doublc agent _ Following are
excerpts fron two DCD Reports datcd 20 October 197 5 and
19 january 1976 ba sed on debriefings of De ARIAS: While
in Cuba De ARMS claimed to have becn the ncichbor of.
Raul BETANCOURT thc brother of the former Venczuelan
Prcsident Rozulo BETANCQURT and his two daughters
Antonieta and Hariela who wa $ Dc ARMIAS ' girl friend :
De ARMAS ' mother
dccidcd
in 1962 that Subject should
leave Cuba which he did: In 1975, De ARMAS found out
that his two Young cousins had been placed in an orphan-
age in Cuba . He made contact with Mariela BETANCOURT
telling her that he nas fed up with the U.S_ system of
government in order to hcr 'attention on the matter
8f taking his cous ins out of Cuba Mariela asked him
if he rould be Nilling to work for thc Cuban Government
and he replied he would if it help the youngsters.
Mariela then told De ARMAS to g0 to Caracas and meet
with her sister Antonieta_ Dc ARMAS went to Caracas on
02 October 3975 and met with Antonieta but no proposals
were made on the possibility 0f his working for the
Cuban Governnent. On 17 Octobcr 1975 De ARMIAS aga in
called Mariela and $ told that he should return to
Vcnezucla to.hold morc talks with Antonieta and "other
people: After talking with Mariela on 17 October 1975,
De AR;LS called our DCD/Miam i officc because as a U.$
citizcn he clained that he did not rant to involved:
with thc Cuban Gorernnent unless he had this Agency' $
approra ] _ Dc ARis graciously offercd his services as
a doublc agcnt - He callcd DCD/ Miami on 20 Octobcr 1975
ting
gain
would
get
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SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Inio [oed with DEA Fagc 6
and again on 07 January 1976 to resubni t his of fcr and
insisted on a 'tesponsc. Ilc Kas t0 ld that his offer
rould be forrarded through thc appropriate channcls .
(Notc: Our records shor that thcrc bas no CIA intcrest
in De ARMLAS past or present. ) On 13 January 1976 our
rcpresentative in Miaci wJs told that the FB I Miami
office had bcen in contact with Subjcct and rishcd to
verify De ARMAS ' cIaio chat hc Kas in contact with out
DCD Miani office_ The FBI aIs0 a sked whether this
Agency had any objcction for further FB I contact with
Subject: on the "same basis had previously_ (Note:
Thc type or length of FBI contact with De ARMA S is not
known Your office is referrcd to the FBI for additional
information. )
On 04 February 1976 DEA Caracas received a
DEA message ( 02406) Nhich rcquested permission for
Miami CI Manucl Lconardo De ARSi: S to travel to Caracas
for a one kilo heroin, buy from a Colombian whom De ARNS
had previously met through 3 Ma ria A BETANCOURT _ Per-
mission was given and De ARMAS arrived in Caracas on 11
Fcbruary 1976 _ No nention of drugs was made on this
trip but according to Dc ARMAS he wa$ taken to the Cuban
Embassy in Caracas on 12 Fcbruary 1976_ where he wa $
allgedly approached to work for tne
Cuban
Government
in an inte lligence capacity De ARMAS reported these
events to DEA Caracas on 12 . February 1976; he wa$ ad -
vised to return to the U.S. Our reprcsentative in
Caracas Ia 5 briefed on the De ARHAS case by SA IC Duncan
on 13 February 1976 _ GCaracas Statiom was very interested
in having De ARNAS return to Caracas for use a5 a
possible source on Cuban intelligeace actirities, @
Esreps Were taken to TequestThat DBtturn De ARAS
Coe IoHis Agendyz 1 background check was conducted
on De ARMAS 2t that tine and on 20 February 1976 the
FBI representativc in Miani reported thc following in-
formation: "The FBI has been avo iding contact with
De ARSAS for the past couple of months 'tabricacer he wa 5
assesscd as a nenta )y unba lanced De
ARMAS gavc a press interriew in Niami in early February
1976 in which he clained an affiliation with virtually
every U.S_ intelligence agency _ He sai4 that he had
worked for CIA and had attended a CIA t ra ining school-
The press intervicw has thus far not bcen published
presumably because it is too far fetchcd De ARMAS
SEREET
thcy
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SUBJECT: Caban Exilcs Involved with DCA pagc 1
rcccived a bank loan of $1,500 in Miami and has' dcfaulted
on somc S800 0f the ameunt. Thc fina] not c on Dc ARMAS
is that hc reccivcd a gencral dischargc from the U.S.
Army with a notation that hc had psychological and
behavioral problens Thc gist of the a foremcntioned
FB I information has been passcd to DEA Caracas Al
agencies concerned agrcc that contact with De ARMAS
should ceasc De ARMAS again contacted S.AS Duncan in
Caracas on 26 Fcbruary 1976 and requested a meeting; he
said that the rcquest was not drug related but con
cerned the "Cuban matter. Vo S.A. Duncan advised De ARALAS `
that he was on his Olin and that DEA would not get in =
volved_ As DEA Headquarters is aware, De ARALAS re-
portedly lcft for Mexico 0/a 26 February 1976. We have
20 subsequent reporting on his movemcnts_
7 Thrce of the five a forementioned individuals
are known to have had past conncctions: GARCIA Vazquez
and JNBNIZZRoio were both former_ members of the UIR
in Cuba at one time andTORALES Navarette Forwg
~hban 6-2 ant was in contact with GARCIA in the
Uni States dur 1974-75_ Although there have been
allegations a imed a tOQRRALES and GARC IA over the yeats
accus thcm of being Cuban agents and/or o f narcotics
involvement, these claims have not been substantiated
and for the most part are based on circumstantial
evidence or guilt by association, whichhappeds
frequentLy_ among Cubans Zs NQRALES has Been a DEA
@nformant since 1971 and in face Tas Tatcd a$ ana
"extermely-eTiabTe" source by the Miami RLo; =a_desire
~on_ his_part_tocontinue this_Lefationship in_Caracas;
Ke feel cannot be construed as part of a provocation:
operation_ A check of our records rcflected no past
intelligence backgrounds for LAZARO Alfonso and De
ARMAS Whi le there is a paucity of background infor-
mation in our files on Justo LAZARO . in ur OPinion he :
is attempting to extort moncy from the U.S. Governent
based on a Poorly conceived idea of" his orn _ The De
ARMAS casc appears to have been resolved sat isfactorily
for a 11 concerned _ A1l Agencies concerned agree he is
unstable and contact should be' either serered, or if:
unavoidable, it should be made with extreme caution .
ted ing
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SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Iorolce with DEA Pagc 6
8 Following a revicw 0f a 11 infornation on the
forcgoing Subjccts ava ilable at DEA Ileadquartcrs and
0 t this Agcncy = S Uleadquarters= #c aze 0 f the opinion
that thcrc is no data or othcr evidcncc to suggcst an
outside organization is attcmpt to manipulatc these
Ind ividuals in an' operation a ircd at discrcditing the
U.S, Government and DEA. 6e believe there may be
collus ion among the thrce Subjccts located in Caracas,
Probably to assist one another in nefarious schencs to
degree or another; however the information on
hand does not suggest thcir motivation wou ld 80 beyond
Persona ] financial or influcnce objectives . While one
cannotabsolutelx rule out the possibility, for example,
that the Cuban Scrvicc has run one or Mox e of the afore-
Rentioned Subjects at DEA for the purpose of harrassing
the U.S. Government , there is Do conc lusive information
Ln our files to connect then with Cuban intelligence or
4 Venezuelan entity whose intercsts are inimical to the
U,S.
UJoln P Kannedy
Special Assistant for Coordination of
Foresgn Narcotics Information
DONC - 00038/76
ing
onc
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SUBJECT: Cuban Exiles Iovolvcd sith DEA Page 9
DDO/ OPS/NARCOGfLDav]3/ms
Distribution:
Orig. 8 1 Addressee
NARCOG CHIRONO
1 IP/AN"
"File in 201-0067860
X 201-0285923
X 201-0286570
Index: Justo LAZARO Alfonso, aka Justo Alfonso
Index; Manuel Leonardo De ARMAS
Coordination:
(in draft) 17 March 1976
LATCOC
draft) 17 March 1976 fn#