PORT INFORMATION: PUERTO BARRIOS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500450112-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 29, 2001
• Sequence Number: 112
• Publication Date: April 7, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP810-00809A000500450112-5
U.S. Officials Only
CONFIDENTIAL
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AND '$A. Or -It U.S. COD[. AS I.I.M. ITS TRANSMISSION C? 1INt.
LATIOM Or ITS CONTINTS TO C. SIC!ITT ^T A' UN'UT"'Alit" "PS" 1%
... ... ._..... n n.i-- n. T.I. .T TOOT IS TT O..I 11rI0.
THIS Is UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
RESPONSIVE TO
2
NO.
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DATE DISTR. 7 4 P f 5'7'
NO. OF PAGES 3
NO. OF ENCLS.
SUPP. TO
REPORT NO.
SOURCEIIerchant mariner, officer on a ship which called at Puerto Barrios, Guatemala on
16 Dec 53.
The Navy interviewing officer aroigned an evaluation of "B-2" to the report,
stating that source had previously furnished his general observations on sub-
25M A ject port 1- 1 and that he was thereafter briefed in advance on more
specific subjects o erest, which are herein reported.
THE OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE FURNISHkD THE FOLLOWIIIG I PORI(ATION TO CIA FOR
C DIS8r7ATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH 3 c OF lIBCID #7 (DIO, SLID Nc 19-
54)J
1. The following information is based om personal observations of the source.
fi 2. Boarding Inspection Eight officials comprised the boarding party including Port
Doctor, Port Captain, Assistant Port Captain, Irmaigration Officer, Customs
Officer, Postmaster, Chief Hacienda Police, and. Chief Civil Police. Boarding
Inspections last an average of ?5 minutes.
3. Harbor Craft A United Fruit Company wooden motor boat is used for line handling.
It ao a all cylinder, 68 horsepower BUM diesel emgine.l No tugs or pilot boats
are available.
4. Communications Radio in subject port, call letters TG4,I is owned by Tropical
Radio Telegraph company and provides service fx:m!0700 to 2000 at frequencies
of four megacycles 4400 kilocycles, five megacycles 5820 kilocycles, and seven
megacycles 7872 kilocy(-les. Radio is located In the Puerto Barrios Department
Building, Tropical Radio Central Plant Las Torres, and operates on power of
three kilowatts. Telephone service in inefficient '_.cause of cld equipment.
Central telephone equipment consists of a 150 plug, Ycllvg- switchboard and
serves 50 telephones. There are no telephone subscribers; service is rendered
to government and municipal departments, Irte'naticnal Railroad, of Central
America (IRCA) office, Texaco Oil Company office and all United Fruit Company
agencies, officau and employees. World-wide telegraph a:.d cablegram service
is provided by Radio Communicacionee Nacionalea {Government Telegraph).
5. Railroad Facilities Condition of railroad facililie5 which are owned by Inter-
national Rai roads of Centra' America (IRCA) Ia fair. Rails are. 60 to 75
ONI DECLASSIFICATION/RELEASE INSTRUCTIONS ON FILE
U.S. Officials Onlyl
CONFIDENTIAL
DISTRI00T ION . STATE I LAdNT ]_ I hAVT I I A I R I FDI I 1 1 1 r
This report is tot- the use within the UNe of the Intelligence components of the Departments or
Agencies Indicated a .ove. It is nut, to be tranemilted overseas without rho con.urrence of the
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
PLACE ACQUIRED
(BY SOURCE)
DATE ACQUIRED
(BY SOURCE)
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 Approved For Release 2003410/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809AO00500450112-5
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?rands, 36" gage. Railroad cars; 964 box., 336 11at, four refrigerator and
miscellaneous passenger coaches and cabooses, a~. US built. Baldwin locomotives
are in general use. nighty and forty-ton er:it-:^in.g engines are used. An av.::age
of 10 trains of 30 cars, carrying 800 tors per trair., travel this line daily.
One single track main I line extends betwcc-n Purr. t,: Barrios and Guatemala City
and intermediate points to Mexico, San Salvadcr, and the onduran border.. IRCA
hclds the right-of-way. Passenger facility ?5 --one !icf1 first and second-class
railway coaches; the former generally LavF wi_ker re:_'besland the latter, wooden
benches. A few salon (tourist, type) cars a: e a -,-.lathe, }but there is no pullman
service. Main repair facilities are in Puerto larrlos'and Guatemala City and
are equipped for all ca. and locomotive overt 1. a 'aeav-yj repairs. The main
yards, in Puerto Barrios, Zacapa an .d Guatemala C:, ty, have. a capacity of up to
500 cars. They average 15 main yard, tra;:r.e w:?'_ s lst'eu' ladder system, loading
side spurs, and switch spurs.
Roads The Puerto Barrlios-Guatl_mala City highway, .:: s'isting of one lane, is
under construction with a completion date of Augu3: 19j5. Width and load capacity
are unknown, but it is presumed that when cnvtr.l ?t, t,, will be able to handle
all kinds of heavy traffic. Ccnatructicri is of earth and sand with rock ballast
and asphalt cc""ering. Number ,ll if any, of tu=sk or 'aridges is unknown. Only
short sections of the (road between Puerto Barr..,.u3 and Guatemala City are present-
ly complete.
Wharf Pier Fi%cilitias Average daily in loo :'kris handled by the port
are: coffee 165; abaca 11; bananas 340; mae ::.az:e_~:a' cargo 71. There are'
generally three vessels working at a time. An average of 1300 stevedores are at
work daily for eight hours with a pcas1b' a six hours ;,vertime. Congestion will
sometimes occur due to excessive numter of cht.p5 p_eseat, loaded warehouses, or
shortage of railroad -yrs. Turn-around time for cargo vessels using the port
is usually about one week. Nolrailroad cranes are available at Puerto Barrios,
but, if advance notice is given, IRCA can aup; y from Guatemala City either,
W. 40 or 15-ton Browning crane 1-hich operates from railroad spur located on the
wharf. One 10-ton caterpillar crane is availa:'.e at Teila.li Warehouses of
11
corrugated iron construction extend from a`.out the middle to the end of the
wharf. Their estimatert,height ~ i' 30 feet. Fire protection consists of chemical
fire extinguishers at Ilstrategic points and. one 75?EF electrically operated pump
of 500 gallons per minute capacity vith a 315? range aid a maximum pressure'of
137 pal which can operate four main etaticns wits 200 length hose connections.
Ten Ya_e fork-lift trucks of five thousand ponds :~apatiT are available.
Building, Materials All building materials' ate ._mp7ri ed, i,irce none are locally
r
9. Water The local wate
', supply is drawn from tats wa- e.r fall! in the hills near
Loa rscobas at' the southern end of Barrios Bay. Water.i s carried from the
reservoir at the Loa Escot,as dram to Puerto Baz r ios ,;,r taat1-iron pipeline. One
pumping station is located at the railway sh:,p. A.ub~ugh 'o purification plant
or equipment for treating water exists, the water zs very good. Water is pumped
to tanks and basins (partial g_tavity) and from t~ hoajaes and offices by
gravity reed.
10. Port Administration The Port Captain is in char,7r: o: the port. Port security
is under the cognizance of theliNational Army. Official services ir:lude mili-
tary, civil government, municipal, customs, immigrutir, police, post and
t e.egraph.
11. Communist Activity Source believes that mcot of the 23 thousand inhabitants of
Puerto Berri%)a have little to do with Commun i. era. ? hey! are, willing to work and
are. genuinely friendly to him personally. They are farted to obey orders of
higher party functionaries. Most of the individuals causing trouble are merely
opportunists who are more interested :.n financial guir,'ttax: in Communism. Most
of the orders are believed to come from the Communist leaders in Guatemala City
COrCIDFNTIAL/US OFFICIALS QLtLY
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COI(FID 1ffIAL/US OF TICIAI3 ONLY
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who only occasionally visit subject port. ort. The few trouble makers or " oons,"
are placed in the crowd at labor meetings to throw the meeting into confusion
if it does not go as they want it. Anyone' disagr'eing .ith their policy is
':booed' and laughed at, and others in the same situation are inclined to go-along
with policy to avoid the same treatment. Most of ,thelnatives are disgusted at
being treated as "pawns' and would welcomejiany crange'by someone with a "clear-
I
cut-nlar." A potential asylum or refuge for Communimt! or other: -.. 'L+-_ -----
to Puerto Barrios lies' in the undeveloped dense territory up the RiojDulee and
around Izabal Lake. The country abounds with game and the land is capable of
supporting a fairly large number of persons who could linfiltrate the( city and
withdraw to the cockparative safety of the hinterland without dangar of appre ~
hens ion.
-end -
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Approved For R~Ie'ase 2003/10/01 : CIA-~DP80-00809A0005004501112-5
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