MEMO TO DR. ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI FROM J. MICHAEL KELLY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M00165A001900160027-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 30, 2004
• Sequence Number: 27
• Publication Date: December 2, 1977
• Content Type: MEMO

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December 2, 1977
MEMORANDUM TO: Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski -Cl~T Of~/
the President for V
As
istant t
s
o
National Security Affairs
Warren Christopher
Deputy Secretary of State
Admiral Stansfield Turner
Director, CIA
FROM: J. Michael Kelly
t
torney Generale..--
Counselor to the A
The Attorney General asked me to send to you a copy
of the attached memorandum from the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for your information.
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 OPTIONAL PORN NO. 10
JULY 1973 EDITION
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UNITED g4RWW 2004/07/08: CIA-RDP80M00165A001900160027-9
Memorandum
TO The Attorney General
Director, FBI
SUBJI"cT: CUBAN EXILE TERRORISM
DATE: November 29, 1977
Enclosed for your information is a letterhead
memorandum updating efforts being taken by the FBI against
Cuban exile terrorists.
You may wish to furnish copies of enclosed memo-
randum to the White House, Department of State and the
Central Intelligence Agency.
Enclosure
Appro SRS`?p.r2pg#hg7ril W3!A290,0;W27-9
 OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
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~ yYn t1I'
:~/= UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
November 29, 1977
CUBAN EXILE TERRORISM
The following analysis and synthesis is outlined
for your information and assistance.
Violent actions by Cuban exile terrorists within
the United States were down 65% to date in 1977, as compared
to 1976, and down 83% when compared to 1975. There were
eight terrorist actions claimed by Cuban exile terrorists
in 1977, compared to twenty-three in 1976, and forty-seven
similar actions in 1975. This represents the lowest yearly
total of terrorist actions claimed by Cuban exiles recorded
in the seven-year period, 1970 to 1977. Although acts of
terrorism by Cuban exiles traditionally increased in the
past whenever peaceful coexistence with Cuba was discussed,
the dramatic drop occurred despite efforts by the United States
Government to normalize relations with Cuba.
Contributing to that decrease are the aggressive and
penetrating criminal investigations conducted by the FBI into past
terrorism, coordinated investigations with other Federal and local
agencies into ongoing conspiracies to carry out violent actions,
and stringent measures taken by this Bureau to deter such actions
in conformance with the U. S..Government policy for more effective
measures against Cuban exile terrorists, consistent with the law.
Our investigative efforts, together with Federal
Grand Jury proceedings in Miami, Florida, and Washington,
D. C., have served notice on the action cadre of the Cuban
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Cuban Exile Terrorism
exile terrorist movement that their leadership within that
movement has been recognized and that their terrorist
conspiracies will be vigorously investigated and speedily
prosecuted.
The Miami, Florida, Cuban exile terrorist action
cadre has been the subject of intensive investigation and
Federal Grand Jury scrutiny in connection with the July 23,
1976, assassination of a Cuban official in Merida, Mexico,
which was allegedly perpetrated by three exiles from Miami;
namely, Gaspar Jimenez Escobedo, Orestes Ruiz Hernandez,
and Gustavo Castillo. Orestes Ruiz Hernandez and Gaspar
Jimenez were arrested immediately after the killing by
Mexican Police, while Gustavo Castillo was able to escape.
In January, 1977, Castillo was apprehended by FBI Agents
in Puerto Rico on a material witness warrant which ordered
his appearance before the Federal Grand Jury meeting in
Miami, Florida. Following his appearance before the Federal
Grand Jury and his subsequent trial on local bombing charges,
Castillo was released. In March, 1977, Gaspar Jimenez
escaped from a Mexican Federal Prison and has returned to the
United States. In November, 1977, the Mexican Government
initiated extradition requests for Castillo and Jimenez, at
.the persistent urging of this Bureau and the Criminal Division
of the Department through the offices of the Department of
State.
Another significant investigation in the Miami,
Florida, area which has been instrumental in disrupting the
Cuban exile terrorist movement was the coordinated FBI/U. S.
Customs Service investigation into the conspiracy to attack
Cuban patrol boats off the Cuban coast during this past
summer. Four subjects, including Armando Lopez Estrada, the
military coordinator of the Association of the Veterans of
the Bay of Pigs, Brigade 2506, and a reported member of the
Cuban exile terrorist group, Coordination of United Revolu-
tionary Organizations (CORU), were indicted in Miami in
October, 1977, as a result of that coordinated investigation.
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Cuban 1xile Terrorism
The January, 1977, arrest of Gustavo Castillo
mentioned above, together with the penetrative FBI investi-
gation into two bombings which occurred on August 24, 1976, in
San Jose, Costa Rica, have seriously shaken Cuban exile
terrorist elements in Puerto Rico. At the time of his arrest,
Castillo was actually meeting in a CORU safe house in
Puerto Rico with CORD action cadre members, including its
widely known leader Frank Castro.
Puerto Rican resident Rene Fernandez Del Valle and
his wife, flew out of San Jose, Costa Rica, at the same time
two bombs exploded in that city. Fernandez is an alleged
CQRU action cadre member and close associate of Frank Castro.
Castro subsequently told a Costa Rican official that a
"CORU" commando from Puerto Rico was responsible for the
August 24, 1976, bombings. Penetrative, aggressive investi-
gation is being conducted by the Bureau in an attempt to
collect evidence linking Fernandez Del Valle to the Costa Rican
bombings.
The Cuban exile terrorist contingent in the
New York Metropolitan area has been weakened by FBI in-
vestigation and Grand Jury hearings into the September 21,
1976, slaying of former Chilean Ambassador, Orlando Letelier.
As a result of this investigation, Jose Dionisio Suarez,
whose presence had been reported in the founding meeting of
CORU in June, 1976, in the Dominican Republic, has been
jailed for contempt after being granted immunity and there-
after failing to testify before the Grand Jury. Another
Cuban exile terrorist leader in the New York Metropolitan
-area, Guillermo Novo Sampol, is currently being sought as a
Federal fugitive for violating conditions of parole.
In order to continue implementation of the policy
of more effective measures against Cuban exile terrorists,
consistent with the law, additional manpower and resources
were committed. You are assured that the FBI will continue
its aggressive posture in its efforts to eradicate terrorism
by Cuban exiles.
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