FIDEL? JUST A BIG HAM, SAYS DONOVAN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000100370092-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 21, 1998
• Sequence Number: 92
• Publication Date: February 20, 1963
• Content Type: NSPR

~ucAGO D A roved For Release 2000/08/2I PIA-RDP75-00001 R000
NEWS FEB a ? 1963
BE S 1UU,) , j (h(ir
t .1
FuIei? , u s
Big
m Say, ; i)oiiovaii.
nv
James B. 1)ui ovan, the
tough-minded New York law-
yer who negotiated the release
of 1,113 Cuban invasion pris.
oners, pictured the Cuh;,n
pt eMier as complex. wily and
ham actor."
"People ask me it he is
illiterate or a drunkard" Don-
c ovan told an audience here
Fidel
Castro, according to a man ~: hn knoll hint 1~rr?r,
come
Nib hav a doctor of lawn de-
gre And if he has been
drink I would say he is
coming out pretty "cll.
He is a master of propa-
ganda, a Latin volatile type.''
""Fhese are miu c-nreptions.
k * idic
DONOV:ANinated that
the burly (nb r, hoes nppar-
ently can take a rr.hhint and
return it in kind.
"When we wound up ne:-o-
tiations on the etchanee if
drugs and medicines for the
prisoners," the silver-haired
attorney said, "I told hinr I
had dope. a lot .tor the Cohan
t. it t+ll. that I 'vas
t thought : t could take
W4o thou ht this ove
to ?gfcat halt n::tt?t.
itithnt ntayhe t things."
teas n}rhr. and c?mc.auentk
there would he no c cctiOn.?
4 * r
IMNC)YAN. 46, drew his
tn?rtr:ri[ of Castro before a
rreetinq of the Ireland Daily
preys Agri. in the Drake Hote!
I uesdav
1 y:re,Ironer in tile alldie)xe
,,.,I ,yr.. i.tu_er,f rictr+r-
('.:;tr,, as a merrv fellow
triir i : , rI r hls ".liaholical
Ihxu~~. n r'cptietf that he
corrid not he expected to an-
,tter quc?.trc-is like that while
-till en r:,,.;.:rl in negotiations
for Il%- r.?'= a>,e of more Castro
ri??nners.
Ile r, ,,?h.?dided to return to
la\,an:, in shout two weeks to
'eck release of 25 to 30
American. lrc',t h1 the Castro
ZION UVFR. the attorney
c:ri,t with a grin that he told
a~tro at one point in their
,tcalines tact Year:
"Don't ray an .t thing -good about me. A 'duple of friends
like }nu and I won't need tf y
it, wnrcn i, astrv replied,
according to Donovan;
"Don't worry-- we then in
public life understand` ; these