COMMUNISTS IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP67B00446R000500120011-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 22, 2003
• Sequence Number: 11
• Publication Date: June 24, 1965
• Content Type: OPEN

June 24, 1965 Approved F,e?Mli/1itBDP6ff@Q(A4&R000500120011-2 14173
While people of the Mountain West gen-
erally welcome the interest in their part of
the country, many, like Mr. Krakel, have
mixed feelings. Says Mr. Krakel, "I just
hope this part of the country doesn't get
overrun."
To the person traveling through the Moun-
tafn West, it seems h believe that thi5
could happen.
M
U
NISTS IN THE DOMINICAN
M
CO
REPUBLIC
ber of the Army rebels had slipped into the During Trujillo's time, police gave street
center of the city where the political and gangs missions to beat up or intimidate
military decisions were being made by the Trujillo foes to keep the populace in line.
PRD-Communist combine. During the April revolt, the turbas were
The day before, mobs seized Radio Santo used by Communist organizers. Their mis-
Domingo. Known Communist leaders- sion-to loot, kill, steal, create chaos, intimi-
among them Castro-Cuban Luis Acosta- date the populace, exterminate those not in
harangued the populace to "return Presi- sympathy with rebel aims.
dent Bosch at the head of the constitutional Thus did hate and murder stalk rebel-held
government." streets during the first few days.
CONFUSED IMPRESSION Most foreign reporters arrived in Santo Do-
mingo well over a week after the initial out-
People were paraded across the TV screens of the revolt. By that time most of
the bodies had been removed. Since there
rifles, armed the teeth, to give
Mr. HARRIS. Mr. President, much dragging were no bodies in abundance, as reported by
the impression that everyone was supporting U.S. Embassy sources, overly hostile reporters
has been said and much has been written the rebellion. Another purpose was to throw scoffed at those reports.
about the U.S. actions in the Dominican the loyalist armed forces into confusion, by Yet, even the Peace Corps volunteers said
Republic. televising people in uniform with the civil- that hoes and shovels given to the people for
one of the more penetrating articles ians. The broadcasts did the job. backyard gardening were used to bury the
was written by Paul Bethel, and was fact, control of radio a television
country. and more were requested. Those same
was enor . volunteers also reported that leaflets had
printed in the Washington Daily News of nearly confusion the e Communists
loyalist ists ranks the
June 23. In the article, Mr. Bethel been passed around by Communist orga-
shows clearly the Communist influence moos. Skillful radio and television props- nizers several weeks before the revolt, with
ganda made it appear that the country al- instructions on how to make Molotov cock-
in the Dominican uprising. He points ready was in rebel hands. tails out of Coca-Cola bottles and gasoline.
out that the Communists, most of whom As late as 10 p.m. Sunday the Dominican Much other evidence of Communist do-
were trained and exported from Cuba, Navy didn't know where it stood. Commo- mination of the rebel movement comes from
made every attempt to spread terror and dore Rivera Caminero told a junior com- Havana.
confusion throughout Santo Domingo. mander: "I am with the people but against 7133ELISTA
This is an old Communist tactic, and one communism." Broadcasts that the Navy For example, on May 11, I found that
mean Rafael Mejia (alias "Pichirilo") was in Santo
which almost worked in establishing enhad thrown in with tly interpreted by the eCorebels mmodo a to appar-
another Communist foothold in the that the joint rebel-loyalist military junta Domingo with the rebels. Mejia was helms-
Western Hemisphere. had been established. There were no clear man for the yacht Gramma, which took
President Johnson deserves the grati- instructions from the San Isidro base on the Fidel Castro and 82 men from Mexico to
tude of every American and every free- politics of the moment simply because Gen. Cuba, where they landed on December 2,
dom-loving man anywhere in the world Wessin y Wessin was trying to sort out the 1966, and took up the guerrilla fight against
tangle. Gen. Fulgencio Batista.
mr his de hallenges iimeeting the Com- Mejia is a Dominican by birth. He holds
monist challenge in the Dominican Adding to the disorganization on Sunday
the National Police set free both criminals Cuban citizenship, as well, and is a captain
Republic, which not only saved that and political prisoners. Rebels rushed them in Castro's rebel army, a graduate of guerrilla
strifetorn island from Red tyranny, but to tho TV station saying the police had gone training and political agitation schools in
also let the world know that the United over to the side of the "peoples' movement." Cuba.
States would not hesitate to defend the Powerful propaganda. Tremendous confu- The extent of Castro-Communist influence
cause of freedom. Sion, in the rebel camp is fully documented in
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- TRUCIrs WITH ARMS reports by John Bartlow Martin, President
Johnson's special envoy. He named names.
sent to have the Bethel article printed in But it was organized confusion. Four He described their activities, ranging from
the RECORD. truck loads of arms roared into Independ- introducing large sums of political money in-
There being no objection, the article ence Park in the rebel-held portion of Santo to the country to running "a school for Com-
was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, Domingo. As one Western diplomat stated: munist indoctrination." All were trained
as follows: "I saw Peiping Communists, Castro Com- in Cuba. Some had received training in
munists and Moscow Communists passing Russia and China, as well.
[From the Washington Daily News, out arms to criminals and to the street A five-man factfinding commission of the
June 23, 1965] gangs." Organization of American States gave a
DOMINICAN REVIEW-THE REBELS IN COLD These, then, were the "armed civilians" devastating report on Communist and Castro
BLOOD SENT 600 CIVILIANS TO DEATH referred to in news accounts by overly "ob- Communist rebel activities. Later the State
(NOTE.-How two Castro Communists jective" reporters. Gen. Wessin y Wessin's Department furnished a list of 77 Communist
made a deal with deposed President Juan official log says the civilians got the auto- leaders.
Bosch 6 weeks before the Dominican Re- matic weapons, the soldiers only the hand Several Senators, Including Alaska's
public's revolution was started has been weapons. ERNEST GRUENING and Connecticut's THOMAS
told in a previous installment. Mr. Bethel Thus the rebels gained 2 precious days, DODD, are critical of some of our press for
also outlined how, following the deal, the enabling them to secure and to hold the not reporting those findings.
Communist manifesto was broadcast urging central part of the city. About noon, on Sunday, April 25, the rebel
the people to overthrow the incumbent, in- Saturday night and early Sunday morn- radio announced that Juan Bosch had desig-
terim President Donald Reid Cabral, and ing Gen. Wessin y Wessin's tanks moved noted Jose Rafael Molina as "provisional con-
reinstate Senor Bosch. Today, he describes across the Duarte Bridge over the Ozama stitutional president."
how the Communist-Bosch coalition double- River to curb the mobs, a few hours before COLDBLOODED
crossed and outmaneuvered the army, to he was to learn he had been doublecrossed.
take charge of the rebellion and transform He confidently expected the Army rebels to During the next 2 days, the rebel radio
it into a revolutionary grab for power with join him in cleaning out the mobs in the coldbloodedly directed civilians to go to
Bosch as their front.) city. Instead, his troops were faced by areas which the loyal Dominican Air Force
those same rebels now working together with leaflets had warned would be bombed. It
(By Paul D. Bethel) the organizers and the mobs. This blow 'to is not known how many were killed. The
On Sunday, April 25, the second day of loyalist morale was nearly fatal. U.S. Embassy's estimate was 1,800 casualties,
the Dominican Republic revolt, Gen. Wessin Communist and leftwing parties openly 600 dead.
y Wessin sent a personal representative to endorsed the revolt and called for the return On Sunday night, it looked as if the rebels
meet with the rebels of the 16th of August of Senor Bosch-the MPD (Popular Demo- had the upper hand.
Barracks. Jointly, they were to set up a cratic Movement), the Communist Popular Rebel Provisional President Molina first
caretaker junta composed of rebels and Socialist Party, the 14th of June movement, issued himself two pistols and then signed
loyalists until elections were called. among others. All are pro-Castro organiza- several decrees to give the impression the
The general's emissary was met by banners tions. The PRD provided the all-important loyalist cause was day ymorning the air force's
carrying festo a slogan from Communist manor front. STREET GANG Vampire jets had silenced the rebel radio,
testa issued the month before: "We are for
the return of President Bosch at the head of Musclemen for the rebels are the "tur- the navy was lobbing shells into the press-
the constitutional government." This was bas".--street gangs, something like those who dential palace, and the loyalists held.
the dramatic switch from the agreed-upon terrorize subway riders in New York City. By Tuesday night, Provisional President
elections, maneuvered by the Bosch PRD- They also do dirty work for whoever happens Molina had sought asylum.
Communist combine. to hold power in the Dominican Republic, The next day, Wednesday,. April 29, the
The emissary also found that a large num- and will pay them. U.S. Marines began to arrive, and the PDR-
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 14174 Approved For Re D3S'[6 AcIt 0 Be 500120011-2 June 24, 1965
Communist strike for power had bogged
down in a tiny enclave in the center of
Santo Domingo, where it still is today.
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THE
COLD WAR VETERAN
Mr. YARBOROUGH. Mr. President,
the brave veterans of service throughout
the world during the cold war period
have been openly discriminated against
by the very Government they so loyally
serve. The dedication with which these
men and women serve the cause of free-
dom is certainly no less than the pa-
triotism and the devotion to duty which
characterized the service of the soldiers
of World War II and the Korean con-
flict. Why should not our veterans of
today have the same opportunities and
advantages for future economic success
that the veterans of prior years had?
I submit that there is no just excuse for
the failure of this Government to offer
the courageous veterans of cold war
service an opportunity to regain their
foothold in the civilian community. En-
actment of the cold war GI bill (S. 9)
will insure the removal of this discrimi-
nation and, at long last, will provide an
equal educational opportunity for the
cold war veterans.
I ask unanimous consent that a let-
ter from Mrs. Helen Dunford, of Syl-
vester, W. Va., be printed at this point
in the RECORD. The letter is dated May
3, 1965, and expresses the thoughts of
many thousands of Americans who ac-
tively support the cold war GI bill.
There being no objection, the letter
was ordered to be printed in the RECORD,
U.S. Senate,
Senate Office Building,
Wash dng'ton, D.C.
DEAR SIR: I am writing to you to ask for
your support and encouragement of imme-
diate and favorable action on Senate bill
S. 9, Cold War Veterans Readjustment Assist-
ance Act. This has the potential of being one
of the greatest educational bills in history.
The benefits possible through this legislature
can be seen by reviewing the results of previ-
ous GI bills.
- Reasons for encouraging your support on
this bill are many and were more than suffi-
ciently covered during the hearings on this
legislature. Your study and consideration of
these hearings will surely result in your posi-
tive and active support.
Our future on the local, national, and in-
ternational levels will be attained prosper-
ously only through the thoughts and works
of educated leaders who can think and act
because they have been trained to use their
mental facilities to the fullest, The above
mentioned bill will help provide for financial
assistance to train these potential future
leaders.
I urge you to give your full support, in the
name of education and national security.
Sincerely yours,
TRIBUTE TO JOE JAMES CUSTER
Mr.,FONG. Mr. President,. today, at
-Pearl_I arior, in Hawaii, funeral services
are being held for Joe James Custer,
heroic war correspondent, radio com-
mentator, newspaperman, and public-
relations consultant.' Joe Custer died of
a heart attack, last Sunday, at his home
in Honolulu.
Last rites for him are being held on
the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, which he
helped to build. For 7 years he was
Executive Secretary of the Pacific War
Memorial Commission, which handled
the fund-raising to construct the me-
morial over the sunken hull of the battle-
ship Arizona, in Pearl Harbor.
Joe was widely known among news-
men, having worked on various news-
papers, and was an outstanding war cor-
respondent in World War II. He lost an
eye while covering a naval battle in the
Pacific.
I knew Joe Custer for many years, and
respected him professionally and per-
sonally. He served his profession and his
country ably and courageously, in peace
and in war. I join his many friends in
mourning his passing and in extending
heartfelt condolences to his wife and
family.
I ask unanimous consent to have
printed in the RECORD at this point two
articles which were published this week
in the Honolulu press.
There being no objection, the articles
were ordered to be printed in the RECORD,
as follows:
[From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 22,
1985]
ARIZONA MEMORIAL RITES FOR CUSTER
Services over the ashes of Joe James
Custer,, who was executive secretary of the
Pacific War Memorial Commission, will be
held on the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial he
helped to build.
Mr. Custer's funeral services, set for 10
a.m. Thursday, are the first ever held at the
memorial.
The Right Reverend. Harry S. Kennedy,
bishop of Honolulu of the Protestant Episco-
pal Church, will conduct the services.
Ashes will be scattered on Pearl Harbor
waters following the ceremony.
Mr. Custer, 55, had been executive secre-
tary of the Pacific War Memorial Commission
for 7 years when he died Sunday in Queen's
Hospital.
As a correspondent for United Press dur-
ing World War II, he accompanied the Navy
on several major Pacific operations until
wounded aboard the Astoria in the Battle of
Savo Island. For this action he received the
Purple Heart.
Mr. Custer, also a veteran radio commen-
tator, newspaper man, public relations cor-
respondent, and author of "Through the Per-
ilous Night," is survived by his wife, Victoria;
a son, Brian, and a daughter, Sharon.
The family requests that flowers be
omitted. Donations in his memory may be
made to the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial Fund
in care of the Bishop Trust Co., Honolulu.
[From the Honolulu Advertiser, June 21,
1965]
JOE CUTER DIES OF HEART ATTACK
Joe James Custer, veteran newsman, war
correspondent, and radio commentator, died
yesterday of an apparent heart attack.
He would have been 68 Wednesday.
He was born in New York City and worked
on several San Francisco newspapers. He
worked as a newsman in Honolulu before
joining the staff of United Press (now United
Press International) and serving as a war
correspondent.
Custer saw the sea battle between United
States and Japanese naval forces off Guadal-
canal; the ship he was on, the U.S.S. As-
toria, was hit more than 200 times and sank
the following day. Custer lost an eye in the
battle.
His eyewitness reports of sea action led to
a book, "Through the Perilous Night."
Custer was a KGU and KGMB commenta-
tor, a public relations man, and former ex-
ecutive secretary of the Pacific War Memorial
Commission. He was active in community
affairs.
Custer was playing bridge with his wife
and friends at his home, 1032 Hunakai
Street, when he was stricken. An ambulance
was called and he was taken to Queen's
Hospital. The family doctor also was called
and followed the ambulance to the hospital,
where Custer was pronounced dead on ar-
rival at 9:20 p.m.
Survivors are his wife, Victoria, son
Brian B., and daughter Sharon M.
TRIBUTE TO ADM. GLYNN R.
DONAHO
Mr. DOUGLAS. Mr. President, dur-
ing recent hearings before the Subcom-
mittee on Federal Procurement and
Regulation of the Joint Economic Com-
mittee, we received testimony from Adm.
Glynn R. Donaho, commander of the
Military Sea Transport Service-
MSTS-concerning the level of ocean
freight rates paid by military depart-
ments for shipping defense cargoes. He
expressed serious concern about the fact
that American-flag lines, most of them
heavily subsidized, agree among them-
selves on rates charged the. Government,
and decline to furnish data revealing
their costs and profits.
We also received testimony describing
the efforts of these combined lines to
drive out a small, unsubsidized American
carrier which has entered the field, to
compete. The facts are intriguing, and
they demonstrate very clearly that a
little competition is more useful than
any amount of shrewd negotiation in
reaching reasonable rates. In the very
act of fighting this small competitor, the
combination-or cartel-has reduced by
one-third its rates on the major defense
commodities. It is reliably estimated
that in a little over 2 months, the De-
partment of Defense has saved between
$2 and $3 million, over the preexisting
schedules. The annual projection is im-
pressive, and should, at present rates,
procure a total saving of at least $10
million, on a bill for ocean transporta-
tion, that last year ran $36 million, to
the ports visited by members of this par-
ticular conference. The saving on in-
land through bills on household goods,
for which the rate has also been severely
cut, is over $1 million, to this date, and
may easily total another $10 million per
annum.
I congratulate Admiral Donaho for his
alert supervision of his Department,
which seems now to be attentive to the
whole problem of transportation costs.
I should note that this is the second ad-
miral whom the committee has had occa-
sion to congratulate for a vigorous
revival in Government maritime opera-
tions, the other being Adm. John Harllee,
Chairman of the Federal Maritime Com-
mission. Perhaps this country needs
more cost-conscious admirals.
I ask to have printed in the RECORD a
newspaper article on this subject, which
was published on June 17 in the Balti-
more Evening Sun.
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