CASTRO'S GUEST: DONOVAN'S SON

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000100370049-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 21, 1998
• Sequence Number: 49
• Publication Date: April 24, 1963
• Content Type: NSPR

rw Yor K POST APR 2 4 1963
Approved For Release 2000/08/24PCP75-00001
4
CPYRGHT
CPYRGHT
0
'~ast s Guest:
today that on one of his=s gips
into Castro's communist st!'8ng-
hold he took along his boy, John
--- "and you might'call that the
ultimate in gamesmanship," the
ruddy-complextoned, 47-year-bbd
Placid -- skin diving and spec
fishing with him. Donovan ha
color pictures of the two in blu
Caribbean waters.
Donovan, home again afte
efiectn the release of the Iasi
I Arn ricans from Castro',
pri,ous, -aid he and Fidel ha
nrten spoheil of their children.
Ca..tru ';a.. a 14-year-old boy,'
I?ono~s~~ said. "11c, had no idea
I ti: c>.tid brin my boy down
then . Iii fah?i, some of hIs ad
tlsrrs tirerF telling him that I
was da iieeous, that I was play
in the same decoy role that
the Japanese ambassador was
playing here .for Pearl Harbor
lie was impressed when
showed up with the boy.,
Donovan, a master negotiator
who operates in that Alice-in-
Wonderland world when coun-
tries don't recognize one an-
other, made another revelation
to The Post: "It wasn't Castro's
idea that we release those four,"
he -said, referring to four
Cubans who had been held in
prisons here -- Francisco ("The
"The boy played an important
part in these negotiations," he
said; ?"Castro was enormously
pleased to meet him and he was
co~ ppletely taken by my self-
ec idence in bringing him."
ire bearded dictator even
took the youth-a student at
Northwood School in L a k e
FOIAb3b
JAMES DONOVAN
Ile had a gimmick.
o ina del Rio and
three suspected saboteurs. "It
was my idea. I had to interest
him in it."
He made the suggestion three
months ago when delays in ship-
ments of $53,000,000 in drugs,
medicines and baby foods
threatened to foul up negotia-
tions: It was a way of making
ul} for the delays. (Americans
still owe Cuba three shiploads
of goods.)
"Molina was an important
igure in Havana because he
itical prisoner. He was the most
mportant in our negotiations,"
onovan said.
The exchange was all worked
Lit with the federal govern-
efore Donovan went back to
uba last Saturday,
"Of course 4 wasn't sure until
e were over international
verything was all right. That's
CPYRGHT
Approved For Release 2000/08/24: CIA-RDP75-00001 R000100370049-4