THREE 'PROMINENT' CUBANS EXECUTED; ACCUSED OF ESPIONAGE WORK FOR CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000100280028-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 1, 1999
• Sequence Number: 28
• Publication Date: June 3, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

* *-
C C L70 2d of- fork for CIA
CPYftzed - Approved For Release
JUN 3 1964
CPYRGHT
ee
By DON BOHNING
Of Our Latin America Staff
TI-ea Qiim
Lions were announced Tuesday
by the Castro regime were from
the most prominent families in
Camaguey Province, exiles said
here.
The three were identified in
Cuban government announce-
ment as Alberto Cesareo Fer-
nandez Medrano, Manuel Para-
dela Gomez and Marcelino Mar-
tinez Tapia.
er CIA agents in all provinces."
It claimed ,'he had been
recruited by the CIA in 1961
and received "special instruc-
tions" in Coral Gables before
returning to Cuba in 1962.
Prison sentences for two oth-
er prominent Camaguey Cubans
also were announced. They were
Jorge Bermudez Combar and
Manuel E. Zayas Bayan, whom
the government claimed were)
"CIA-me "
n Ba
i
yan
s a former
. The Cuban communique ernandez Mgovernor of the Province.
said they were executed by a edrall0
firing squad as "members of - ? ? `greet prestige'' Meanwhile, there were exile
-the C e n t r a l Intelligence reports that the Cuban govern.
Agency" carrying on esplo- o RESCATE, a Cuban exile ment had separated all former
page work inside the island. o anization headed by Dr. Cuban Army career officers and
Fernandez, an attorney, was M nuel (Tony) Varona. There enlisted men from other prison-
Jactive in national and interna-
tional Lions' Club activities.
Exiles said he had been a dis-
trict governor twice.
Cuban Lions' Clubs in Exile
met late Tuesday to pay tribute
to him and denounce what they
wis no confirmation here. hers and placed them in special
Execution of the three, ail-
* Tuesday by Havana
r dio, took place Monday. It
s believed they had been
it prisonod from three to four
i nths,
termed the "assassinations" of. he executions brought tol
)Fernandez and his to compan- se n those publicly announcedi
ions. by astro within the past week.;
All three were about 45 yearlFo r .were executed in Havana!
of age and "the - persons of I las week.
greatest prestige" in Camaguey,
it was reported here.
Paradela Gomez was said to
be a small contractor active in
civic affairs and a high-degree
Mason. Martinez Tapia was a
former Cuban congressman.
The Cuban government "claimed I
Martinez was a' former member
of it.
m
? Cubans Executed;
1heir deaths came after a'
pe od of severeal months in
wh h no firing squad execu-
tio s had taken place.
I announcing the executions,;
the Cuban government charged
Fe andez with, using his Lions'
Clu position as a cover for his:
eff is to collect military, eco-1
no c and political information,
compounds in political jails
across the island. There was no
explanation of the action.
till UL11-INilva
A sharp step-up in "urgent"'
traffic on short-wave broad-
casts between Cuban Red Cross
stations was also noted by mon-
itors here Tuesday, with coded
messages being transmitted.
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00149R000100280028-4