CASTRO S CUBA AFTER 10 YEARS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP71B00364R000300050004-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 10, 2001
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: February 7, 1969
• Content Type: OPEN

'S 1468
Approved For &I@4MW15 iZF ft1-71 RP3M1 000300050P4y%aiy 7, 1969
sential, we would not object to an extension
of up to six months.
Sincerely,
WILFRED H. ROMMEL,
Assistant Director for,
Legislative M Reference.
SEPTEMBER 6, 1968.
Hon. WAYNE N. ASPINALL,
Chairman, Committee on Interior and In-
sular Affairs, House of Representatives,
Longworth House Office Building, Wash-
ington, D.C.
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: We understand that
during today's Subcommittee hearing on H.R.
17874 there was discussion of the Bureau's
report of September 4, 1968, and that the
question arose as to our view concerning
a brief extension of the period cited in that
legislation rather than deferral of legislative
action as recommended in our report.
We continue to prefer deferral for reasons
outlined in the September 4th report. How-
ever, If the Committee believes an extension
covering the period of further study is es-
sential, we would not object to an extension
of ,up to six months.
Sincerely,
ED H. ROMMEL,
Assistant Director for
Legislative Reference.
SEPTEMBER 4, 1968.
Hon. WAYNE N. ASPINALL,
Chairman, Committee on Interior and In-
sular Affairs, House of Representatives,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Hearings have been
scheduled for September 5, on H.R. 17874, a
bill which would extend by an additional
fifteen years the period during which the
State of Alaska may select Federal lands
which are already under lease, permit, license
or contract under the Mineral Leasing Act:
You may recall that the Department of the
Interior has sent to your Committee a report
favoring a five-year extension. We had pre-
viously concurred in a similar Interior report
to the Senate Committee on S. 3406, an iden-
tical bill. However, a number of develop-
ments have, caused us to wish to consider
further several aspects of matters dealt with
by this legislation.
The rapid pace of mineral exploration and
the large oil strike on the North Slope of
Alaska in particular lend emphasis to the
tremendous significance of Federal mineral
and land policies. We have been discussing
with the Department of the Interior the
need for a general appraisal and review of
these policies.-The Public Land Law Review
Commission study of revenue sharing and
the related Department of Interior analysis
of mineral leasing act sharing will provide
information useful in this review.
In the circumstances, we would appreciate
opportunity to reconsider our position on
H.R. 17874 with the objective of making a
specific recommendation on the legislation
early in the next session of the Congress.
The Department of the Interior concurs in
this request. Accordingly, we recommend
that the Committee defer action on this
legislation until the next session of the Con-
gress.
Sincerely,
PHILLIP S. RUCHES,
Deputy Director.
Mr. WILLIAMS of Delaware. Mr.
President, it will be noted that in Mr.
Zwick's reply he states:
We understand that the Department of
Interior will reply to the technical questions
(1 through 3) in your letter. We will not re-
ised on repeated occasions that the Sec-
retary's reply had been prepared and was
awaiting his signature, I regret to report
that to date I have not received an
answer.
I cannot understand why the Secre-
tary of the Interior was not more inter-
ested in replying to these questions since
they now all admit that millions bf pros-
pective Government revenue are in-
volved in the decision that may be made
on this proposal.
I ask unanimous consent that my let-
ter of October 29 as addressed to the
Secretary of the Interior, the Honorable
Stewart L. Udall, be printed at this point
in the RECORD. His failure to reply should
be noted by the Interior Committee
should any thought be given to consider-
ing this question at this session of Con-
gress.
There being no objection, the letter
was ordered to be printed in the RECORD,
as follows:
OCTOBER 29, 1968.
Ilon. STEWART L. UDALL,
Secretary of the Interior,
Department of the Interior,
Washington, D.C.
My DEAR Mn, SECRETARY: In the closing
days of the session S. 3406 was left on the
Senate Calendar without any action being
taken. This is the bill introduced by Senator
Bartlett and Senator Gruening, the purpose
of which was to extend the time for the
filing of applications for the selection of
certain lands by the State of Alaska to fifteen
years.
In the Committee Report the Departments
are quoted as having endorsed this proposal;
however, I note that the endorsements of the
respective agencies appear prior to the re-
cent discovery of a major oil field in that
area. I am therefore asking for a new re-
port from your Department as to how the en-
actment of this bill would affect the position
or equity of the United States Government.
Does the Interior Department still recom-
mend its enactment upon the convening of
the next Congress?
In addition to stating the position of your
Department I would appreciate answers to
the following questions:
1. The effective date of the charter grant-
Ing Alaska statehood, along with both effec-
tive and expiration dates of the rights ex-
tended to that state for claiming certain
acreage.
(a) The number of acres allocated to the
state under this option.
(b) A record of all extensions or modifi-
cations of this agreement along with the ex-
piration,date of the final agreement.
2. Was there a special agreement on min-
eral leases outstanding at the time Alaska
was admitted to statehood and how were
they affected by these options?
(a) How would they be affected by an ex-
tension of the dates as proposed in S. 3406?
3. Were the recent major discoveries of oil
fields in the Alaskan Region made on gov-
ernment-owned or state-claimed lands and
were they government or state leases?
(a) If government lands or leases from the
government, give the dates.
4. Would the enactment of this legisla-
tion extending the filing date permit the
state to claim any of these newly discovered
oil fields as state lands which otherwise they
would not be able to do without the legisla-
tion?
(a) Do you have any estimate as to the
amount of revenue involved?
If it is the position of.your Department that
the enactment of this legislation is favorable
to the interests of the United States Govern-
ment, please explain, or if your Department
recommends against the enactment, explain
how it would adversely affect the Govern-
ment's interests. At the same time I would
appreciate' receiving any additional informa-
tion which you feel should be considered
in making a decision on this legislative pro-
posal.
Yours sincerely,
_.i JOHN J. WILLIAMS.
CASTRO'S CUBA AFTER 10 YEARS
Mr. YOUNG ~of Ohio. Mr. President,
more than 10 years ago; in fact, in late
December 1958 Fidel Castro and his
small guerrilla force of fighting. men
came out of the Sierra Maestra Moun-
tains, which had been their base for
some years, in their hit-and-run fighting
against the dictatorial regime of Ful-
genclo' Batista. On January 1, 1959,
Fidel Castro and his small force of fight-
ing men entered Havana and paraded
down the main thoroughfare. The tumul-
tuous welcome of more than a million
men, women, and children crowding
throughout the broad avenues of Havana
shouting and weeping for joy was so
tremendous, enthusiastic, and expressed
so much happiness and relief as to be
almost beyond belief.
For years preceding this time a former
sergeant of the Cuban Army, Fulgencio
Batista, had been in power, not be, elec-
tion, but by force and violence. For years
preceding this New Year's Day dictator
Batista had ruled Cuba with its 7
million population as his own fiefdom.
His had been a cruel, corrupt dictatorial
regime.- New York racketeers had ar-
ranged with him to operate the gambling
houses and casinos of Havana, and that
beautiful city had become the vacation
center of the Western Hemisphere and
the gambling mecca bringing in ship-
loads of pleasure-seeking vacationers
along with gangsters and racketeers
from New York who controlled the gam-
bling syndicate. All the time Sergeant
Batista, dictator of this beautiful island
in the Caribbean, was depositing in his
secret Swiss bank accounts the millions
he took in during his years in power by
crushing his own people into further
oppression with taxes and corruption
that was rampant throughout all Cuba
and from huge sums he skimmed from
the gambling tables.
Then, on that New Year's Day he sud-
denly and secretly left for Europe to join
his Swiss bank account. Throughout the
nears since that time he has been enjoy-
ing the good life and sun on the French
Riviera and at his luxurious villa in
Spain..
At the time of the triumph of Fidel
Castro it was said that administration
leaders and our Central Intelligence
Agency were overw a me wl
one tie sudden turn of events. To me
that always seemed neculiar. It hap-
?' 6 "?'~ """"' "'?`"" "??' "'" tine enncvsnenTi vi iegibintivu nAvul-ts ,,m
ter as addressed to Secretary Udall was filing date react either favorably or adversely the latter half of December having dis-
also dated October t res ~ teemed *ell known
that date and Janfty", ' ~% . ~ !{~Beaoh, and Palm
 Approved For Release 2003/03/25 : CIA-RDP71 B00364R000300050004-6
February 7, 1969 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE
Beach among those with whom I talked
that the guerrillas had won the war in
Cuba and that Batista would, either be
executed or exiled within a few days.
County and State officials in Florida with
whom I talked and also many In private
life knew the facts. Finally the CLL and
officials of the Eisenhower administra-
tion learned what had been common
knowledge in Florida.
During the intervening 10 years our
relationship with dictator Castro and
members of his regime has been most
unsatisfactory. In fact, sometimes
stormy and grim.
President Eisenhower in January 1961
severed our diplomatic relations with the
Cuban Government. Our Embassy in Ha-
vana was closed. Our Ambassador and
members of his staff returned immedi-
ately to the United States.
Unfortunately for this Nation, and in
my judgment to our prejudice, we have
been since that time compelled to deal
with Cuban officials through members of
the staff of the Swiss Embassy. We there-
by lost our own listening post and open
window to all that has gone on in Cuba
during the past 10 years.
Of course, what has gone on in this
little island close'to Key West, Fla., has
generally speaking become known to us.
Unfortunately, there have been delays
in acquiring precise knowledge. This was
made clearly evident to all Americans in
October of 1962 and at some other
periods.
Immediately following the time our
Government severed all diplomatic rela-
tions with Cuba and placed reliance upon
the Swiss Embassy to look after our in-
terests, Fidel Castro's Cuban Govern-
ment confiscated the property of Amer-
ican corporations and individuals and
there was considerable financial loss in-
volved. Whether such procedure would
have been followed by the Cuban Gov-
ernment had we not severed diplomatic
relations is a matter for argument.
Then there was the missile crisis of
1962 and our blockade of Cuba and an
eyeball to eyeball confrontation between
President Kennedy and Premier Khrush-
chev. Khrushchev blinked. The missiles
were withdrawn. War was averted.
Also, there was the horrendous blunder
of our Q ;A. training Cubans and some
Americans in Guatemala for an invasion
of Cuba and liberation of its people from
the Castro rule. The abortive Bay of Pigs
invasion took place. Some Americans
were killed, hundreds of Cubans killed
and taken prisoner. The poorly planned
invasion was crushed. Then our Govern-
paid a huge ransom in medical sup-
ment
plies to secure the release from imprison-
ment of some hundreds taken prisoner in
that invasion. Even today, thousands of
Cuban refugees are being maintained at
the expense of our Government while
We might as well face the fact that ap-
parently the present Cuban regime is
firmly entrenched. To our knowledge no
rebellion nor guerrilla warfare is being
waged against Fidel Castro and his gov-
ernment.
It appears that of all the 7 to 6 mil-
lion men, women, and children living in
Cuba, an overwhelming majority are bet-
ter off physically and financially than
they were 10 years ago, and from all the
knowledge we Americans are able to ac-
quire an overwhelming majority of these
Cuban people do. support and uphold
the present administration. I express re-
gret over the fact that Fidel Castro does
have the support of a huge majority of
his people, but we should not be blind
to the facts.
The Castro regime is totalitarian. It
is Communist. The regime of Fulgencio
Batista was totalitarian. it was fascist.
Communist dictators and fascist dicta-
tors govern by decree. The voice of the
people of countries so misgoverned are
not heard nor are their votes tolerated.
Surely the regime of Fidel Castro and
its operations are abhorrent to freedom-
loving men and women of our country.
Very definitely, to speak for a moment
regarding Western Hemisphere nations,
the fascist militarist regimes of Brazil,
the Argentine Republic, and now Peru,
are abhorrent to freedom-loving citizens
everywhere. Yet, at the time in the
Argentine Republic, so-called, the gen-
erals overthrew the duly elected Presi-
dent and sent him into exile, we did not
break diplomatic relations with Argen-
tina. When the generals of the Brazilian
Army by a midnight coup overthrew the
President of that great nation, our
Government did not sever diplomatic
relations with that regime. Now, in re-
cent weeks, the militarists of Peru have
ousted the duly elected President. He is
exiled from his own country. These
fascist generals by decree have expropri-
ated property of American corporations
to the extent of many millions of dollars.
In our newspapers we read advertise-
ments of the Standard Oil Co., denounc-
ing the fact that the fascist rulers of Peru
have seized their property, giving no
compensation whatever. Yet we con-
tinue to permit American businessmen
to sell the products of American factories
to all these fascist governments and their
nationals, but the products, even medi-
cines, produced in America may not be
sold to the Cuban Government nor to
Cubans. Americans are barred. from
visiting Cuba. The Communists, who also
govern by decree, have taken over Cuba,
Hence diplomatic relations were broken.
American businessmen and farmers may
not profit with any trade with that coun-
try. In those other republics, so-called, of
South America-Brazil, Argentina, Para-
they are no doubt plotting further in- guay, and, most recently Peru-where
vasions.
Almost daily we read of hijacking in-
cidents. Unfortunately we have no em-
ha_acv nor stair in Havana but are de-
fascist rulers govern by decree, our em-
bassies have not been closed. Trade be-
tween Americans and the nationals of
those countries has not been barred.
S 1469
?ment continued uninterruptedly to rec-
ognize this Fascist regime in Greece.
We have recognized for many years the
ruthless and bloodstained tyrant Fran-
cois Duvalier whose. dictatorship has im-
poverished the people of Haiti. Haiti is
one of the most beautiful islands in the
Western Hemisphere. Along the coastal
area and inland as one climbs into the
beautiful terrain of the Temperate Zone
the land is fertile; the jungles are lush.
Yet, the ironhanded rule of Duvalier has
so impoverished the inhabitants of Haiti
that it is the slum of the Western
Hemisphere, with the lowest per capita
income anywhere in our hemisphere.
That iron hand of Duvalier is also a
bloodstained hand. Citizens suspected to
be hostile to his regime are executed
without trial. Still, we recognize this
tyrant and have diplomatic relations
with his government.
The United States recognizes and sup-
ports the Fascist regime of dictator
Franco in Spain. In fact, liberty loving
Spaniards, now being further oppressed
by new censorship and more restrictions
recently applied by Franco, claim that
except for the support of the United
States his regime would have been over-
thrown years ago.
Our country maintains diplomatic re-
lations with every Fascist regime in the
entire world. Our Government maintains
diplomatic relations with every Commu-
nist government in Europe, with the ex-
ception of little Albania. The United
States maintains diplomatic relations, in
fact, with all governments governing by
decree and by single party rule except
for Albania and Cuba.
It has been said that early In 1959
President Eisenhower's Secretary of
State, John Poster Dulles, was at the
time advised by our CIA that the Fidel
Castro government would topple in a
matter of weeks, so he advised President
Eisenhower to follow a hard line policy
toward the Castro regime-a policy
which eventually led to a complete break
in diplomatic relations and possibly to
many of the crises and difficulties that
ensued through the years. Whether that
Washington gossip is historically 'true
or not, I do not know.
I do know that depending upon the
Swiss Embassy in Havana as our listen-
ing post has proven through almost 10
years to be unsatisfactory and inade-
quate. Let us hope that President Nixon
and Secretary of State Rogers will re-
assess all facets of our relationship with
the regime governing Cuba. Very likely
for all I know they have already com-
menced reappraising our policies relating
to President Dorticos, of Cuba, and. all
other officials supporting Fidel Castro. No
doubt the contrast as to what we have
been doing in dealing with Peru and what
we have done in dealing with Cuba has
become a matter of concern.
We Americans despise communism. Yet
we have no right to direct the people of
Cuba as to what sort of government they
must maintain any more than we have
to the Cuban Government. This is illus- democracy. Yet when Fascist colonels that they must, not have a Communist
trative of the. fact that we have been overthrew the constitutional govern-. regime.
prejudiced through these years because ment in a midnight coup, our Govern- The evidence is overwhelming that
we lack means of direct communication ment did not close our Embassy nor, Cuba has a viable government, This is a
with the OovernmentApp aced For R iseti2D0 3tO5tioMIP 4rBOOSO4 08000 '8 M4t6which Ameri-
 S1470
Approved For&IRsq_,;%qNPR5 1~CkW7A1@?WA4fP000300050004,,ei(i,r?J i, Jb/
cans generally despise. It is a govern- BLAMING S'IDEL may open only three nights a week, all other
ment, however, that appears firmly in A visitor, however, finds some signs of die- bars are shuttered and Castro recently
power and has been for a period of 10 content directed at Premier Castro, and U.S. cracked down on Havana's hippies by round-
intelligence sources report isolated acts of re- tog up several hundred of them in a sudden
yeWs. bellion. "Fidel gets more personal blame for downtown street raid. Those that couldn't
Whether or not the tyranny of the problems, and there's been more mud splat- prove useful employment wound up in work
present government of Cuba is as bad or tered on him in the past several years," says camps in eastern Camaguey Province.
as worse than the tyranny and corrup- one analyst. But most agree that the unrest But the sensual Cuba of former times can't
tion of the Batista government that pre- isn't a serious threat-at least for now-to be suppressed entirely. The girls of Havana
ceded it, is not a matter to be considered. the Castro government. and the countryside prefer short miniskirts
We do know however that the people But if the 41-year-old Fidel is firmly in, and somehow-even when wearing fatigues
of Cuba, those who work in the sugar the saddle, it is equally apparent that Cuba on militia guard duty-look as if they have
cane fields and the people crowded in is susceptible to change. The hallmark of the just come from a beauty parlor. The love of
the slums of Havana, Santiago, and other revolution has been experimentation, and it music in this land of palm trees (especially
cities, are from all reports better off in continues. Nowhere else in the Communist American rock and roll) is such that the
world has Marxism been applied with more government in December was forced to re-
every way and enjoy greater content- free-wheeling exuberance. The result is a scind an early 1968 .order for a total close-
ment and a better life than they had dur- Cub of many faces, some of them oontradic- down of all night clubs and adopt the pres-
ing the Batista- regime. tory and all fascinating. ent three-day-a-week schedule.
Mr. President, on February 4, 1969, Havana and the countryside wear a well- And amid all this is a Cuba still full of
there appeared in the Christian Science scrubbed look. Litter barrels are everywhere sights and sounds reminiscent of Its earlier
Monitor, one of our Nation's great news- and the capital remains the airy city Of sun strong ties to the U.S. A high.official of the
and sea, skyscrapers, broad avenues and trop- government -film industry, driving a group of
papers, a very informative article by ical flowers that once made it a tourist Americans in his Russian-made Volga sta-
James Nelson Goodsell, the Monitor's mecca. Still visible, too, are the slums, but tion wagon, suddenly begins singing "I'm in
Latin American correspondent, entitled they seem less crowded and far neater than the Mood for Love." And Cubans Still make a
"Now We Begin the Second 10 Years." In the tenements of Mexico City or New York. soft drink they call Coca-Cola that tastes
his article, Mr. Goodsell points out that The mood of the country is subdued. One much like the U.S. product, even though
while there is discontent in Cuba, while recent Mexican visitor who knew Cuba under Coke syrup is no longer available from the
there are shortages, and while many have the Batista dictatorship compares the two U.S.
not reconciled themselves to the Com- eras: "There are no beggars on the streets Havana, where nearly one-fourth of all
and there used to be a great many, But the Cubans live, reflects all the contradictions of
munist government, for the most part people aren't as friendly now; they used to. the revolution. Fidel loves ice cream, formerly
Castro enjoys the allegiance of the great stop you on the street and ask how -you liked a luxury in Cuba, and has decreed that the
majority of Cubans. He reports that the Cuba." people should have it in abundance. The re-
poor and underprivileged who form the TOURISTS ARE GONE suit is ice cream everywhere, including at
,,great mass of the population are some- Most tourists are gone now, unless one the Coppelia, a two-story cantilevered ice
what better off than they were 10 years counts the Russian technicians who swarm cream parlor in downtown Havana that seats
ago. In the Wall Street Journal of Feb- around the swimming pool at Havana's Hotel 6,000 and where the customer can choose
ruary 5, 1969, there appeared a front- National or the bearded Americans of the from 52 flavors, including guava. Five scoops
page article entitled, "Fidel's EXperi- New Left who flock to Cuba despite State with syrup costs $1.50, and it's worth it.
Department strictures against such travel. There are always long lines, despite the fact
ment, Most Cubans Appear Content With Hotels and other buildings are aging as the Coppelia is open all day and most of the
Castro's 10-Year-Old Regime," which gracefully as they can in the face of a severe night.
confirms Mr. Goodsell's observations and shortage of paint and nearly everything else. WAITING IN LINE
conclusions regarding conditions in Cuba Few cars are seen on the streets, though t for
today and the stability of the Castro gov- there are plenty of British Leyland buses, Meanwchildrenhile hale, no the milk aged. is And available though Cub
for
ernment. trucks and military vehicles. and One face of Cuba is that of austerity. it is.a appear to have adequate supplies of staples
I ask unanimous consent that these nation where rationing now is more severe like rice and beans, many other foods are
articles be printed in the RECORD at this than in war-time England and where, even almost as scarce as milk. At grocery stores
point. when ration stamps are available, stores are and restaurants, there are always long lines.
There being no objection, the articles likely to be empty of appliances, most "Someone from each family is constantly in
were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, clothes, many food items and all luxury line," complains one young man who lives in
as follows: goods. Havana.
[From the Wall Street Journal, Feb. 5, 1969] But there is also a Cuba of the millenium, A visit to Fin de Sigo, a big department
a place where no one will pay rent beginning store in the old quarter of Havana, is depress-
FIDEL'S EXPERIMENT: MOST CUBANS APPEAR next year and whore most medical care is ing. Long lines of glass merchandise cases are
CONTENT WITH CASTRO'S 10-YEAR-OLD RE- free and far more abundant than in the past. completely empty; the men's department is
LIME-JAILS HOLD 10,000 DISSENTERS, BUT Public phones, baseball games, wedding ban- blocked off, the racks devoid of any clothing.
IMPROVED EDUCATION, HEALTH, WAGES WIN quets, education and even funerals are on A few bored clerks stand around watching
FAVOR-FREE CALLS ON PUBLIC PHONES the government. Despite the monotony of the the equally scarce shoppers. The only crowd
(By Herbert G. Lawson) diet, no one is starving, and most people, in is in the lingerie department where women
SAN ANDRES, CUBA.-Antonio Toledo, a fact, appear well fed and reasonably well ,line up to buy stockings. Not a single appli-
barefoot, nearly toothless tobacco farmers, dressed. ance is in sight, nor are there any toys or
warmly greets an American visitor to his POLITICAL PRISONERS children's clothing except for cotton school
dirt-floor home in this remote western Another face is autocratic, This is a thor- uniforms ($3.23 for a cheap skirt).
mountain valley. A photo of Fidel Castro oughly totalitarian state where 2.6 million Such shortages-caused by the lackluster
hangs on one wall, but the family's most people-nearly one in three-are members of performance of Cuba's economy and the di-
cherished possession is a wall rack full of vigilante groups on nearly every block called version of capital into agricultural industry-
china plates and coffee cups. Committees for the Defense of the Revolu- inevitably cause some unrest. At a party in a
"We never had those before the revolu- tion. No opposition press is tolerated and private home in Havana, a 20-year-old teach-
tion," say Mr. Toledo. "We have more money the jails contain 10,000 or more political pris- er confides that he would like to flee the
now." Though he has refused to yield to oners, including former high-level Commu- country. "I don't believe our government's
pressure to give up his land to the state, he's nists who challenged Castro's leadership. The propaganda," he says. But he can't leave
glad to Sell his output to the government premier recently gave public support to Rua- legally under the refugee program while he is
and notes that it gives him free fertilizer ' Sian suppression of the liberal Czech govern- of military age. Part of his family already has
that has quadrupled his crop. His grandchild ment. , gone to Miami, and he eagerly watches Miami
will go to a free, modern boarding school in But there is also a more tolerant Cuba television (Bewitched is a favorite show).
the valley. He and his family now have two where the Catholic Church still functions de- There are other hints of disenchantment.
doctors nearby; before the revolution, medi- spite some government restrictions, where A university student says her brother re-
cal help for the 8,000 people in the valley was students and intellectuals feel some freedom cently saw two militiamen shot to death in
35 miles away-over a mountain without to express anti-Castro views at social gather- Oriente Province, the eastern mountain re-
roads, ings, where artists have Czech-style freedom gion where there have been persistent re-
Mr. Toledo's enthusiasm for Cuba's 10- of expression and where racial integration of ports of antigovernment activity. Other
year-old Communist regime isn't shared by the 27% black and mulatto population is observers report incidents of farm workers
everyone on this tropical island of eight mil- genuine. The regime, with a large core of deliberately breaking cane seedlings before
lion people. But Castro's enemies appear far enthusiastic supporters, tries to avoid a po- planting them and of chains being thrown
outnumbered by th o ferv or a- lice-state atmosphere and prefers the carrot across power lines to short them. "But it's
aively accept the A6i1~(t~Cr1d~IFn ea*0l1'Ofl~/?03/25 ? CIA-RDP71 B00364#~0j3s too .~5Pays one. "The sccu-
what happens, capitalism is dead here," as- Then there Is Puritan Cuba. Lotteries and rity here goo or there to be any per-
sorts one pro-Western diplomat in Havana. prostitution have been outlawed, night clubs tentage in it."
 Approved For Releas p03/2 - R P 64R000300050004-6 S 1471
February 7, 1969 CONGRESSe i O -
Even those Negroes with relatively humble
Nevertheless A LESSON VIA SLAPSTICK
FLFEING
cA g On this particular evening, the citrus
, Castro o was s concerned enough jobs say they like the new Cuba. A yowl
to lash out at saboteurs in a major address ? woman at the cigar counter of a Havana hotel growers are treated to a documentary of
last September, citing 51 major acts of Sabo- says she left the island to live in New York Fidel's Aug. 23, 1968, speech in defense of
tage, including arson in schools and sugar for 12 years but returned when the revolution the "bitter necessity" for Russia to invade
began. "I'm very happy," she says. "Now the Czechoslovakia. The peasants are impassive
warehouses. country belongs to us and no one can take it during the documentary but break into
But analyses of Cuban affairs m agree st that prolonged laughter at the feature film, a
Bureau-
Castro has dealt effectively with most dan- away GAINS IN MEDICAL CARE Cuban-made farce called Death of a Bureau-
s citizens by jmling them or, more
,often, by y giving them a chance to' leave. Cubans are especially proud of their new crat. It copies a slapstick scene from an old
More than 600,000 Cuban refugees now live health system. Dr. Albert Sabin, developer of Laurel and Hardy movie while neatly putting
around the world, including 400,000 in the oral polio vaccine, said after a recent visit over the regime's campaign against red tape.
U .S. About 1,000 weekly arrive by air in Ml- that health services "arervP jyto well organized The the children to create i wh taChe of all Cuban the country's
have made their hazardous exit by swim-
ming into the U.S. naval base at Guanta-
naxno or jumping its fence. The most spec-
tacular mass flight occurred last month when
87 refugees dashed into the base. An unde-
termined number of others were killed by
Cuban soldiers in the escape attempt.
Would-be refugees who want to follow the
normal route face still another of Cuba's
long lines, this one at the Swiss embassy in
Havana. As soon as they announce their in-
tention to leave by applying at the em-
bassy, they become "gusanos,"' or worms, in
the view of the state. Many lose their jobs
and go to farm labor camps while waiting
the several years before space is available
on a flight out; one embassy source reports
70,000 now are on the waiting list. All who
leave Cuba forfeit most of their possessions
when they go.
Those who stay behind to build the revolu-
tion are resourceful. Mechanics are geniuses
in patching up rusty 1950-vintage U.S. cars.
Women sew their own clothes from the year-
ly ration of slightly more than 21 square
yards. "No two women in Cubti dress alike,"
I
etie description, a Socialist man freed from
the "alienation" of modern life. Fidel has de-
scribed him as the man of the future who
will not need or use money or work for any
personal gain In "a society free of selfish-
ness."
In practice, many Cubans seem to display
sincere zeal in working for their country's
goals. But many also seem to submerge their
own identity in the process. Octavio Cortaza
is a handsome young intellectual who is
making his mark as a film director after
studying Czech film techniques. When asked
how Cubans reacted to the Russian invasion
of Czechoslovakia, he answers: "There was
some confusion (in Cuba) at first until' we
learned what our position would be."
[From the Christian Science Monitor, Feb. 4,
19691
Now WE BEGIN THE SECOND 10 YEARS
(NOTE.-Ten years have passed since Fidel
Castro gained power. No one can say they
have been peaceful years. In one way or an-
other the Western world has been particu-
larly conscious of Cuba's presence. As to the
,
e
WAGE CEILING next 10 years, Cuba watchers wonder whether
America, has also dropped sharply to a level
The minimum wage here is generally $85 a well below most other Latin lands. Dr. Castro will be able to maintain his re-
month, The sum seems small, but most fam- FIGHTING ILLITERACY markable staying power.)
Hies include two or more breadwinners be- More controversial than medicine but (By James Nelson Goodsell)
cause f child the earnn . A apidly maximum taking over hs job ?ually impressive in the view of some ?b- RIO DE JANEIRO.--Ten years ago Fidel Cas-
rs is the burgeoning school system tro and a small legion of supporters came out
rve of
a month is set by the government, but few se
earns it. Pensions are guaranteed to all at Cuba. Castro has declared war on illiteracy of Cuba's Sierra Maestra mountains and took
whatever age they become unable to work. and promised his people a free education to control of the island nation. Neither Cuba
The pension is $60 a month, plus free food, the limit of Individual ability. The first nor the Americas have been the same since.
lodging and medical care. Almost everyone building to go up'in the many new com- The victory of Dr, Castro in his long
works for the state because all businesses munities dotting the countryside is a school- struggle against the dictatorship of Fulgen-
are nationalized; however, some 20% to 27% house. Teachers eager to instill a revolution- cio Batista signaled the end of an era, but it
of land remains in the hands of farmers with ary concept of history as well as to turn out was unlike many another government
small acreages. "The tendency is to eliminate trained workers are special heroes of Cuba's changeover In which a simple change of
this last ownership, but no definite date is revolution. power took place,
set," says a foreign ministry spokesman. Here at integrated School No. 1 in San Though it was not clearly seen at the time,
The greatest beneficiaries of the revolution Andres, 280 primary and secondary students Cuba's new leaders determined basically to
appear to be the rural poor and the young. live and study on a modern campus of red- alter the island's political, economic, and
Youth is worshipped In Castro's Cuba, The brick buildings. Classroom bells have been social structure. And in the 10 years since
head of the information office of the ,foreign replaced by recordings of popular Cuban their coming to power, that has been done.
ministry is 26. The schoolmaster at'a 300-stu- songs played over a loudspeaker. ("Three - The intervening years have been stormy
utiful Cuban Girls" announces the end of for Cuba and for the Western Hemisphere-
B
ea
dent boarding school here in San Andres is 20.
Teachers are often teen-agers. class.) The children go home only one Sun- especially for the United States, Cuba's
Olga Chamero is a pretty, blond diplomat day every two weeks. At school, they spend northern neighbor 90 miles across the Florida
who, at age 16, went to her first foreign as- six hours in class work two hours cultivating Straits.
signment in Colombia, Now 24, she's served in rice in fields nearby and devote evenings to' EVENTS RECOUNTED
Peking and soon may leave her job as an study, sports or other planned activities. The Events of those years are well known, such
analyst of U.S. affairs to join Cuba's UN mis- classrooms are as modern as most in the U.S., as: the gradual worsening of U.S.-Cuban re-
sion. She wears chic clothes and dines oc- and the library is well-stocked, including lations and the eventual break in diplomatic
casionally at the several elegant restaurants seven volumes of Karl Marx, ties; Cuba's confiscation of U.S. property; the
in Havana largely reserved for diplomats. She Castro's claim-and it is credible when one abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion; U.S,-Soviet
also carries a carbine on guard duty and is sees the masses of uniformed school children missile confrontation; Cuba's support for
an ardent revolutionary. "Cubans are free throughout the island-is that nearly every guerrilla activities throughout Latin Amer-
to talk against the revolution but not to act," educational statistic has doubled under com- ica; and a? host of other incidents which
she says. "We have the right to defend the munism. The number of primary and sec- have repeatedly focused attention on the
revolution and we will." ondary students is now 1,617,000, or more island nation in the' Caribbean.
Negroes also are finding a new role in than twice the 781,000 a decade ago; he told In the process, Premier Castro embraced
Cuba, Alfonso Herrera, another foreign min- an audience at Cangre a few weeks ago. Marxism and turned his nation's economy
Istry analyst, recalls that he was the coun- Cuba's infant film industry Is an arm of into what it has become largely a Communist
try's first Negro consul, serving in Jamaica the educational movement. On a balmy night, system.
in the early 1960s. He was a master builder 60 citrus growers in a community 30 miles As such Cuba's long years of economic
before the revolution. Although few black west of Havana gather in a new meeting hall ties with the U.S, and its capitalistic system
Cubans have risen to top government or to watch a film brought by a mobile govern- have been broken, een
t the
natural
a
party posts, they are highly visible in many ment unit with a portable generator. Such rt of has b et o to the Sot r nin Union and
is v ever remote corner ep
technical u s Airline Q rma t~ob9r or In. R Qi~ss rd 18 5 GYIA-RDP71 B00C464 (9 5e ?r economic as-
cluding ding Cubaans
b
extraordinarily well..' izospisais .moo ~.~~?_ ???
every major city, and hospital beds have hombre." This new man is ill-defined, but
ever one talks about him. He is, in Che's Po-
bulk of new facilities are in rural areas that
had little or no medical care before.
Here in San Andres, where no medical care
existed before the revolution, Dr. Antonio
Lara and another physician man a tiny "pub-
lic health post." There is an examination
room, a two-bed labor room and a delivery
room. Dr. Lars lives at the post and Is on
call 24 hours daily with six days off each
month.
His more serious cases go by ambulance to
Pinar del Rio, the provincial capital 35
miles away. There a local party official whips
out statistics on medical services in the prov-
ince: 310 doctors now compared with 226 be-
fore the revolution; eight hospitals now
against one before ("and it was very bad");
700 nurses, up from 66 before 1959.
A good measure of overall health care is
infant mortality, doctors agree. In Cuba, ac-
cording to World Health Organization figures,
annual infant deaths per 1,000 births are 39.7.
This compares with 108.2 in Chile, 91.5 in
Guatemala and 62.9 in Mexico. The U.S. rate
a major cause of death in Latin
nteritis
 Approv%NorU, e f(5 3/W:(
l eb- uary 7, 1969 &5 k(aA_R XERQ364R000300050004-6 S 1473
`
Furthermore, it seems clear that the ABM arguments grew more and more hours during which our own Minutemen
a ICBMs could strike Chinese launching
f
ormer .,-
leaders of the Soviet Union seek to dis- cogent- and persuasive, the
engage themselves from their expensive retary of Defense, Mr. McNamara, in pads in only 30 minutes, and even less
relationship with Castro's Cuba. This has clear violation of his own best judg- time required for a Polaris strike. In
been costing the U.S.S.R. more than $1 ment, last year advocated that we take short, any remotely probable Chinese
million a' day. To indicate his ingrati- the first large steps toward commitment ICBM capability developed during the
tude, Castro has supported the Chinese to just such a program. And a majority 1970's can be effectively deterred or de-
Communists in their bitter and intense of the Congress voted to go along. stroyed prior to launch by existing Amer-
ideological" battle with the Russians. That decision urgently requires re- ican weaponry.
Castro continues to support effol-ts to consideration and reversal. There is still another consideration in
overthrow Latin American governments. If on no other grounds, the near- regard to this not-very-ominous nuclear
It is apparently a fact that the Cuban unanimous testimony of the scientific threat from China. Every responsible ob-
ld be enough to con- server agrees that the Soviet Union has
h
it
y s
ou
Government aided and abetted guerrillas . commun
seeking to overthrow the Government of vince us that the proposed Sentinel ABM been effectively deterred by our massive
Bolivia and establish a Communist gov- system must not be allowed to go for- nuclear capability; Soviet leaders are
ernment there. This attempt resulted in ward. Men of such distinguished and fully aware that any attack on the
t Dr Hans Bethe Dr United States or our principal allies
d
gmen as ?
disaster for the Cuban leadership. As a proven ju
condition for recognition and resump- Richard Garwin, Dr. George Kistiakow- would be countered my immediate and
tion of normal relations between the sky, Dr. Jerome Wiesner, Dr. Herbert total devastation of their land and peo-
United States and Cuba, we should de- York, and indeed, the man who is now ple. But now we ,are asked to believe that
rnand that the Cuban Government cease President Nixon's chief scientific adviser, the Chinese, with their far less sophisti-
any further attempts to subvert the gov- Dr. Lee DuBridge-all have expressed the cated and extensive weapons capability,
ernment of any Latin American country. single most compelling argument against cannot be deterred in the same fashion.
Obviously, were we to have a minister our building an ABM system: It will not What we are asked to believe, in other
aticth2, for, leaders are
or an ambassador in Cuba with the usual work; it will not and cannot do the job words, that
Psi-
staff we would know almost immediately its proponents claim for it.
of any violations of such an agreement. The reason is perfectly simple: no dent, politely decline to share so sim-
Why should we continue to officially conceivable ABM system can successfully plistic, indeed, paranoid, a view of the
ignore the Castro regime while Canada, intercept a missile attack which has been nature of our adversaries.
our progressive neighbor to the north, planned with the knowledge that ABM's But the implications of our move to-
profits from commercial relations with are deployed. Through the use of decoys, ward construction of an ABM system are
Cuba? The United Kingdom, France, and. chaff, radar jamming, and other such wider and more serious than these con-
many other nations have recognized the devices readily accessible to any nation siderations alone would indicate. For the
Government of Cuba now in existence for that has an ICBM capability anyway, in- Soviet Union is not, and cannot afford to
almost 10 years and have been prosper- coming missiles can penetrate an ABM be, an indifferent observer to any major
ing by their trade with Cuba. We should shield in sufficient numbers to utterly escalation in our military-strategic ca-
resume diplomatic relations with Cuba devastate our industrial and population pability. Just as we should be forced to
and obtain the same economic benefits centers. Our only recourse then would respond to any large strategic change in
through trade and commerce as our be massive thermonuclear retaliation their military posture, they must surely
allies and our neighbors to the north against the attacking country. But this is respond to any such change in ours. It
and south. Furthermore, we are at a con- precisely the recourse that we now have, is all very well for leaders in this country
tinuing disadvantage in dealing with without an ABM system. What then will to proclaim that our building of an ABM
we have gained by building one? system is motivated solely out of concern
Embassay. . through Cuba a wit rd thhout a d d paat,oubt the wouldSwiss' We are told that the so-called thin about China. But if such statements
t carry so little conviction to so many of
become a good customer of the United ABM system now planned is to protect us carry s the reasons I have Just ouf
States. Cubans need American products against a Chinese, not a Soviet, attack. us--for ned-hoh much less convincing 'mus-
including medicines, drugs, clothing, This was Secretary McNamara's pain- ? sound to the perennially suspicious
beef, and many other nonstrategic prod-' fully reluctant rationale last year in ask- they
and distrustful t men r the K suspi
ucts of American farms and factories, Ing us for a $5 billion authorization. We and dis tfut ul le in the with a new
We Americans, in turn, would no doubt need only glance at the character of the Secretary es ery of Defense who only a few
import Cuban products such as sugar, alleged Chinese threat to see how yeas ago was Defense that we only ought not
rum, and fruits produced in the tropics, specious that rationale was and is. year ate to launch insisting a nuclear first strike
simply to mention a few. Trade makes First of all, the hard fact is that the against the Soviet Union if we first s thoqght it
for good neighbors. Good neighbors make Chinese have not yet even tested a in our interest to do so-today, especial-
for peace. booster rocket powerful enough to use as ly, Soviet leaders cannot help but assume
Let us hope that our President and the a;r ICBM. But after they have done so, that the deployment of an ADM system
Secretary of State will propose a diplo- it will still require at least 4 years before on our part constitutes a direct threat to
matic exchange and take the blinders they can deploy an operational ICBM. themselves, And they will surely respond
from our eyes which should have been Our best available estimates now are that accordingly.
removed years ago. In fact, should never if the Chinese have a successful test dur- That response can only be an escala-
have been placed there in January 1961 ing the current year, by the middle or tion in the arms race of such proportions
by President Eisenhower less than a end of the next decade they may have be- as to make previous military spending by
month before the end of his term of tween 25 and 75 ICBMs. These, however, either country seem an innocent trifle by
office. will be similar to our own early Atlas comparison. For in addition to what our
and Titan missiles-that is, liquid-fueled, distinguished majority leader has esti-
nonhardened launching sites, and requir- mated must be a $100-billion expendi-
THE ABM: A NATIONAL DISASTER ing hours to prepare for firing. And even ture on a fully operational ABM system
IN THE MAKING so modest a capability as this is now alone, the two superpowers will then have
Mr. HARTKE. Mr. President, over the, seriously threatened by the disorder and to pour additional numberless billions
past several years I have followed the confusion caused by the so-called cul- Into devising means of piercing the ABM
debate over whether this Nation should tural revolution and by factional clashes shield that each will then have. Escala-
build an anti-ballistic-missile system within their defense industry. tion breeds counterescalation: that is
with a deepening sense of unease. I have We are left, then, Mr. President, with one of the tragic lessons of Vietnam. It
listened while the voices of our most out- a situation in which, 6 to 10 years from is also a lesson that has been borne home
standing scientists and distinguished now, the Chinese ICBM capability will be to us throughout the entire post-World
leaders in the Congress have spoken out extremely limited in size and technolog- War II era. To ignore it now is to invite
against such a system as being not only ically obsolescent. It will be of a character nothing less than an economic and social
exorbitantly expensive o* it JUJM Qata s ~Q~ R ~Q beloved country-
n ti tOO~nnafr e BYbY~cdu ~ m`s'c~` `g ire iota of in
yro
1 d
h
d
t
a
, ex
reme y g
oo
tional security. But even while the anti- be '- '?hed against U.S. targets-12 creased military security.