GONE TO CUBA--FREEDOM HIS MISSION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000200030008-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 5, 1999
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: August 30, 1962
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Release 1999/09/07 : CIA-RDP75-00001R000200030008-5
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Approved For Release 1999/09/07 : CIA-RDP75-00001R000200030008-5
NEW lURK RIBLINF
n 1962
Approved For Release 1999/09/07 : Cl
CPYRGHT
,hieeks Captives
Itsf,
FOIAb3b
a----Freedom His Mission
liv illiam G. Nkittg
Jaine
'"; Donovan, thek he
LornOr 4ett! the swap nett"
Por'red;'is litistY Yesterday cwilhieNin
Ir Frandis Q.
of, Ru
ma he It for the. freedoin 13POe
he will try to or 1
fgr 0
7 Yt 1.113 _prisoners, ' 7 ..,. 51dlt,
ter announcing.he was go- l'iMe rap , e lc to raise.
mg Mr. Donovan slimed away r Yesterday, Mr. Donovan
from the city in the ;afternoon. pressed o nfidence in the sta
ion hut
f quilt)
n7" -
last he lit g -
we of 'ar, [)it
atilveS of the
he 0f,Joan
for Libel -
ation of prisoners f War. He
reiterated that'MT mission is
acludin he
ounded and
rivate sources
All details of his mission, in- 'oe8P 4
iulmg the time And place no
ius arrival and the identity 14
the Cubans he deal
were secte , as r
He will negotiate for the free- te gro
dom of tee remainder of the prisbned
1,179 captured in the abortive Families
Zay of Pigs invasion in April,
1961. Since capture, the men's V.
freedom hai been offered bv himinnitnrisoi onf4
Cuban Premiers Fidel Castro as But he offered no t xplanation
halt for some kind of deal with of why both governments agreed
Herald
R9l"'
lista
o far, 60 of the prisoners
have been released to come to
this country for medical treat-
ment. They were released "on
edit"?that is, with the ex-
pectation that their fines of
about $2.5 Million will eventu-
ally be paid. Aonther six men
rec !reed after their families
*44;1111 ransom.for them.
tint no way has been found
1110 juuilley ta, tliiiewliei
Cuban-Ame;lcan relations have
been freshly irritated by the
shelling of a Havana suburb by
a group of Cuban student exiles.
What Mr. Donovan did offer
was the following statement
which he read at a dress con-
ference in his office at 161 Wil-
liam St.:
"The mission to Cuba for re-
lease of the 1,113 men sl ill in
CPYRGHT
who left on a missionto
Cuba yesterday.
prison for partidipating h.the
Cuban invasion leaves today for
Havana
ission for the trip ' has
been at anted by the gorer
ments 'of the noted statesi -
(71;ba. 'rhe timail and niter
eparture from the United American people to the Cuban
will not be disclosed. government. He said he would
not exclude the possibility of
-shall be accompanied by
paying for the prisoners with
food or supplies rather than
cash.
At the White House, a spokes-
man for the Food for Peace
program said no gifts of food
for Cuba could be considered
until a formal request had been
"All the sP00.0131e, of the United received from the Cuban goy-
Stater Owe alleep moral oblige- sarnment. "If such a request
tion.t to there prisoners. The were made," he said, "I'm sure
1;113: include' Catholics, Pint- ilie government would consider
estatts'r and ; Jews; they are it seriously."
white and Negro; they are pro- It was noted that a oomph-
fessional iteiustnd trade 'union- eating factor at the moment is
ists; they are-ascross-section of that, although the Cubans are
Cuba?and hUt AnIty. said to be desperately short of
'alumanitarian
nt of its sue- fthrmi' the Cuban gOvernment is
lvare Sanchez jr., pregident of
the etlhau Families Committee,
and Dr. ?,1,1e4o,Frey're,.. secre-
tary of the committee. Both
have .sons who were in the in-
vasion Ancl'inOw are in Havana
prison's.
c.
Llactrill-12. food to ?Thor T.trhth
sic yu.
Then, in aliorr to cluccicec s7AMerican
r. onov said he an
countries for prom
ganda purposes.
D ail id h had
nvitation frizinf the Cuban gov-
trn;pent lasts!iee.A. His visa was
irrarigecl' thrPiigh. the Czech
ilmbassy:
Mr. Donovan called on At-
brney General,#obert.F; Ken.
iedYsin Washington last thurs-
43r to di the Cuban pris-
iner?Si Ye6terdfq Mr.
reful t
les la
of fidi
cased. h
rivate underte
'tarian basis.-
ed states go
c ared its sfl
rpose of
lien,11;
fht
A
he said
o
e that "w
Mething that'irfirtild
; cry -4414,ng toaether closet'
he 4400;m116tid Anaer"
? ,91evsetustmAtaappgist: zv
laced with thi
lieljifft-70,41;
I 1.94811040 ilikr"IPC!;/t
aild!,'samia*Itlirto''sdhfielel*e
; nd AddireWtrreasio4
mmardized the dial:law le
oss. He; said his invAtAlt
I a Zinc
me from the highest tie; oi
t le Cuban government, and that
ie Cubans with Arhois he had
ealt had been proper and COr-
1?et in their relations with him
He declined ,tri sneak of
lei it for the wIn ers 1
, but said it sbniild
s r 11(011 1i,,
110
Mr. Donovan's appeal for
prayers yesterday was quickly
seconded by leading cleixymen
associated with the Families
Committee. Richard Cardinal
Cushing, Archbishop of Boston;
TtptscoPal Bishop James A. Pike,
of California; Dr. Louis Kinkel-
stein, Chancellor of the :Jewish
Theological Seminary of Amer-
ica. and Roman Catholic
Bishop Edward E. Swanstrom
mined in asking for prayers.
Relatives of the prisoners were
rePortycl flocking to churches
in Miami.
After Mr. Donovan's depar-
ture, it was announced that
Robert A. Morse, an attorney of
16 Court St., Brooklyn, will act
as the committee's counsel dur-
ing Mr. Ditinovan's absence. Mr.
Morse is the Board of Educa-
tion's special counsel for in-
vestigation. Both Mr. Donovan
and Mr. Morse are serving
1J11111 WISP1
Approved For Release 1999/09/07 : CIA-RDP75-00001R000200030008-5