606. Memorandum from Gordon Chase to McGeorge Bundy, January 281
SUBJECT
- Cuba
I went over to State this morning. Here are some of the latest developments.
1. Donovan’s Trip to Cuba
Attached is a memorandum from Mr. Cottrell to the Secretary describing Mr. Donovan’s meeting with Castro on January 26. As of this morning, the Secretary had not yet seen this memorandum.
2. The Brigade
Bob Hurwitch had an exploratory-type meeting with the Brigade leaders this week end and also spoke to Miro Cardona, the head of CRC. Bob sees problems. Essentially it is that the Brigade wants independence while Cardona wants them to be dependent upon the civil organization, CRC. After Bob spoke to the Brigade, Brigade members got in touch with the Attorney General and indicated that their talks with Bob Hurwitch did not make them happy.
Bob feels that it is important that the Attorney General understand thoroughly the CRC dimension. Mr. Cottrell will be meeting with the Attorney General tomorrow evening and, probably, Bob will go along.
3. Intelligence Problems
I spoke to Mr. Cottrell briefly and mentioned to him how essential it is that he have all the intelligence information at his disposal. He sees the problems and is considering the desirability of having a CIA man assigned full-time to his office.
[Facsimile Page 2]4. Cuban Coordinating Committee Meetings
A number of meetings are scheduled for this week, which I plan to attend. They will cover such subjects as the Brigade (this afternoon) and Military Contingency Planning.
- Latest developments at the Department of State on Cuba: Donovan’s trip to Cuba, the Brigade, intelligence problems, Cuban Coordinating Committee meetings. Top Secret. 2 pp. Kennedy Library, NSF, Countries Series, Cuba, General, Vol. VII (B), 1/63.↩