CUBAN PROPAGANDA BROADCASTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00429A000300010018-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 15, 2005
• Sequence Number: 18
• Publication Date: January 5, 1963
• Content Type: IM

DDS
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OCI No. 0759/63 /
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Current Intelligence
5 January 1963
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Cuban Propaganda Broadcasts
1. International broadcasts by Cuban radio
stations maintain a relatively constant propaganda
level at all times, with regularly scheduled and
special broadcasts to specific countries as well
as general transmissions to all of Latin America.
The general theme of these broadcasts is that the
"Cuban example" is awakening the "people" of Latin
America to the opportunity for revolutionary ac-
tion against the "corrupt" regimes in power and
against "Yankee imperialism" which allegedly sup-
ports them. Within the last two months there has'
been an increase in the aggressiveness with which
the broadcasts incite revolt.
2. The official Cuban international service
called Radio Havana Cuba is the chief radio prop-
aganda ou et. ore commonly known as Radio Hava-
, this station broadcasts weekly a totem ?fC.IT
ours and 50 minutes of propaganda in languages
which include Spanish, English, French, Arabic,
Portuguese, and Haitian Creole, to listeners in
Curope, the Mediterranean area, and the Western
Hemisphere.
3. Radio Havana's international service was
inaugurates on ay ay in 1961. It has grown rap-
idly since that time and is now Latin America's
first international broadcaster in terms of pro-
gram hours. Its time on the air is as follow, in
hours per week:
Arabic to the Mediterranean area - 5 hr 15 min
Haitian creole to Haiti - 7 hr
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English to Europe
English to the Western Hemisphere
French to Europe
French to Canada
French to Mediterrrnean
Portugese to Brazil
Spanish to Europe
Spanish to the Americas
-9hr20min
- 17 hr 30 min
- 9 hr 20 min
- 3 hr 20 min
- 3 hr 30 min
- 7 hr
- 16 hr 55 min
- 108 hr 30 min
4. In addition to the regularly scheduled
international service, Radio Havana has been known
to broadcast special programs 1n order to take ad-
vantage of unique political situations. When seri-
ous disorders broke out in the Dominican Republic
in late 1961, for example, broadcasts emanating
from a self-k?sty1ed "clandestine" station which said
it was located inside the Dominican Republic demanded
the overthrow of the Dominican government The
station went off after about a week
a been transmitting X
Havana's ran mitting facilities in Cuba.
5. Radio Havana states that it makes its
facilities avai == _to political groups from other
Latin American countries so they can beam programs
to their homelands. These programs, which have
the evident intent of encouraging subversion and
inciting revolt, are presently beamed on regular
weekly,or twice a week schedule to Guatemala, Peru,
and the Dominican Republic. Similar programs were
beamed to Nicaragua and Honduras until last Septem-
ber when they were replaced by a single program
with wider targets now programmed nightly. These
special programs are exemplified by the programs
transmitted to the Dominican Republic on 28 January.
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CONFIDENTI
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One was a "manifesto" by Dominican Communists (who
are based in Cuba) on the recent election of the
"demagogic imperialist agent" Juan Bosch as Presi-
dent of the Dominican Republic. Another was alleg-
edly by a pro-Communist group of Dominicans in Cuba
called the "National Liberation Movement." It
appealed to Dominican university students to demon-
strate against the Constituent Assembly meeting in
Santo Domingo.
6. There are also two special programs beamed
to the United States. "Radio Free Dixie" is a one
hour a week transmission in English aimed at US
Negroes. The other program, "The Friendly Voice
of Cuba," is somewhat more subtle and aimed at a
wider audience. Both programs can be heard well
in Florida and also in many parts of southern
United States.
7. The technical facilities of Radio Havana
are at a transmitter site at Bauta, some 3 isles
southwest of Havana. At present, no more than four
shortwave transmitters are being used, but in the
past as many as five have been observed on the air
at the same time. These transmitters range in
power from 10 to 100 kilowatts, enabling Radio Ha-
vana to be heard all over the world. Programs are
e ng sent from studios to the transmitter site by
means of microwave relays.
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