GENERAL ACTIVITIES OF THE SPANISH COMMUNIST PARTY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002800590002-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 11, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: June 13, 1949
• Content Type: REPORT

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CD NO.
'_)ATE DISTR. 1.3 JUN
)RIWAYION REPORT
SUBJECT General Activities of the Spanish Communist Party NO. OF PAGES 4
PLACE 25XJA
ACQUIRED
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DATE OF Id O.
NO. OF ENCLS.
LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
49)
The decrease of Spanish Com .i et activity in France has caused some
ve
d
ers
rkoasiness in the rank and file of the Party. Secondary. ].en
eceived orders from the directors of the Party to prepare themselves
or a possible mass evacuation or expulsion of Spanish Communists from
rancc. Among the top leaders, Enrique LISTER, according to source, has
cked to be ready to go at a momenta a notice. His house In
ks
pa
41s trun
under surveillance by four plainclothes men. The
i
dl
s
y
:a-is reporte
records of the Party have been removed to Czechoslovakia and Poland, and
the funds of some Communist-dominated organizations also have been taken
out of France.
u L Loo has ceased publication. zISM still appears, but not as
frequently as formerly, At present Hundo 0 ero is being widely circulated,
its circulation is increasing constantly in southern France, where it is
sold in greater numbers than other anti-Franco periodicals. The Spanish
Communists have established a bookshop service to sell publications of
the " .i i caution. In Foreign Languages" establishment in Moscow, The sale
of? two hooks has been ordered intensified. They are "History of the
Ba l stir. vile Com in#. , Party of the USSR" and The Great Conspiracy a; ?al ns t
the Soviet Union. a
Dolores IBARRURI, Ill in Prague, apparently with cancer of the liver, is
not expected to recover. Source describes Vicente URIBE, acting Secretary
General of the Party, as not overly inte"lligent, but practical. URIBE is
incapable of fang a general line of action but is a good tactician in
dray_,to-day planning. He is one of the three members of the Party who
according to source have acquired a. solid position placing them beyond
criticism. The others are Enrique LISTE33 and Antonio CORDON Garcia. Source
believes that Juan CO OPJ+.RA probably aspires to replace IBARRURI, but that
the eventual successor probably will be 'JRIB:S,
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,the preponderance of Spanish communist forces, and all the activities of
the PCE,have been evacuated to Prague. The leaders who are in Prague are
Included on the payrolls of various Czechoslovakian ministries and are
paid by the Czechoslovakian Government.
CONFIDENTIAL
This document is hereby regraded to
CONFIDENTIAL in accordance with the
letter of 16 October 1978 from the
Director of Central Intelligence to the
Archivist of the United States.
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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5. Other prominent Spanish Communists in Prague are Antonio CORDON, President
of the Supreme Military Junta of the Party, who avoids' getting involved
in political matters, and Col. Jose Luis FUENTES Barrios. According to
source, the latter is distrusted by the Communists although they use him;
he is considered to be a Communist for convenience's sake.
6. Ju.3f.MODESTO is military Chief of Operations inside Spain, according to
source, who adds that MODESTO'S liaison with the Supreme Military Junta
it, !i.ri cae LISTER.
7, Jose GARCIA Acevedo Is in Lille, where he has custody of the archives of
the Spanish. Maquis. He has managed to avoid going to Galicia although he
i1(._d been selected as one of the guerrilla leaders for that area.
s";i. Major VERDUN reportedly is still in Marseille in charge of the liaison with
Nc.rth Africa, chiefly with Casablanca, and also Is concerned with certain
25X1X technical military, questions, especially cartography?
9. A training school for Spanish Communists designated for guerrilla activity
which reportedly has been set up In Rumania has an enrollment of about
250 young men. the majority of them coming from the USSR.* The school is
directed by Manuel TAGUENA, former Chief of the XY Corps of the Republican
Barmy?** Some of the pupils have had technical training in various subjects,
but have not previously received training in the "politico-military orientation"
of the guerillas. When these pupils complete their training, they pass
through Hungary and Czechoslovakia, to enter France through northern Italy..
Reportedly, they go directly to Marseille for transfer to Spain,
:0, Source confirms a previous report *** that the'Political Bureau has been
enlarged although no official communique has been issued. The new
members are Juan COMORERA Soler, Irene FALCO111d, Enrique LISTER, Felipe Maria
ARCONADA, V:nrique de SANTIAGO, Josep MOI and Leandro CARRO. The Basques
and the Catalans were allowed to name their representatives; the rest were
named directly by the Communist Party of Spain. Although it had been
expected thR.t Rafael VIDIELLA would be the Catalan representative, after
much discussion Josep MOIX was named. Source stated that VIDI_:'LLA had
shown a tendency to favor autonomy of the PSUC. In the case of the Basques,
Manuel CRISTOBAL Errandonea,was replaced at the last moment, for reasons
unknown to source, by Leandro CARRO.
1. Enrique LISTER is concerned with the direction of the Party in Galicia,
aided by two youths and a girl in Vigo. Santiago CARRILLO is one of the
most intelligent Communists, but he is regarded with some mistrust. He is
surrounded by a group of youths who work in the various sections of the
"arty, but with the bringing of new elements into the Political Bureau his
star has dimmed a little.
J2 Within the Political Bureau there are an extremist tendency centered around.
Antonio t-4IJE Garcia, a conciliatory group under the aegis of Francisco
X4''0:, and a group occupying a center position with URIBE as its leader.
Source comments that MIJE'S contentiousness may have injured him in the
Party,
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13. There have been no recent changes in the Central Committee of the Spanish
Communist Party. When the case of Tito was discussed after the con-
demnation by the Cominform became known, three members of the Central
Committee abstained from voting against him, arguing that since the PCE
had a deposit of arms in Yugoslavia it would not be prudent to break all
ties with the Tito regime. One of the three was Francisco Felix MONTEIL,
but source does not believe MONTEILIS position on the Tito question was
s
connected with his withdrawal from the PC'
14, Periodically some member of the Central Committee goes to Spain, to control
and criticize activities or to select new members for the Central Committee's
delegation inside the country.
15. Tarbes and the surrounding area is the concentration point of the Spanish
Communiste in the Departewents of southern France, and of some elements
from Paris, border crossings into Spain being effected around Oloron-Sainte
Marie. Individuals are F.ble to cross the frontier more easily than when
stolen stamps and papers, as Well as documents, were used. The Spanish
Government learned of such thefts and changed stamps and documents. As
of mid-April the Communists had two specialists in France for documentation
and stamps, who could produce forgeries indistinguishable from the genuine
Source stated that guerrillas currently being sent to Galicia have no
difficulty in getting there.
15. Major stress is being placed by the POE on guerrilla activities, according
to source. Orders to send into Spain the greatest possible number of
people, especially young men, have met with some resistance, and in several
instances members who did not want to go into Spain have resigned from the
Party and gone to Latin America. In order to keep intact Party organizations
in the Departements of France, younger leaders are being replaced with
older men who will not be ordered into Spain.
17, Source states that shipments of arms to Galicia have been made with the
help of Portuguese Communists in smuggling operations around Oporto. A.
considerable number of automatic weapons, including pistols and machine
25X1 guns. reportedly have reached Galicia.
referred to the reported existence of a school
In Rumania for the training 'of Spanish Communists coming from the
USSR,
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has furnished the following bias
graphical information on TAGUENA. Now 32 or 33 years old, TACi3EtA, is a
native of Madrid and has a diploma in "Exact Sciences." When the
Spanish Civil War ended, he was President of the Local Committee of
the Federation of University Students, TAGtIENA began his political
life as a member of the Communist Youth, and belonged to the Students'
si.oc of the Revolutionary Opposition (Bloque Estudiantil de Op)osicion
Revolucionaria).- He became affiliated with the Socialist Youth in
the era of revolutionary ra.dicalierr, of LARGO Caballero around 1934.
An active radical, he was slightly wounded in the uprising of
October 1934, His military career began when he became aide to the
S
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Italian commander of the Largo Caballero Battalion, Fernando
DELL, MSA, early in the Civil War, When DELLA RASA died,
TAGUENA was given the command. Soon afterwards, he commanded
the 14th Division. When the Ebro campaign began, he was made
a lieutenant colonel and given the command of the 15th Army
Corps. He is considered to have been outstanding in the Repub-
lican Army for his military aptitude. Escaping to France at
the end of the Civil War, TAGUNA lived there a short time
before going to Russia, whore all during World War II he had a
command in the Soviet Army. From Russia, he went directly to
Spain to take charge of the guerrillas in Levante.
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