462. Memorandum from McCone to the Attorney General, McNamara, Rusk, and General Taylor, October 301

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This is to advise you that there are at the present time 20 intelligence collecting infiltration and guerrilla warfare teams who have been carefully trained and equipped with communication facilities available for such use as the JCS may indicate. These teams are all Cubans, there are no Americans or other foreign nationals included, they have been carefully selected by men familiar with the Cuban community and the tradecrafts involved and are ready to go. In addition there are a number of others who are partially trained that could be brought to a reasonable level of efficiency in a short time.

At a meeting on 26 October it was decided that General Lansdale would determine JCS requirements from General Carroll and State requirements for political information from Secretary Alexis Johnson and then determine what resources were available and what actions would be desirable to accomplish the needed results. CIA is awaiting word from General Lansdale. In the meantime, with General Lansdale’s concurrence, CIA has taken steps to inform CINCLANT and several other Commands of the availability of the above assets.

John A. McCone
Director
  1. Information on intelligence collecting infiltration and guerrilla warfare teams. Secret. 1 p. Kennedy Library, NSF, Countries Series, Cuba, Subjects, Intelligence Materials, 10/1/62–11/12/62.