Transcript of 104-10179-10182.pdf
==================================================
Page 1
==================================================
14-Q0000 104-10179-10182/ 2025 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992
8
38
2 Auguet 1963
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: Meeting with AMBANG-1
1. 1 mct with AMBANG-l on 27 July 1963 in Miami.
The {ollowing i8 a reeume Of the bubine8e transacted at that
meeting:
a. Requeet_tor_High_Exloglvee
AMBANG-] stated that in vicw o my outlinc
of Btrateglc targete ineide Cuba during our laet meeting which
took place in Wabhington on 21 June 1963, he had decided to
attempt a Babotage operadi on againgt the Havana power plant:
He informed me that hc ha8 a man employed in thc power plant
In Havana who I8 capable o Jaunching thle operation: In thi8
conncction AMBANG-) abked if we could make available twenty
pounda of high exploeivee a8 well a8 Bix t 0 cight thermite grenadee.
AMBANG-l asked if it Were pobcible to have the twenty pounde
broken Irto 8maller lole. In our Iurthcr dlbcubeion Of thi8 subject,
It became apparent that A-] would be willlng to recelve the materiel
elther In San Juan or Ineide Cuba, but that hc definltely preferred
the latter Af thie were pobeible: Like In mdet other inetancee during
qur convereation, I advieed AMBANG-] that I would need to diecuee
thlo matter with my buperiore but that I could tentatively a8ure
m of our abllity and willlngneee to furnieh the high exploeivee' In
San Juan and pooblbly Inblde Cuba. At tkb Iafked AMBANG-]
" he could {orebee the nced for materlcl O thle typc Inelde Cuba:
I told hlm that I abked thlo queetion becauee II hle group were
prePared pow or,In tho near future for meaningful eabotagc action
inolde Cuba It wab concelvable that we could begin the caching 0
Doadcd materiel Jnolda Cuba: AMBANC-I abured me that
[
1
g
7
8
2
g
Point
thoy
==================================================
Page 2
==================================================
14-00ooo
2
were in & pobition to sabotage the electrical plant in Havana. (I
did not ask, neither did he bpecify which plant. ) He did not promise
Immediate actor, addang thar he wanted to aesure himbell 0f the
details of the planned operation and the safety-odds of the man
involwed A-] thed indicated that he would certainly be in a
position to accomplish thib mibeion and Other8 in the future and
wowd be most grateful for any materiel we could in place.
I Jeft tkc matter with him with the underetan that if it were
pobbible we would proceed with caching the high explosivee in
the General arca of Havana. He as8ured me of their capability
to 8errice and retricve the cache.
b. Request_fOr_Contact_in Guantaname
AMBANG-l abked me if it would be posbible for uB
to arrange bome means for Rogelio Cisnero8 to visit Guatanamo
and takk t0 his brother who i8 an employee of the Naval Baee and
another agent of their8 likewibe employed there: The reabon A-l
gave for the request wa8 that they wighed to inform Ramon Cienero8
Diaz of the JURE plans to begin the implementation Of their plan
of resistance and overthrow thc Cabtro Regimc. I advised A-l
that whereas 1 would Jook into thi8 matter a8 I could tentatively
tell him that the chance8 of accomplibhing thie were remote.
C, AMBANG-} Political Plane
AMBANG-l informed me that he wae planning at
thie time to in New York on or about 10 August and that following
thie trip he intended to go to Santo Domingo and Caracab. In Santo
Domingo he hoped to set up a small base for operatione such a8 a
Bmall house on a farm ncar the shore which could be ubed for boat
travel to Cuba Once he had made Buch arrangemente he intended
to talk to Prebident Juan Boech telling him of the plan and asklng
bte acquiescence i{ pot 8upport: AMBANG-] intende to tell Boech
that ho will not embarrae8 him and will 80 about hie bueineee In a
becure and professional manner adding that If he should embarrabo
Bobch, tke Jatter could disclaim him and -A-] would deaiet Irom
any further activicy there;
So far a8 AMBANG-]'e trip to Caracae I concerned, that
FIlI be principally devoted to orienting the JURE representation
11
Put
ding
Of
be
==================================================
Page 3
==================================================
14-000QQ
3
in that In addition, AMBANG-] will attempt to 8ce and talk
to Venezuelan Gorernment oliciale including President Betancourt:
Some time after thi8 trip AMBANG-] intende to vieit
Ceptral America principally Costa Rica and if be can procure a
vi8a, Mexico. The purpobe Of all his travel i8 the raising of funde,
tbe general tightening 0 his organization and discussions ncccseary
to coordinate their effort8.
d. Jeglation o_Cuba-
AMBANG-] made it exc eedingly clear that the
lifeline to his a86ets inBide Cuba had been severely restricted
when PAA flight8 were Buepended: Nothing could 8uit AMBANG-l
more than to have these flighte reeumed AMBANG-]'8 obviously
great interest in the resurpti on of thebe flight8 wa8 the most eloquent
otatement yet 0f hi8 belief.that he 2 network, or that he can
revive a network within Cuba. At least at thi8 stage of JURE
operation8, AMBANG-l doe8 not appear to conbider the infiltration
of manpower a8 nece8bary.
AMBANG-l gtated that the use of flights from Spain and
Mexico to Cuba was difficult and costly wherea8 the Miami-Havana
rw had been mobt ubeful in maintaining contact within Cuba. It
wa8 AMBANG-]'9 opinion that the resumption of PAA flighte would
be &n operational boom to JURE and that wherea8 he could see
Castro making some; political capital out of the flight8, he believed
tbat some appropriate statement 8uch a8 "therc i8 no political
significance but only a humanitarian and compa8Bionate rcabon for
the reebtablishment Of thie link, m would be sufficient to negate any
political advantage by Cabtro.
e AMBANG-} Phabing Qu:_of his _Emploxment
AMBANG-I gave me to believe that he 18 cloeing
and giving Up bi8 Pobition with the Corporacion de Renovaclon Urbana
Y Vivienda8 where he ie erployed a8 an engineer in charge: of -building
pre-cabt concrete houbed. AMBANG-l stated that during the pabt
week Governor Munoz Marin gave final authority for_the erection
of a to produce theee houbeo jn Puerto Rica: AMBANG-] I
city.
ha B
Bbop
Plant
==================================================
Page 4
==================================================
14- QoooQ
torn with thc thought of Jcaving thie Prolcct which he belicvce
will bc most uccc8afwl, and which woWd abbure hie livcllhood,
but he know8 that he mubt devote himbelf to {he flght againet
Cabtro. If i8 obvious to me that AMBANG-] will within the ncxt
two month8 phase out 0f thi8 employment (0 dcvote full time t0
the liberation 0f Cuba:'
{ AJURE Radio Link
AMBANG-] agkcd me If I would bc able to a0Bj6t
him in the establishment Of a San Juan-Caraca8-Miamf radio Mnk:
He explained that the JURE ha8 opent a great deal of money on
telephonic communications between theee point$ and were mogt
anxious to 8et uP a meang 0f radio communication in order to
economize. I gue88 that AMBANG-] could tell from my reaction
tbat I wab not too eympathetic to his requeet for he withdrew it
almost a8 soon as he had made it. He went on to Bay that thje
wa8 a problem which could overcome and ] prebume that he
wil 8eek to establish such radio communications without our
a8Bibtance:
Aerial Mape of_Cuba
AMBANG-l informed me that tke JURE membership
had brought out of Cuba an entire 6eries of mapg ehowing roadb ,
bridges, industrial plante, et al, which they had copied by the Aero
Service Corporation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. AMBANG-l
stated that they had rccelved most '0f tbese photos Irom the Aero
Service Corporation but that the JOl were still missing: He gave
me the numbere Of thobe misging and agked if we could procure them
I have since informed AMBANG-] that it would perhape be bebt it
he could, or hi8 organization, do thi8 inetead but that wo would
pay the travel of one of his men, Bhould thi8 prove neceeeaFy.
Attached, hercto, i0 a copy Of the mibe photos in quebtion
A JURE Organization_and Strength
AMBANG-I Inormed me that the membership 0 the
JURE in San Juan wa8 now at about 500 membere and that each
0f thebe individual: makee a weekly contributionto the organization
they
key
Bing
==================================================
Page 5
==================================================
14-00ooo
5
In Addillon there &ra largc JURE organizatione in Caracae, VeneeucJa
and Dalla0, Tcxae. Thcrc ATc accordsns {0 AMBANG-} 0 tofa/
of thirty delcgallone In Latin Amcrica, thc U: $: A. and Europc.
Ho cited 40 an example the dclcgation in San Francieco which had
rccenlly purchascd & tYF cwriter {hrough thc collection 0f grccn
etampa. Hc addcd that Rogclio Cieneros had travelled t0 San
Francibco bome timc ag0 t0 communicate witb thal group Jnd t0
tighten ite Organizational activitiee.
1 AMBANG-I Askb About ARTIME and thc Activitics
Jn Ccntra) America
AMBANG-] raibed thc question of Manucl ARTIME'8
activitlee In Central America and particularly in Nicaragua. He
Btaled thal any a8eociation with Somoza would not help in creating
the miglique and political coloration neccssary t0 Inepirc revolution
and rcbfbtance Irom the non-Communi8ts clement8 in Cuba. Wherea6,
1 had expected AMBANG-} t0 go into & harangue a8 to thc
pobitive damage that ARTIME' 8 action8 with Sonoza could caube,
he left thc mattcr at about thi8 point. 1 agrecd that the Somoza8 did not
havc a Jiberal political reputation throughout Latin America, but
added that whatever Cubans ca ld do from that or any vantage point
againet Communlem in Cuba would in my estimation be helpful,
while I am bure AMBANG-] did not agree with me, he did- nol eay
60. In respect to ARTIME and Miro Cardona, whoee name entered
into the convereation Jater, AMBANG-} took a fairly objectivc vicw.
He stated that Miro had arrived in San Juan and that he wished him
the best a8 he {Igured he had eUfered enough. Ineofar a8 ARTIME
wad concerned 1 gathered that AMBANG-L might feel that the a88ocf-
ation with Somoza would not do ARTIME any good in a post-Cablro
Cuba. Ae AMBANG-] i8 couvinced that a government after Cabtro
mubt bo 0f a progrc8eive Jibcral stripe, ARTIME wab not dolng
hlmself any good by identifying himeelf with thc Soraozae.
J: ALlet_%f_Cuban Diplomate
Ab AMBANG-] had agked Ior a list of Cuban Diplo -
mats abroad whlle wewere in Parie, Iadviscd him that ouch a IJot
had becn prcparcd and we would make it available t0 him. In thio
conncction hc abked J[ we could includc the addressco of cach of tho
Cuban Inatallatlone. Speaking of diplomate, AM BNG-} wantcd t0
long
==================================================
Page 6
==================================================
14-000QQ
~ 6
know I( Ambaesador Gustavo Arcos had rcurncd (rom Prasuc.
1 Informed him that 1 did nol know. AMBNG-] wab mout Intcreetcd
Io learn that Franqul'6 'wifc and childrcn had actwally comc out 0f
Cuba, and indlcatcd that hc would intenaify his cllorti t0 maintain
contact with Cuban Diplomat Cabrcra Infante in Brue ecle 8 6 1
meane toward thc cventual recrutment ot Franqu:
k AMBANG-LRclalion with Jergc_Voloky
In conjunction wIth questionb rcgarding propaganda
8cnt to Cuba, and the JURE'0 gcneral plane in thio Iicld, 1 abked
A-] aboul hiv rclation with Jorge Volaky- A-l stated tkat be con-
eldcred Voleky to bc an extremcly: ablc, scrioue newepaperman:
Hc added that whcrea9 hc Baw Voleky {requently on hio tripe to
Mami, the latter did not work for him: A-] statcd that Voleky' 8
work wa 8 a full-time Job which left him little time t0 do anything
elee.
A-} statcd that JURE propaganda wae produced by & twelve
man board:
A-l added that the JURE expecled t0 bhortly introduce a
etatement on it8 pobltion into Cuba.
J; AMBANG-) Aeke about Two Man Underwater Crafl
A-] agked If ] kncw anything about a }wo man type
craft which travcle through the waler. Ipresure A-l wae talklng
about the "8ca -blcd: 1i I adviscd him that I know little about thle
type craft, but in my opinion it8 ubcfulnebe for the type activity
hc had In mind wab Mimfted. AMBANG-] would ue thio craft for
tho {Inal phaec 0f an Infiltration effort. A-} Btated that thle craft
wa0 bclng u8cd at the hotel beachen in San Juan a8 a type Of eportiog
ectivlty. I will adviee him that hc could pursue thie matter himeelf
40 a]l knowledge on thls subject $8 publicly avallable.
24
m. AMBANG-LTrained_tndstmgle Scerch Sxuten ]
03
A WAVE iechniclan, Eulver Ladd] uder the namc
0f Mr. Lane tralned A-] to ube abimple scorch syetemjof S/w. A-]
24
%vy
==================================================
Page 7
==================================================
14-000QQ
W4} fivcn bomc cighty pIlle with which hc will bc sble t0 makc
Ihc "ink" ubed in tbie eyatcn) 0f S/ W, A-] w48 Pleaeed with the
sYbitrm, epeaijiiy % bumpticily Hic wl ubc IOc #Ysler to
communicate wilh his chiel delegate in Parie and undoubl edly
Other persone In Cuba 38 wrI a8 in (he Othcr JURE delegations_
AMBANG-Lie_Writlng an Articic {or_Cuadernoe
At the requcet of Gcrman ArcicRegj8, the famed
Colomblan intellectual, A-} i8 preparing an articlc #hich i8 to be
Publishcd in Cuadcrnog: Thc article will dcal %iea tke probleme
facing Latin America and how thcy can be resolved A-] will be in
eelcct comPany 38 Arcienega8 ha8 &eked a numbcr of prominent
Latin American intellectuals for their viewe.
0. Communication Betwcen AMBANG-Land Caee
Ofic er
AMBANG-} gavc mc thc following adaresees Jt which
he cag bc rcacbed:
Corporacion de Renovacicn
Urbana Y Vivienda8
PARADA 3]
Ponce de Leon,
Hato
Pucrto Rlco Telephonc No. 723-1671
(NOTE This i0 not 'AMBANG'$ office or home, bul.that Of &
{riend who js elwaye able t0 reach A-} )
AJso:,
Mr . Jatme Mitranl
1260 W . 61 Place
Hialecab, Florida
AMBANG-! w40 givcn tho following mcans of
coplacting mc:
Mr . AlIred Fernandez
P.0. Box 1J04, Main Poet Olfice
Waghfogton; D: C Telcpbone No. 737-8294
AMBANG-I wIli ube the nama "Tony" 48 , #gaturc Jn mall
t0 me,
Rey
==================================================
Page 8
==================================================
14-000QQ
8
2. Genera) Observatiore
1 beleive AMBANG-] { planning t0 rcturn to "Cuba:
Hc indicated that hc woud give thc mattcr eeriou8 thought to
ercn go in, 'dieguieed, 2 8 a lcgal traveller if that road wcrc
gencrally open, i. 6, 1f rather largc numbcre 0f travellere were
going in via PAA flighte. Thie Jine scemed a blt out 0l charactcr
for A-}, {or it Beem 0 unrealietic and bomewhat rcmindful 0 Macaulay'8
refcrence8 to thc 6tate 0 mind that exilee develop. I al8o dctectcd
wbat we conbider to bc a bomewhat unrealietic appraibal of the Cuban
8ituation jn A-]'6 estimate that Castro ha8 conelderably lees than
40% 0f the Cuban People with hir: A-l may be Jobing more than a
littlc touch with Cuban rcality.
A-] remaine convinced that he {0 on the right track In
working for the eventual overthrow of Castro. He i8 convinced,
however, that two to three Year8 J0 all the time lcft for actually
destroying tHe Cabtro rcgime, belicving that thcre will be a favorable
turn in the Cuban economic situation by late 1965. A-] i0 Mkewibc
convinced that Cabtro cannot add t0 thc improvcment of Cuba, to
thc contrary that 80 long a6 the principal decleione are made by
Castro, thc gencral trend will be confueion arieing {rom a faflure
t0 concentrate on Bpecilic probleme until they arc corrected:
AMANG-l 18 Kkewise convinced that the JURE 18 building
a political group and general outlook which wIll have an impact on
Cuba for many ycar8 t0 come: He i6 cepecially concerned with thc
need to carefully consfder cach pobition 0f hle grow In order t0
crsate the Jaeting impreselon that JURE knowe where It 18 golng
and that ite leaderehip Je compoeed o men who know how to "run"
O country withoul thc falec starte, confuBjon and chaos {dentificd
with the Cabtro regime.
AMBANG-] Ie Ilkcwlse greatly concerned with the necceelty
0f not creating an Imprebblon Inelde Cuba that the JURE WIll return
to metc out "Justice. 090 It i0 ce8cntia), A-] stateo, to convncc the
Beneral popwlace that thc overthrow o Cabtro Will not rebult in .
bloodbath, rather_that thc oole aIm I9 t0 eavc tho revolutlon that
bae becn betrayed: He I8 anxioue that the People Inelde Cuba ece
==================================================
Page 9
==================================================
14-000QQ
the JURE 8 a rcbpoasiblc, intelligent and dispsasianstc group
whlch ie capable Ol bringiag t0 Cuba all tha: thc revolurion promibed
Alfonso Rodrigucs
SAS{ SO
Dietribution:
clsAS 03
SAS/ Bolten; Heckeher; Amori
Cbrono
RAY File
#t(
'rv