CUBA EXECUTES 3 AND JAILS 2 AS SPIES FOR C.I.A.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000100380015-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 27, 1998
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: June 3, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

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CPYRGHT JUN 31964
Cuba Executes 3 and Jails 2 as Spies for C.Q.A.
Leader Is Termed National
Espionage Coordinator
By RICHARD EDLR
=73
announced today that three men
accused of spying were executed
yesterday, in Camaguey Prov-
ince, and two others, including
a former provincial Governor,
were sentenced. to prison terms.
The charges against them were
;espionage on behalf of the Unit-
.ed. States' Central Intelligence
Agency.
Cuban newspapers also ? re-
ported that the arrest of these
Lions Club Accused of Role
in Camaguey Network
,signed by Dr. Castro; were de-
in Cuba engaged in active con
spiracy, reported that, accord
an industrial plant in Santiago,
.the capital of Oriente Province.
An unexplained flood of code
messages, seemingly ,of. a mili
tary nature, were broadcast b
all four, of the Cubanreginie'$
internal radio networks.. The
appeared to, be, concentrated:'
Oriente Province.
Operators 'often referred t
"Francia-Canada," words with
'wide network, said to have been) Alberto, Cesareo crnandez".
'operated. by members of the Medranoi; who was executes'
Lions Club. as alleged. C.I.A, spy
nave fed a mood of public emer-i c;llafbc;u,.rvl r. r ei',nanaez traveled 1uuonca a trip in an ainpnivious
gency over the last two weeks.!-rough the island,; gathering vehicle to meet an unider(tificd
+military, economic and 'olitic,Jhvisitor.
Army and militia units are me information and making eon-
ibilized and travel outside the. tact with local agents. In April," Monitors here said At was
~iavana area continues to be~2962, he was said to have gone highly unusual for the four
prohibited to foreign correspon-,to the United States, apparent-'works to be broadcasting jo' t?
dents. .1y to attend a Lions Club n.eot-.ly and continuously throughout
All Linked to Landowners ing but in reality, to receive the day.
explanation absence of any specific ' i.
n of the reasons for instructions ;,for recruiting
new Cuban Red Cross AecnseR U S.
this drive to maintain a state agents.
The second bf those executed; MNfTA.vrr, June 2 . (AF)?-- he
'of public alertness and for the
CPYRGHT
CPYRGHT
Mr. Fernandez was a' district'
governor of the Lions in 1959,
-and 1960. When his term ex-'
pired, lie was given the honor
ary position ofi counselor. He.
LNULIGa1L 1lon tinez. Tapia.'He was identifieda.hac,: anti -Castro, forces sip- 1962, the spokesman said, while;
caused considerable speculation as resident of Roseate an anti en? route to the international'
here. One theory is that the in- ported by the United Sttites ad Lions convention in France.
Castro .group that has opera
te it
filtration promised last month br cn attacking coastal cit es, The s okesman said the Chi-
by several exile grou s, which here and in exile. He was ac-{ b P
p cused of trying to get militazy great -damage and=1 ss cago headquarters had received'
has never been confirmed, may' information from,. members o, of life no reports from its affiliates
.have indeed taken place. ! The statement, broadcast by in Cuba since mid-April.
The five men listed in today's the armed forces,
The third man was Manuel I the Cuban radio and m'onito ed The membership and activities
;announcement were identified i spoke: man said he known h- of the Cuban clubs have steadily
Paradela Gorriez, who was Lc as being linked rural land- cased of bein the .main C.l.A.'`l Mmmi, was one of the w declined since the Castro regime
owners who had lost their prop- :agent in Camaguey, He was s iulacl:nowledgments .by tile s- seized power, he said. At their
i erty under land reform laws. to have been in charge of 1. t' o government ' that attacks peak, there were 6,600 Cubans
.The most recent law, passed ceivin and checkin inform:L- N" re being made. in the Lions. By last April this
.The last year, expropriated . g g 7 number had declined to 3,000,'
holdings in excess of 160 acres, 'tion from other agents beiorrI
a move largely inspired by the, passing it along. i Active Mcnlbe'r of Lions Most of the members were.
Government's belief that larger!' Manuel Zayas Bazan, a Gov-1 A spokesman at, the in t- businessmen.
landowners were disloyal. ernor of Camaguey during thcIna.tional headquarters of he, The. spokesman said the Lions
landowners Government of Fulgencio Batis- are represented in 121 coup-i
The ringleader of the net- ta, and Jorge Bermudez. Coin-(Lions in Chicago confirmed s-, tries by more than 700,000 mem-'
work, according to the press terda that Mr. Fernandez ad
accounts, was Alberto Cesareo bar were given unspecified selly ors, 470,000 them in the 'United;
taken a leading role in he States.
said to have been the national
coordinator of an espionage sys Domestic Aim'Discerned,
tern whose agents in each prow-
ince came from the local Lions
Club.
Mr. Fernandez was identified
a counselor for the Interna-
tional Association of Lions
Clubs. He was said to have re-! , consumption in-the fact' 'of rl&-~
ceived C.I.A. training in. Coral ing., tensions in?Cuba'
;
,Gables; Fla., in .1961, and , .'to
have returned, to Cuba the fol-
lowing year.
. ...
The announcement is the lat-! Under the pretext of carryinh,~Pr. Castro's initials and men-
est in a series of incidents than out club work, 'the accountsl
service organization. . he
b,g about the alleged co c-
WASHINGTON, June ' 2---'
United States. officials., suggest-
led today that gerrit warfare;
chargcs by ~'reiirier Castro wore
1primarily intended for domestic,
In China. membership in the
ions was ? made punishable by'
de~itkk , ., .~
Sanitized - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP754O1.49 0.00..1_003.840-15.7 ,----