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LX 320

16 May 1963

RETURN TO CIA Background Use Only Do Not Reproduse

MEMORANDUM OF CONTACT

SUBJECT : Jose Antonio CASAS Rodriguez) (201327702)

DATE OF CONTACT : 2 May 1963 (2000 to 2345 Hours); 4 May 1963 (0900 to 1300 Hours).

1. On 1 May 1963 I travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and attempted to contact Subject at his home at 216 Cumberland Street at 1930 hours. Subject's son answered the door and advised that his father was out for the evening and wasn't expected to return till 2200 hours. At 2200 hours I returned to Subject's home to be advised that: he had not yet returned but was expected momentarily. In view of the late hour, I requested the son tell his father that a representative of the United States Government had called and wished to speak to him on matters pataining to the situation in Cuba. I Indicated I would return about 2000 hours on 2 May.

2. At 2000 hours on 2 May I called at Subject's home and found him present. He was friendly and courteous, requesting that I come into the home where I was introduced to his wife and several of his six Children. He requested to see my KUBARK identification which he gave only a cursory glance before returning to me. He then indicated his complete willingness to supply any information known to him on the Cuban situation and personalities,

3. Subject and his wife make an excellent impression. They proceeded to put ma at ease, offered coffee, and generally showed them- selves to be excellent extroverted hosts. The subsequent conversation lasted until approximately 2345 hours and was somewhat general in nature, Basically we rebashed information already provided by Subject during his debriefing by U. S. authorities in Miami and already reflected in his 201 file. Subject was rather difficult to debrief in that his English is somewhat fractured and he is extremely disorganized in his thoughts, Ha bas à tendency to develop one theme which in turn will remind him

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2- : of a second, also of interest, which he will proceed to discuss to the confusion of the first. This problem was perhaps compounded by the fact that Subject was uncertain as to the type of information of interest to KUBARK. He grasped quickly, however, he type of information which would be of most interest to us and it rapidly became less difficult to get to the meat of the subject we were discussing. Further contact and debriefing of him will become progressively less difficult.

1. We are consolidating the information obtained from Subject from our two meetings with him on 2 and 4 May below for reporting convenience.

2. Basically Subject is able to supply specific information of interest on only five personalities. He knows and was acquainted with many other personalities in the Cuban government, but his relationship with them is not close enough to enable him to provide information in sufficient detail or depth to allow valid assessment as to their suscep- tibility to a recruitment or other operational approach.

3. Information on five Cuban government officials, well known to Subject is set forth below:

a. Esubio AZCUE, born about 1912, is presently employed as a consul at the Cuban Embassy in Maxico City. AZCUE is a long time friend of Subject. They met during the mid-1950's when both were involved in revolu- tionary activities attempting to bring about a democratic socialist regime in Cuba. AZCUE is married to a Spanish woman and was involved in the Spanish revolution. He was a very close friend of Manolo CASTRO who was reportedly murdered by a group of Communist left wing revolutionaries which included Fidel CASTRO. About, 1962 AZCUE was living in France and is believed to have been arrested by French authorities on charges resulting from his involvement in smuggling penicillin and other antibiotics into France. Subject believes that AZCUE has about five children. During early 1901 while in Mexico City, AZCUE was contacted by Subject in order to obtain advice re the advisability of his defecting from the Castro regime and requesting political asylum in Mexico. As a

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result of this contact Subject obtained the impression that AZCUE is suffering from a lack of funds. Since AZCUE is somewhat of a snob and a fancy dresser, he finds this situation unpleasant. AZCUE also habitually has a mis- tress which in turn is a drain on his pocketbook.

(1) According to Subject, AZCUE is an excellent draftsman who studied architecture at the University of Habana, although he never obtained a degree. Subject assesses him as a kind man, very happy-go-lucky, but impetuous and one who "blows with the wind". He doesn't seem to have the powers of concentration or of single purpose which would allow him to be suc- cessful. Subject feels that AZCUE has appended himself to the Castro regime since it offers him a purpose in life and a feeling of belonging to something.

(2) Subject described AZCUE as being a very brave man. He felt that should AZCUE be approached by LUBARK and requested to coop- erate, the physical danger inherent to in-place agent work would not affect his decision. In summary there would be a reasonable chance of persuading AZCUE to cooperate with KUBARK I a suitable monetary and ideological inducement were offered him. Subject feels, on the basis of their 1961 conversations in Mexico City, that AZCUE is not too enthused about the Castro regime. and it is possible he has become even less in favor of it during the ensuing period.

(3) Subject appended that it would be helpful in any approach to AZCUE to attempt to convince hin that Fidel CASTRO was directly involved in tho "gangster" revolutionary group responsible for Manolo CASTRO's murder, AZCUE was a very chowo iriond of Manolo CASTRO's and was affected greatly by his death.

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b. Enrique RODRIGUEZ Loeches: RODRIGUEZ was born about 1912 and is presently Cuban Ambassador to Morocco. RODRIGUEZ was involved for a long time in revolutionary attempts to overthrow the BATISTA and pre- vious regines in Cuba. He was with CASTRO during the 1958-59 period in the Sterra Maestre. Subject became acquainted with and a close friend of HODRIGUEZ when both were members of the same so-called revolutionary "Directorio". Subject alleges that HODRIGUEZ tas dis- liked CASTRO since their first meeting during the 1958-59 period. Both Subject and his wife alleged to have received a letter from RODRIGUEZ written in the Sierra Maestre in which he listed his dislike of CASTRO and among other things referred to hinı using the Spanian equivalent of the term 'dirty prostitute". Subject advised that unfortunately this letter has been destroyed. Subject is convinced that if he met RODRIGUEZ on the street tomorrow the latter would have no compunctions about sitting down for a long discussion on old times as well as the political situation. in Cuba. Subject is also convinced that he could on friendly terms "talk defection or recruitment" with RODRIGUEZ should they have the opportunity to meet.

c. Orlando BLANCO, born about 1922, is married to a woman of Puerto Rican birth which makes her an American Citizen. BLANCO, according to the latest information avail- able to KUBARK, is stationed with the Cuban Embassy in Morocco with the rank of counselor. Subject met BLANC when the latter became subordinate to him in the revolu- tionary "Directorio" working towards the overthrow of the Eatinia regime. Despite BLANCO's revolutionary activities, Subject assesses him as being relatively passive politically. Both BLANCO and his wife are believed to have applied for employment with the Cuban foreign service as a means of leaving Cuba. Subject feels it is possible they will not return to Cuba when their tour in Morocco expires. During 1960-61 BLANCO was employed in the National Bank of Cuba. During this period Subject obtained the impression that BLANCO had become anti-Castro. Subject, however, assesses BLANCO as a non-courageous type of individml who might be iright- ened at the idea of working as an in-place agent. As an

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example of BLANCO's lack of courage, Subject cited the fact that he and his wife attempted to avoid Subject's wife while Subject was an asylee in the Argentine Embassy in Habana. Incidentally, BLANCO's wife's name is Isabelle LAGO de Bianco and she is on excellent terms with Subject' wife Sabject is apparently convinced that BLANCO would welcome an opportunity to meet with him providing he wes sssured that the fact of the meeting would not become known to his Cuban superiors.

d. Faure CHOMON :ediavilla (201-270370): In ea- sonco Subject was only able to reiterate the background Information on ClioMON outlined in paragraph 5 of UFCW 1674, 13 January 1903. In order to place his relationship with CHOMON in perspective, Subject produced a personal letter to him from CHOMON which was written in January 1969 and referred to Subject in the most familiar of terms. Subject alleged that CHOMON bas confided in him on many matters of personal and political nature for many years. As an example, he cited a difficulty in which CHOMON became involved during his tenure as Ambassador to the USSR and while Subject was stationed in Moscow. CHOMON At that time was having an affair with a Russian translator/ socretary assigned to him by the Soviets. This person's husband became knowledgeable of the relationship between his wife and CHOMON and beat on the door of the Cuban Embassy one day and proceeded to demand that CHOMON leave his wife alone. Subsequently a formal protest was received through Soviet foreign service channels. As a result of this incident, CHOMON asked Subject to take a walk with him (He didn't trust the Soviets and felt the Cuben Embassy was banged.) in emer to discuss this problem and the possible solution for it. Although CHOMON did not specifically state anything in this vein, Subject obtained the impression during the last two meetings in the Argentine Embassy in early 1962 that CHOMON was anything but happy with his lot under the Castro regims. Subject feit it would be worthwhile and alleged his willing- ness to prepare a "recruitment letter" for mailing to CHOMON in Cuba,

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e. Floreal CHOMON Mediavilla was born about 1930 in Camaguey, and, according to latest KUBARK informa- tion, is presently Charge d' Affaires of the Cuban Legation in Iraq. Prior to this assignment, CHOMON was First Secretary with the Cuban Erbassy in Morocco. Subject described CHOMON as a sensitive, slightly effeminate Individual who is relatively usinterested in politics. Sub- ject feels that CHONION obtained the position with the Cuban foreign service by virtue of the fact that he is Faure CHOMON's brother. Subject feels that Floreal CHOMON would also welcome an opportunity to talk with him if the fact of their meeting could be kept from the Cuban govern- ment. He speculated that any attempt to gain CHOMON' cooperation would depend on the position Faure CHOMON bas assumed toward the Castro regime. Subject feels that most of Floreal CASTRO's decisions are based on the attitude and opinion of his older brother Faure. If through letters from or conversations with his okier brother, Floreal had obtained the impression that Faure was becoming dis- satisfied with the Castro regime, he probably likewise would assume such an attitude and conceivably be receptive. to a recruitment approach.

1. OPERATIONAL PROPOSALS: We are currently retracing the individuals listed in the preceeding paragraph. Upon completion of these traces, it is suggested that a dispatch be prepared to Mexico City Station outlining all information on Esubio AZCUE including that supplied by Subject. This dispatch would also outline Headquarters' interest in perhaps wing Subject in an operational approach to AZCUE. Mexico City Station would be asked to describe the extent to which they could support auch an operation through surveillance of AZCUE, locating his present residence and other information relative to is current activities and political orientation. (Comment:) We discussed in principle with the Subject whether or not he would be willing to travel to Mexico City with a KUBARK case officer for the purpose of such an approach. Sub- ject tentatively indicated his willingness to cooperate in such a venture but appeared to have some reservation re the danger that might accrue him. He pointed out that he has a wife and six children to support and soon expects to be joined by his father and mother-in-law who are cur- rently in Miami. We attempted to reassure Subject that very little danger

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would be involved since he would be under surveillance by AUBARK officers at all times and would serve only as a means of effecting the introduction of KUBARK to AZCUE. Although we cannot be certain, we feel that i. properly presented Subject would cooperate with KUBARK in such a venture.

1. The information reflected above and relating to RODRIGUEZ, BLANCO, Floraal CHOMON, and Faure CHOMON, will be made avail- abhi to SAS/11 in order to determine whether or not they may be interested in exploiting these leads. An operation involving the preparation of a letter by Subject for forwarding to Faure CHOMON would be simple to prepare but difficult to carry out in that we do not have a current home address for him. Subject indicated that he believed Faure CHOMON in 1961 lived on First Street, $105, Apt. 7, in Habana. However, we can- not be sure that this address is current. Subject indicated that perhaps (inu) San Pedro y Grillo Aving at Anunciacion 10, 6th floor, in Madrid, as of 1981, is probably the first wife or another relative of Faute CHOMON. She is allegedly the cukural attache with the Cuban Embassy in Madrid. Perhaps it would be possible to obtain CHOMON's surrent address through COS Madrid Conceivably COS Madrid could ask its liaison with the Spanish service to place intercepts on this address and than obtain Faure CHOMON's current home address in Habana, Assuming he is corresponding with this individual, 27,152

2. MISCELLANEOUS: We were only able to obtain the names of two individuals from subject who he believed definitely to be G-2 officers. These were the individuals who accompanied Faure CHOMON when he visited Subject in May of 1961 at the Argentine En.bassy in Habana. The first of these was Carlos FIGARELLO, aka El Chino, FIGARELLO was born about 1930 and Subject was able to say little more about him than this in as much as he spent most of the time during this meeting talking with Faure CHOMON. OS CHOMON'a second visit to the Argentine Embassy he was accompanied by (fnu) JIMENEZ, aka Himenito, also born about 1930 and the son of (inu) Santos JIMENEZ. JIMENEZ Wes, according to Subject, at one time the director of the revolutionary newspaper "Combate". Subject was unable to supply further izformation on this individual.

3. Subject was shown the KUBARK list of Cuban diplomatic and consular personnel abroad dated April 1963 and was able to identify a number of Individuals appearing on this list as known to him. These individuals would be basically Fl leads and Subject indicated be was not

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well acquainted enough to describe their personalities or otherwise aid in an operational approach to them. We are listing them below, how- ever, in the event some of them may be of specific operational Interest to SAS/FI components. Any individuals falling into this category can be the subject of future detailed debriefing on the occasion of my next meet- ing with Subject.

a. Jorge SERGUERA Pivieri, aka Papito, is currently the Cuban Ambassador to Algeria. According to Subject, SERGUERA is a homosexual,

b. Eduardo MACHADO Cartas, born about 1925 in Lajas, Cuba, is presently employed as the Cubana Airlines representative in Canada according to latest KUBARK information. Subject hasn't seen MACHADO for about twenty years, but used to know him well in that he dated MACHADO's sister and in this fashion met him and the family.

c. Jose BARRIAL Dominguez: Subject believes this name appearing on the KUBARK list to be incorrect. BARRIAL is listed as Charge d' Affaires, minister coun- selor it the Cuban Embassy in Chile. Subject knew an individual of this name who was associated with the same revolutionary group to which Manolo CASTRO belonged.

d. Manuel PAYAN Viego is originally from Siego de Avila, Cuba. During BATISTA's regime, PAYAN was studying in Spain. Subject does not believe PAYAN to be a Communist. PAYAN's wife is believed to be identical with Maria Antonio RODRIGUEZ de Payan who le aino listed an en employee cũ the Cuban Embassy in Chile.

e. Oscar PINO Santos, Cuban Ambassador to China, is an acquaintance of Subject. Subject was unable to provide further worthwhile information on PINO.

1. Flora DIAZ Parrado, born about 1910, is currently employed as a counselor with the Cuban Embassy in France. Subject believes that DIAZ is apolitical and has been a meam- ber of the foreign service for a long time. He also believes L

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g. Juan David POSADA is currently employed as cul- tural counselor with the Cuban Embassy in France. Subject describes POSADA as an "arty type" who is an excellent caricaturist.

h. Manuel R. MORALES, listed as an attache with the Cuban Embassy in France, is believed by Subject to be identical with an individual he met who used the nick- name Tiburon who was an athlete at Habana University and from Santiago de Cuba.

1. Gustavo MEDIAVILLA de la Pena is listed as com- mercial attache with the Cuban Embassy in Germany. Subject was acquainted with an individual with this name who was a cousin of the CHOMON brothers.

J. Lionel ALONSO Fiel is believed by Subject to be a young man who he knew from Matanzas Province and who is now Charge d' Affaires with the Cuban Embassy in Indonesia.

k. Gustavo ROBRENO Dolz, aka El Mago ROBRENO, is listed as an attache with the Cuban Embassy in Indonesia. Subject describes ROBRENO as a very unstabla individual. Once while drunk, he shot an American in a Cuban bar. He is married to a former prostitute.

1. Jose R. LINARES Delgado is listed as an attache with the Cuban Embassy in Iraq. Subject believes he war at one time acquainted with LINARES who was connected with the Manoio CASTRO group at the University of Habana. Subject describes LINARES as a slender individual with a pisasant personality. He is a mulatto.

m. Gustavo ARCOS y Bargnes is listed as Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and resident in Brussels. Car Ject stated ARCOS' brother was killed in Santiago de Cuba on 26 July 1953 during the attack on the "Moncada".

1. Teresa PROENZA, listed se cultural attache, Third Secretary with the Cuban Embassy in Mexico, is related to the Cubana Airlines representative in Maxico. Subject SECRET Eended from لم towngrading and declassification 14-00000

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described PROENZA as a cold-blooded emotionless woman who is nicknamed "the mummy".

o. Silvino SORHEGUY Matos is listed as the Cuban Minister to Saudi Arabia with residence in Cairo. Subject knows SORHEGUY to have been once a Cuban foreign ser- vice representative to Honduras and to have been declared PNG by that country.

p. Jose Antonio PULIDO y Ledesma is listed as consul to the Cuban Embassy in Sweden. Subject knows PULIDO as being a good friend of Enrique RODRIGUEZ Loeche, Ambassador to Aiorocco.

q. Armando PEREZ Pinto is listed as commercial counselor with the Cuban Embassy in the USSR. Subject believes PEREZ is not of Cuban birth, but from Haiti. Subject could only say that PEREZ was a nice young man, born about 1935, who did not give the impression of being a rabid Communist.

r. Juan JUARBE y Juarbo is listed as the counselor of the Cuban Delegation to the United Nations. Subject knows JUARBE and thinks he is Puerto Rican or Venezuelan by birth rather than a Cuban.

1. Laura MENESES de Albizu Campos: According to Subject, MENESES is not a Cuban but he is not sure of her ettonality. Although he met MENESES he is unable to supply further significant dats.

t. Gilberto MEDIAVILLA is listed as a third secretary of the Cuban Delegation to the United Nations. Subject sus- pects that MEDIAVILLA is a cruals to the CHOMON brothers.

1. Orlando PEREZ was met by Subject during his tour in Moscow, PEREZ was the Charge d' Affaires at the Cuban Embassy in Moscow. Subject became slightly acquainted with PEREZ and obtained the impres- sion that PEREZ is not pro-Castro. He is married to an American citizen, Kina PEREZ, nee Grossman PEREZ has since quit the foreign service and occupies a position with the National Bank of Cuba.

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1. We asked Subject whether or not he was acquainted with any individual belonging to the Cuban military. He could supply no signifi- cant namer or information in this sphere. He did advise us that a potential source for this type of information was one Eloy GUTIERREZ Menoyo. According to Subject, GUTIERREZ was formerly a Cuban army officer and would have many contacts in this area. As an aside, Subject stated that GUTIERREZ had supplied weapons to Fidel CASTRO during the 1958-59 period through an individual who he knew cnly as (nu) GONZALEZ. GONZALEZ apparently in turn obtained the weapons from a (fnu) SAGARO who was a resident of Santiago de Cuba. Of even more interest, Subject stated that GONZALEZ was, during this same period, in contact with Otto SKORZENY in Madrid and Belgium. Sub- ject could no longer remember where he had heard this information and could only add that as he remembered, GONZALEZ had seen SKORZENY. in Madrid and Brussels, Belgium, during this period. It is felt that this piece of information may be of more than normal significance in that we recall having been told several years ago that SKORZENY was of opera- tional interest to KUBARK. As we remember, SKORZENY was at that time suspected of or reported to be the key figure in a Communist/KGB. illegal funding apparatus. We will check with the CI Staff, WE, and EE, in order to determine whether further information on SKORZENY'S alleged activities was ever developed.

2. Raul RODRIGUEZ Feo is, according to Subject, a profes- sional in the Cuban foreign service. Subject does not know for certain whore RODRIGUEZ is presently stationed but suspects he is in lHabana, RODRIGUEZ does not appear in the KUBARK list of Cuban diplomats abroad, RODRIGUEZ is a good friend of Subject and his wife, and Sub- ject's wife has known Mrs. RODRIGUEZ since both were small girls. RODRIGUEZ was born about 1912 and studied at the University of Habana, He and Subject attended the same secondary schools in Sagua La Grande, Cuba. Subject states thai RODRIGUEZ is definitely not a Communist and probably would cooperate in any anti-Castro activity KUBARK might aak of him,

3. Carlos LAC was born about 1923 in Cuba and is a Certified Publie Accountant, subject is good friends with LAO in that both of them worked together in attempting to overthrow the Batista regime. LAO refugeed to the United States from Cuba in October 1962 and now lives in Willerate, Minnesota. Subject volunteered LAQ's name as an Individ- ual who knows everybody of any significance in Holguin, Cuba, and the surrounding area. SECRET GROUP 1 Excluded trum autematis downgrading and declassification 14-00000

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1. UFGA 7428, 31 January 1963, contains information obtained by JMWAVE regarding Subject and indicated him to be emotionally un- stable, eccentric, and generally reputed to be something of a nut. We are inclined to agree with this information in so far as Subject's eco- nomical theory is concerned. During his stay of almost one year as an asylee in the Argentine Embassy in Habana, Subject spent the copious spare time available to him writing an economic treatise. On our meet- ing with Subject on May 4th, Subject provided us with a handwritten short summary of this docament. According to this summary, Subject has been attempting to correlate economic cycles with peaks of sunspot activity. He backs up his "economic argument" with reference to the Old Testament and the Aztec Calendar. If Subject has been expounding this theory in public we are not surprised that he is considered some- what of a nut. It should be noted, however, that many otherwise sane and useful people believe in horoscopes and other similar superstitions. We do not feel that this quirk in his personality must necessarily be con- sidered derogatory in terms of his possible operational exploitation by KUBARK. Although we have spent less than ten hours with Subject, our impression is that he is a rational individual in terms of his attitude towards and relationships with other individuals and personalities around him. As a matter of fact, we obtained the impression that Subject pos- sesses more than his fair share of what is sometimes termed "common sense". The handwritten summary of Subject's economic theory as per- taining to cunspots is appeted to this memorandum as attachment.

Attachment: Herewith As stated above

GP:sab

Distribution: Orig & 1 - C/SAS/CI (chrono copy) 1-RID/Index Galen Peary SAS/CI Rodriguez] 1-C/SAS (info copy)

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