SITUATION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (REPORT #278 - AS OF 7:00 AM EDT)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00472A001400050028-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 20, 2006
• Sequence Number: 28
• Publication Date: June 16, 1965
• Content Type: IM

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OCI No. 1951/65
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Current Intelligence
16 June 1965
INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
Situation in the Dominican aRepublic -ED
Report 7 - s o 7:
The fighting that was initiated by the rebels
yesterday morning continued most of the daylight hours
until a hastily arranged cease-fire went into effect
at about 9:30 pm EDT.
The night hours were apparently generally quiet
except for sporadic explosions in rebel territory--
the result according to the rebels, of mortar shells
being fired into the area from loyalist positions.
Twenty-four US military personnel were wounded in
action yesterday, as was one Brazilian lieutenant. The
rebels lost at least 16 killed and an unknown number
wounded. Among the rebel dead was the French soldier
of fortune Andres Riviere who is believed to have been
one of the closest advisers to rebel Defense Minister
Montes Arache.
A rebel force of between 30 and 40 began firing
against US troops at about 8030 EDT yesterday morning.
US forces did not begin returning the fire until they
had suffered casualties. At about 9:15 am EDT the
rebels attacked US forces at another point from the
eastern side of the rebel-controlled area and at about
1:30 EDT in the afternoon rebel attacks were made from
the other side of their zone in the National Palace
area which is guarded by Brazilian troops.
Starting about noon EDT, US forces, with the
endorsement of General Alvim, advanced into rebel-held
areas several blocks in order to outflank the rebels
and better protect US-held areas. By late afternoon,
troops of the Inter-American Force had established a
new line which, in effect, widens the International
Security Zone by two city blocks along the southern
edge of the corridor.
State Dept. review completed
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The rebel attacks seem to have been motivated
in part by a desperate rebel effort to obtain more
direct United Nations intervention in the Dominican
Republic--a development which they have reason to be-
lieve would benefit their cause.
Within an hour after the initial rebel attacks,
their radio was broadcasting an account of the "yankee
attacks" complete with inflammatory allegations that
US forces were killing Dominican women and children.
The Caamano government immediately lodged a protest
with the UN observer team and the rebel foreign minis-
ter cabled a detailed protest to the UN secretary
general. As a result, the UN Security Council has
scheduled a meeting for 3:00 pm EDT this afternoon to
discuss yesterday's events in the Dominican Republic
and to consider the probable requests from the USSR
and others for an expanded UN role in the Dominican
crisis. The Soviet delegate is likely again to charge
that the renewed fighting once more demonstrates that
the OAS is incapable of dealing with the crisis.
Another and perhaps equally important factor be-
hind yesterday's rebel action is the increased in-
fluence of hard-line extremist groups and particularly
of the pro-Castro Fourteenth of June Political Group
(APCJ) which is reported to be dominant among the
armed units defending the rebel areas. The APCJ is-
sued a publication during the big rebel rally on
Monday which clearly spelled out its position that
"armed struggle," not negotiation, is the only proper
means of consolidating the "popular revolution."
The APCJ publication clearly indicated that there
has been a strong difference of opinion between rebel
factions as to the best tactics. It declared that
"others believed that by conversing with the imperial-
ists victory could be achieved. Now they concede that
we are right and there is talk of incorporating the
entire country into the armed struggle." The publica-
tion urged the immediate extension of the struggle
to the towns and cities of the interior.
The extremists may, in fact, have calculated that
an intensification of fighting in the capital would
spark uprisings in the interior. There have as yet,
however, been no reports of any such renewed violence
in the interior.
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There were further indications yesterday that
the rebel government may be losing control of the
extremist-led armed units defending rebel territory.
UN observer Mayobre told Ambassador Bunker yesterday
afternoon that Caamano had advised him that he had
given orders that the shooting should cease, but was
not at all confident that these orders would be
obeyed. The embassy was also informed by General
Alvim's chief of staff that he has received several
telephone calls recently from top rebel military
commanders seeking to excuse recent sporadic firing
by rebel units on the grounds that these were unauthor-
ized and committed by forces not under full rebel
control.
Meanwhile, the loyalist government of Antonio
Imbert has remained generally isolated from the day's
main developments.. He did inform the special OAS
committee yesterday afternoon, however, that he had
ordered his forces so deployed as to reinforce Inter-
American forces in case of need. Imbert's radio sta-
tions during the day engaged in a major psychological
warfare effort against rebel areas by seeking to
create the impression that the Inter-American forces
were moving in to wipe out the rebels once and for all.
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