Invasion of Cuba from
Dominican
Republic 1959
[Reference:
RIF 124-10294-10051, FBI record 2-1423-9TH NR 36]
DATE: 05/05/59
1-Mr. Belmont
1-Mr. Donahoe
1-Mr. Correr
1-Mr. Nasca
1-Mr. Mullins
TO: A. H. Belmont
FROM: S. B. Donahoe
SUBJECT: ANTI-FIDEL CASTRO ACTIVITIES
INTERNAL SECURITY-CUBA
During the past few days we have received information from
three
substantial sources that invasion of Cuba from Dominican
Republic is
imminent. The sources are: (1) General Manuel
Benitez, head
of National Police of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and member of
Cuban
Legislature from 1948 to 1958; (2) Frank Perez Perez, a
source of Miami
Office who is aligned with General Benitez and Rolando
Masferrer,
former Cuban Senator and newspaperman who maintained a
private army of
hoodlums while Batista was in power and who has been
described as a
bandit and gangster; (3) I. Irving Davidson, registered
agent of
Israeli and Nicaraguan Governments who talked with Batista
in the
Dominican Republic on 4/29/59 and who quotes Batista as
stating a group
of Cuban riffraff is planning invasion of Cuba from the
Dominican
Republic with approval of Generalissimo Trujillo who feels
Castro will
attack if not attacked first.
General Benitez stated General Jose Pedraza Cabrera, who
headed
Batista's final campaign against Castro, will be
Commander-in-Chief of
this new movement which has headquarters in Dominican
Republic.
Pedraza is in exile there at the present time. While
in charge of
Batista's army, Pedraza was considered a very brave man and
disciplinarian. He was part of three-man junta which
ruled Cuba
immediately following Batista's downfall. Perez claims
all other
Latin-American countries have sanctioned this movement
against Cuba and
claims Dr. Emilio Nunez Portuondo, chief Cuban delegate to
United
Nations prior to Castro's victory, will undoubtedly head the
revolutionary junta which will control Cuba for six months
until free
elections can be held. Following were named as
financial
contributors to this new movement in addition to Batista who
General
Benitez claims contributed $2,000,000: (1) Fernando de la
Riva, Cuban
mining executive; (2) Marino Lopez Blanco, former Cuban
Senator and
consular official who was stationed in Florida until Castro
assumed
power; (3) Amadeo Lopez Castro, close personal friend and
economic
advisor to Batista who was one of leading candidates to
succeed Batista
before revolution; (4) Francisco Cajigas, former government
official
under Batista who was admitted to the United States
immediately after
Batista's downfall; (5) Roberto "Chili" Mendoza, wealthy
sugar magnate
who headed group which held gambling concession at Hotel
Havana-Hilton
prior to Castro's victory; (6) Garcia Montes, Minister of
Education
under Batista; (7) Colonel Orlando Piedra, Chief of Cuban
Bureau of
Investigations under Batista. Our requests for
investigations in
Cuba by Cuban National Police were approved by Piedra and he
assisted
us in handling informal deportations from Cuba. We
have sent
numerous letters of thanks to Piedra. He fled to the
Dominican
Republic on 1/1/59 and later claimed INS refused him
admittance tot he
U. S. which INS denies. He owns considerable property
in Miami
and reportedly amassed a fortune from "take" on gambling
activities
while head of Bureau of Investigations; (8) Carlos Govea,
described as
a wealthy Cuban. Bufiles do not definitely identify
this
individual. In the early 1940's a Lieutenant Carlos
Govea, member
of a wealthy and influential family of engineers and
contractors, was
source of American Embassy and Legal Attache in Havana while
serving on
Havana Police Department. Carlos Govea y Araoz, born
3/20/18,
Havana, was admitted to U. S. on ½/53 to attend the
Institute of
Sugar Stabilization.
General Benitez claims $25,000 has been delivered to William
Alexander
Morgan, the American who was a leader of the "Second Front"
in
Escambray Mountains during Cuban Revolution. Morgan
supposedly is
angry at Castro who did not give him or other "Second Front"
leaders
recognition in the new government. Morgan was born at
Cleveland,
Ohio, in 1928 and is U. S. citizen. He served in U. S.
Army from
1946 until his dishonorable discharge on 4/11/50 which
resulted from
his conviction by a court-martial on escape from custody
charges.
In 1946 he was arrested on felony charge and he was also
charged with
armed robbery while in the Army. He reportedly is
veteran of
Korean War and is described as a judo expert. Recently
Morgan's
father told Bureau Agents son is emotionally disturbed and
in need of
psychiatric help. He has deserted two or three wives,
some with
children, in the past several years. Eloy Menoyo was
Commander-in-Chief of the "Second Front" during the Cuban
Revolution
and he originally was reported as in favor of a military
junta taking
over Cuba in preference to Castro. However, he came to
the U. S.
on a good-will trip in March, 1959, and, according to State
Department,
then indicated he had no ambitions of his own and was 100%
in favor of
Castro's group. On 4/3/59 Andrew Szentgyorgyi (St.
George), a
free lance writer and photographer, advised he had just
returned from a
month's visit to Cuba where he learned a new opposition
group headed by
Menoyo and Morgan was being formed in the Escambray region.
Other persons named by Benitez and Perez as potential
leaders in new
Cuban Government if Castro is overthrown were: (1) Dr.
Octavio Montero,
described as a distinguished medical doctor and professor at
University
of Havana. Bufiles contain no information concerning
Montero; (2)
Manuel Antonio Varona, prominent Cuban politician who was
Prime
Minister under former President Carlos Prio Socarras.
Varona not
in U. S. at present time but is registered as agent for
Council for
Cuban Liberation, on anti-Batista group; (3) Emilio Ochoa,
described as
representative of Orthodox Party. Ochoa possibly is
identical
with Emilio Laureano Ochoa y Ochoa who was subject of
Registration Act
investigation by Miami in 1954. the latter reportedly
was
connected with Cuban Orthodox Party and was then living in
exile in
Miami. His registration was solicited by the
Department on basis
of our investigation which revealed he was involved in
printing of
anti-Batista propaganda for shipment from Miami to locations
outside
the U. S. He did register on 4/26/54 and CIA advised
he returned
to Cuba clandestinely in late 1954 to await revolution there
but in
January, 1955, went to Mexico. As of May, 1955, Ochoa
was back in
Miami and he terminated his registration with the Department
on
10/26/55; (4) Eusebio Mujal, Secretary General of largest
labor group
in Cuba, Cuba Confederation of Labor, until Batista's
overthrow.
Benitez claims he is now in Mexico in exile and is
cooperating with the
new movement as are other anti-communist Cuban labor
elements.
Rolando Masferrer on 4/29/59 advised he has no doubt forces
opposed to
Castro will unite and that he will join the group if it
looks
good. He named Aureliano Sanchez Arango as another
Cuban leader
who is cooperating with the new movement. According to
Masferrer,
Sanchez leads revolutionary group known as "Triple A."
Sanchez was
Minister of Education under President Prio at which time he
was
described as Prio's closest friend. In recent years he
has been
jailed many times for political reasons and has been in
exile in
several countries, including the U. S. He has been
engaged in
plans to overthrow Batista for many years but was in Mexico
in 1957 and
it is not known if he played any part in assisting Castro.
U. S. residents, in addition to those previously
named, who
reportedly are assisting the new movement are: (1)
Daniel
Vasquez, former close associate of ex-President Prio, who is
presently
under indictment with Prio and others for conspiring to
violate the
Neutrality Statute. Vasquez published a
Spanish-language
newspaper, "Tribuna," which is definitely anti-Castro.
He has
been cooperating with Miami Office in recent past and claims
his paper
aims to fight communism and to show people in U. S. and
Cuban extent of
communist entrenchment in Cuba; (2) Richard Jaffe, Miami
real estate
man associated with Masferrer who told Miami several
thousand copies of
"Tribuna" were dropped on Cuba on 4/22 and 25/59.
General Benitez, our chief source of information concerning
this group,
frequently writes laudatory letters to Bureau and offers to
assist us
in any possible way. He is staunch anti-communist and
has
denounced communist influence in Castro's regime. He
reportedly
acquired $4,000,000 or $5,000,000 while in charge of Cuba's
National
Police from 1940 to 1944. When Batista was ousted in
1944,
Benitez was jailed for short time and came to Miami upon
release.
He was involved in unsuccessful plot to overthrow Cuban
Government in
1947. He returned to Cuba in 1948 after being elected
to Cuban
Legislature where he served until 1958. He told Legat,
Havana, in
1958 he was Batista's choice for Mayor of Havana in
elections later
that year and planned to steal more money as Mayor than he
did as Chief
of Police. Benitez was not elected Mayor and,
according to Legat,
His reputation in Cuba is very poor.
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1998-2014 Cuban Information Archives. All Rights
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