KENNEDY'S BIG DILEMMA: REBEL CAMPS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP74-00297R001600010107-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 7, 2014
• Sequence Number: 107
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

s?TAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/04/08: CIA-RDP74-00297R001600010107-9 '
Ken edly's
Ug Dilemma:
'Rebel C4mps
Shall He Reactivate
Them . Debate Rages never been officially revealed lett eveek'a ?flasco. Reportedly,
The Open Secret
rt ae
an open cret, although
never 0Mcially tuimitted, that
Cuban rebels :were armed,
f t
f,
trained and prepared or las
week's unsuccessful invasion
their homeland tit. camps in the
United States, and In Centre
Americre The operatiorl era
directed by the Central Intel-
ligence Agency. ;
formed sources say that vir -
tunny all of the trained rebel
forces were captured or wiped
out last week.
_
There la great doubt that the
crimp can be established in
Location of thete camps lies' Centre! America in the wake of
9
nor has the Administration ewe Guatemelan President Miguel
By David Wise milted their exletence. However Ydigoras Was becoming In -
WASHINGTON, Apr. 25, the camps were reportedly cmasingly thittish just before
President Kennedy is faced with !ceded Ploride, Louisiana.'the invasion about use of his
a major dilemma in the wake of
the ill-starred Cuban invasion:
whether to reopen training
camps for anti-Castro Cubans
within the 'United States.
and Guatemala, Pictures ee country to thin rebel forces.
rebels training in these camps He Is belieVed to have placed
were widely distributed to news
mediaIn the past several
months, although the location
of the camps was never pin- byethe :fact that Premier Castro
The problem Is now being de-I pointed. ' holds hostage hundreds of
bated within the highest levels
However, wee learned that Cuban rebels. Be ham hinted
of the Administration. No con- at least one major training that they Will be executed if
elusion has been reached. camp was &lusted in the W. further operations are organ-
pressure on the rebels to get out
of Guatemala?fast.
The situation Is complicated
Meanwhile. White House press. ride tvergiadeee' Another was feed tgainst Cuba by the United
secretary Pierre &clinger said said to have been located oe States. The implications is that
today that the possibility of It Hoinem,,d, nd,, iouth of if the camps are reactivated,
total embargo on trade with' Miami. And several months Castro might shoot his prison-
Cuba eels under consideration ego "The Miami Herold", re- era and blame Washington.
ported that a supposedly Aban-
doned Marine Corps Air Ste-
tion at Opa-Loas, northwest
of Miami, was being used as a
base to ferry Cuban rebels and
supplies In and out of the
United States.
The Dilemma
Against this batkground, the
dilemma facing the President
Is title:
If the camps are re-opened it
will be difficulte-4probsibly hn-
possible?to keen; their locae
tions and operations secret.
The reason is that the C. I. A.
can no longer Count on co-
operation by local neivapapers.
Sotto papers art believed' to
have looked the ether way at
the Camps, in the belief that
publicity might have been
detrineental to the national
interest.
, Now that . the C. 7. A.'s role
Is out in the open, at least to
an 'extent, the Administration'
cannot expect the newsPePcts
would continue le. to-operate in
playing down Aria about the
camps. In on oite society nee
the United States,' it would be resolution seleetztl by the
very diflecult indtid to keep the board of (erector's ef the
locations of the tamps secret. American ficilenie Cotxress.o
If the Preeldene elects?to re-
activate the cam pe eeenly, how-
ever, or if they ft7o. publicized.
the United Stet/414111 risk ad-
verse reaction ay leetlei etleinlon?
Soviet . Prete it r ' Tieet S.
Ithrushchev mul h? ft" n,.f inflitrat'O. in the Vestern
sure to issue erns ope,;: hetet:- f.rreigleeepa and support him
about Cuban lebelli. te 'nit g c;.',L. ' .0 eeee-le by calling an all
United States te: .1., , Greet ale/Owners, Irresmetive
camps are not rievered. hew , nee.% thee te, to refrain VreM
On the miter leen& if ttie of their ;eettrenehip and the
can anti-Castro Ceters he e.71?peir,tp, telt or dry came to
trained for eny r '--.1.to) r ,' ,, , -.P'- -,#,iitl, t. r Castro ronnec
moves agen' A nreele '' u- . Itpee e: e"
by the Administration. Exports
to Cuba are now restricted to
medical and other essentials
but Cuba is still vending $70,-
000.000 a year in goods to the
Unitzd States.
Declassified in
This, then, Is the none of the
problem being debated Inside
the Administration in the wake
of last weeks expedition that
failed. While no decision has
been reached, the balance of
opinion is said to be leaning, if
ever so slightly, against the re-
opening of nny.training camps
for the rebels on United Statea
coll.
It is President Kennedy, how-
ever, who will have to make
the final, grave decision.
Alfange Makes Plea
A plea to Greek shipowners.
to refrain from shipping oil or
dry cargo to Cuba while Fidel
Castro's regime remains in
power 'tuts rind* yesterday by
th
Dean Alfanze, eirmen of the
American Hellenic Congrces,
Mr. Allange it'd the action
was in aupixei. of President
Kennedy's "etring stand on
Cuba and agatnee Communist
infiltration it. Weete.rn
Hemisphere." las, noted that
his appeal Tat a ex.sult of a
The teeStution read: "Re-
solved that the MO !can
Hellenic Citieress cotlinend,
the Presiteiiet of the :United
States foe tis .e-ong etend on
Cube an teepee-at Communist
?,,
_
Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2014/04/08 : CIA-RDP74-00297R001600010107-9