Telegram from Brazilian Embassy in Havana

SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS

TELEGRAM

RECEIVED

11 817

FROM THE EMBASSY IN HAVANA

ON/2/3/X/62

SECRET

DAC/DOr/600.(24h)

Internal political situation of Cuba. Russian armament and military personnel.

323 – TUESDAY – 23hs30 – Supplementary to my secret oficio no 239. Until now there is the following improved information in respect to the military situation in Cuba: 1) in the last two months there have arrived a great number of Czechoslovak and Russian anti-aircraft batteries already known here. Personally, I have seen on the quay of Havana roads, there are some already disembarked, of the models used here for transport of these armaments; 2) convoys of tanks and some launchers against torpedoes have been sighted in the early morning on the roads near the port of Mariel; 3) the latest news is up to that radar installations and electronic equipment are arriving, having, however, only speculation of what is its exact application; 4) there is no information about rockets of any type; 5) various news about the arrival and movement of paths of concrete [caminhões de concreto], that there appear to be significant application of known Cuban program of underground installations and anti-aircraft warehouses; 6) all indicates that the number of Russian military personnel recently disembarked already quite exceeds the total of four thousand and hundreds admitted by North-American sources. The true military technicians are, however, in a very limited number, The overwhelming majority are of an age little greater than 20 years and, according to agreement of all of the observers, do not constitute troops in the classical sense of the word and, yes, young military personnel that have as their charge the operations of disembarkation, transport and installation of electronic equipment and of radar. Beyond the experts of the systems of communications, they have, also, chauffeurs, builders, etc.; 7) the Russian military personnel are seen in encampments of canvas in areas situated around Havana, Trinidad, Caibarien, and Banes. Before they are installed, the local residents have been evacuated. Arms have not been seen in the encampments. All wear ordinary sports clothes. This afternoon, I was personally this afternoon in two sites where some hundreds of them are camped. There is no doubt that they exist and that their physical type is unequivocally Russian. (I retransmit this telegram to Ambassador Luiz Leivas Bastian Pinto, in Washington).

JOSÉ MARIA DINIZ RUIZ DE GAMBOA