LATIN AMERICA - 16. LARGE BLOC ARMS DELIVERY TO CUBA

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00132602
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: January 31, 2017
• Case Number: F-2015-02757
• Publication Date: September 16, 1960

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LATIN AMERICA
Large Bloc Arms Delivery to Cuba: The Soviet cargo ship
Ilya Mechnikov, which arrived at Havana on 8 September with
the bloc's first major arms shipment to Cuba, apparently de-
livered medium tanks and antiaircraft artillery, along with
a variety of other materiel. Detailed reports from observers,
one of whom was actually aboard the ship, state that 10 tanks
--apparently T-34s--and 100 antiaircraft guns were delivered.
The 4,000-ton cargo reportedly also included machine guns,
artillery, and small-arms ammunition, as well as radar and
electronics equipment. Some of the arms evidently are of
Czech origin.
Although other reports.on the unloading suggest that jet
aircraft also were delivered, photographs taken shortly .after
the ship's arrival at Havana and other more detailed reports
of the cargo do not indicate,theA.nclusion.of let-Aircraft
in this shipment. 1
Cuban Government Attempting to Rout Guerrillas: Govern-
ment forces are apparently making a major effort to rout anti-
Castro guerrilla bands from the Escambray Mountains of central
Cuba. At least 40 of Castro's militiamen and one regular
army officer have reportedly been killed in this area- already
this month. The guerrillas are estimated to total several
hundred, but are divided into several factions. The^leader
of an anti-Castro group believes, however, that the various
bands, which he numbers at 14, may be unified shortly. In
late August, the guerrillas were reported poorly armed, but
they may by this time have received additional weapons smuggled
to them by opposition groups in Havana and other cities. On
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9 September, a clandestine radio transmitter was heard in
Cuba appealing to the armed forces to join in fighting Castro.
The growth of popular dissatisfaction with the Castro
regime in many parts of the island suggests that the position
of the guerrilla bands may not be completely hopeless. This
dissatisfaction erupted into open violence early this week
in the province of Matanzas where there was a clash between
pro-Castro and anti-Communist groups, and subsequent popular
demonstrations demanding the release of anti-Communist prisoners
resulted in several casualties. The militia and pollee were
able to disperse the demonstrators only by firing into the
crowd.
Castro is undoubtedly aware from his own revolutionary
experience that, in a climate of growing popular unrest,
even a very small guerrilla band could mushroom into a serious
threat.
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18 Brazil Seen Moving Toward Stiffer Attitude on Cuba:
Cuba's public attack on Brazilian Foreign Minister-Lafer
as an "errand boy" for Washington has outraged most of the
press in Rio de Janeiro and is bringing heretofore uncon-
vinced moderate elements into the anti-Castro camp, accord-
ing to the American Embassy in Brazil. The Cuban attack
on Brazil--based on Lafer's position at the recently-con-
cluded Inter-American Meeting of Foreign Ministers--was con-
siderably milder than the accusations leveled against Ar-
gentina, but the language was so offensive that even the
foreign minister's enemies have rallied to his defense.
However, Janio Quadros, leading contender for the presi-
dency in the elections scheduled for 3 October and Brazil's
most prominent apologist for Castro, apparently has withheld
comment, probably believing that the incident will blow over.
Earlier Cuban attacks on President Kubitschek were largely
forgotten by the press following Quadros' visit to Cuba in
late March. Quadros praised the ideals of the Cuban revolu-
tion; and newsmen who accompanied him asserted that-Ameri-
can wire services consistently distort news from Cuba.
The Brazilian Government has vacillated on the Cuban
question partly out of a desire to pursue Brazil's tradition-
al role as a mediator in inter-American affairs and also to
exploit the issue as a means of forcing liberalization of
American aid policies. It has been reported that a presi-
dential representative may soon visit Cuba to "prepare for
the return of Fidel Castro's eovernment to the community of
American nations."
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