^
c/V?
0 *9335.4A334
(±1
I-
iq
^
3^
COMMUNIST THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES
THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
HEARINGS
BEFORE} THB
SUBCOMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE THE
ADMINISTRATION OF THE INTERNAL SECURITY
ACT AND OTHER INTERNAL SECURITY LAWS
OF THB
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
miTEI^ STATES SENATE
EIGHTY-SIXTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
PART 2
TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH ZACK KORNFEDEPw
SUPPLEMENTED BY A STAFF STUDY
COMMUNIST ANTI-AMERICAN RIOTS
AUGUST 13, 1959
Printed for the use of the Comiqittee on the Judiciary
6649E O - 61
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1959
. COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
JAMES O. EASTLAND, Mississippi, Chairman
ESTES KEFAUVER^ Tennessee ALEXANDER WILEY, 'Wisconsin"'
OLIN D. JOHNSTON, South Carolina WILLLAM LANGER, North Dalcota
THOMAS C. HENNWGS, Jr., Missouri EVERETT McKINLEY DIRKSEN.'lUinols
JOHN L. McCLELLAN, Arkansas ROMAN L. HRUSKA, Nebraska
JOSEPH C. O'MAHONEY, Wyoming KENNETH B. KEATING, New York
SAM J. ERVIN, JR., North Carolina
JOHN A. CARROLL, Colorado
THOMAS J. DODD, Connecticut
PHILIP A. HART, Michigan
Subcommittee To Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security
Act and Other Internal Security Laws
JAMES O, EASTLAND, Mississippi, Chairman
THOMAS J. DODD, Connecticut, Vice ChalTman
OLIN D. JOHNSTON, South Carolina ROMAN L. HRUSKA, Nebraska
JOHN L. McCLELLAN, Arkansas EVERETT McKINLEY DIRKSEN, Illlnola
SAM J. ERVIN, Je., North Carolina KENNETH B. KEATING, New York
J. Q. SouBwiNE, Countel
Bkmjahin Mandel, Director of BettarcS
II
CONTENTS
Testimony of — ^a8«
Joseph Zack Kornfeder, former Comintern agent in Latin America 33
Appendix: Communist Anti-American Riots 115
xn
COMMUNIST THREAT TO THE UNITED STATES
THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
AUGUST 13, 1950
United States Senate,
Subcommittee To Investigate the
Administration of the Internal Security Act
AND Other Internal Security Laws, of the
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pm-suant to call, at 10 :35 a.m., in room'^2228,
New Senate OflBce Building, Senator Kenneth B. Keating presiding.
Also present: J. G. Sourwine, chief counsel; Benjamin Mandel,
director of research; Frank W. Schroeder, chief investigator.
Senator Keating. The subcommittee will come to order.
The fu-st witness this morning is Mr. Joseph Komfeder.
Mr. Sourwine. Will you come forward, Mr. Komfeder, and be
sworn.
Senator Keating. Mr. Kornfeder, would you raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear that the evidence you give in this proceeding
will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help
you God?
Mr. Kornfeder. I do.
Mr. Sourwine. Be seated, Mr. Kornfeder.
Senator Keating. Counsel, would you proceed.
Mr. Sourwine. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
TESTIMONY OF JOSEPH ZACK KORNFEDER
Mr. Sourwine. Will you give us your full name, sir.
Mr. Kornfeder. Aly name is Joseph Zack Kornfeder,
Mr. Sourwine. Of what country are you a citizen?
Mr. Kornfeder. United States.
Mr. Sourwine. You live in the United States at the present time?
Mr. Kornfeder. I do.
Mr. Sourwine. What is your national origin, Mr. Komfeder?
Mr. Kornfeder. I was bom in what was formerly Austria-Hungary.
Mr. Sourwine. Have you been a student of the Communist con-
spiracy, Mr. Komfeder?
Mr. Kornfeder. I did not hear.
Mr. Sourwine. Have you been a student of the world Communist
conspiracy?
Mr. Kornfeder. Oh, yes.
Mr. Sourwine. Have you, as a matter of fact, been at one time a
part of that conspiracy?
Mr. Kornfeder. I was.
88
34 COMMinsriST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Mr. SouRwiNE. Where did you operate as a member of the Com-
munist conspiracy?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, I was a member of the Communist Party i
of the United Slates of America, and for a period of about 3 years I
was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ; and I
was, for 2 years, in South America. I was one of the principal foun-
ders of the Communist Party of Colombia and of Venezuela. In
fact, I was sent down there for the purpose of organizing these two
Communist Parties.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Chairman, before I proceed with the further
questioning of this witness, I would like to offer for the record at this
time an excerpt from the book "Look Southward, Uncle," by Edward
Tomlinson. This excerpt consists of a statement of the significance
of Latin America to the internal security of the United States. \
Senator Keating. That may be made a part of the record.
(The excerpt referred to follows:)
What Latin America Means to Us
our last line op defense
Our stake in these countries is more than economic. Xt is also military and
political. With these 20 republics solidly on our side, we could be almost in-
vincible in time of war, even if they did not supply a single soldier to support us
in battle. Our access to the Panama Canal would be a first strategic considera
tion. With Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela as I
bases from which to operate planes and submarine chasers, we could, as we did in
the last war, meet an undersea offensive from the Atlantic. We could protect the '
bauxite mines, the iron mines, and the oil fields of eastern Venezuela and the
Guianas.
When you study the geography of Central America and western South America,
you find that Panama and the canal are in the tip of a triangle. The Central
American countries stretch northwestward at an angle of 40°, while the coast of
Ecuador and Peru bulge out westward. Eight hundred miles out at sea in this
triangle are the Gald,pagos Islands, flanking the Pacific sea lanes to the Isthmian
Waterway. In the last war our bombers and fighters operated from bases in all
Central American countries, on the Galapagos, and on the bulge of Ecuador and
Peru. We shall need access to these again, for guarding the waterway itself and
forprotecting ships as they approach or leave the canal.
The great nump of Brazil that juts so far out into the South Atlantic is 2,700
miles farther eastward than New York. It is only 1,400 miles from the western
bulge of Africa at Dakar and is nearer to the Mediterranean area and the bases
of Russian bombers in Rumania than is the mainland of the United States. We
would need the cooperation of Brazil in manning the naval and air bases at '
Fortaleza and Recite, Brazil, just as we did in World War II, to protect shipping
lanes in the South Atlantic and to prevent the bombing and destruction of the
great new manganese mines in the Brazilian northland.
In January 1957, after much serious negotiation, we effected an agreement with '
Brazil by which we erected a guided-missile tracking or control station on the
bleak isle of Fernando de Noronha, 125 miles off the mainland. This installation <
also would be effective in detecting preparations by an enemy for launching ;
missiles from across the Atlantic.
Unfortunately, pressure on the Brazilian Government by nationalistic elements '
in that county, in the military forces and in Congress, prevented a long-term pact.
Under the initial agreement, our own technicians will be permitted to remain on
the island only 5 years, unless the period is extended later. At the end of that time
all the installations and equipment are to be turned over to the Brazilians.
There is a strong possibility that research in the guided-missile field has made
the present equipment and techniques completely out of date. New discoveries
might have made it possible to guide long-range missiles from airplanes or long-
distance radar. But this remains to be seen.
"In the next war," a top military authority told me recently, "we may expect
our enemies to attack not only the United States, but the great mineral and j
metallurgical mining centers in Canada and the nations to the south of us. These .
will be among their chief objectives. The enemy knows that, without immense '
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 35
quantities of these strategic products of Latin America and our neighbor to the
north, we would have the greatest difficulty building the machines and gadgets
with which to defend ourselves, much less to fight a great oflfensive. "Latin Amer-
ica," he declared, "is our last line of defense."
Recently the U.S. Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, after
10 months of hearings and investigation, reported that "the Western Hemisphere
can be defended and will be the only dependable source to the United States of
critical materials in the event of an all-out war." The report went on to say,
"The expanded range of air power and guided missiles makes clear the danger
of chaining our war machine exclusively to sources of strategic and critical ma-
terials located in the Eastern Hemisphere, in Europe, Africa, or Asia; and makes
it mandatory that 'going-concern production sources' be developed in South
America."
Next to Canada, these countries and their teeming millions will be for all time
our closest neighbors. Their future is inextricably tied to ours, and ours to
theirs. It is impossible for what takes place in one not to affect the other directly
or indirectly. We might and probably could get along if Europe — France, Italy,
even Britain — should be overrun by the Communists. We would still have a
broad ocean between us. But Latin America joins on to the United States.
Any attack on these Republics would be an attack on us, even without considering
the various inter-American treaties that obligate us to make common cause
with them, and them with us.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Mr. Kornfeder, you have broken with the Com-
munist Party?
Mr. Kornfeder. I have.
Mr. SouRWiNE. When was that?
Mr. Kornfeder. I broke with them in 1934.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Since that time you have been anti-Communist?
Mr. Kornfeder. I have.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Now, were you prepared especially in any way for
your job of going to South America to help organize the Communist
rarties in the countries there?
Mr. Kornfeder. Yes. I, for 3 years, was in the Lenin College
in Moscow, which is a leadership training college.
Mr. SouRWiNE. You spent 3 years at the Lenin school?
Mr. Kornfeder. I did.
Mr. Sour WINE. What were you taught there about the necessity
of defeating the United States?
Mr. Kornfeder. WeU, the United States was considered the
principal block to the conquest of the globe by the Communists,
and we were taught that capitahsm is not going to fall until the
United States falls.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Until the United States falls?
Mr. Kornfeder. That's right. And, therefore, the defeat of the
United States was the principal ultimate objective of everything that
was done.
Mr. Sour WINE. You say the principal ultimate objective; you mean
of all Soviet strategy?
Mr. Kornfeder. That's right.
Mr. Sourwine. Does this remain so today?
Mr. Kornfeder. It certainly does.
Mr. Sourwine. Has there been any change of emphasis in this
regard since you attended the Lenin school?
Mr. Kornfeder. Oh, yes; there has been a change.
Mr. Sour 'VINE. Explain that.
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, Moscow has a system of what one may call
immediate priorities and ultimate objectives. The immediate priority
in the thirties and forties was China and Germany. At the present
time the priority is on the United States; they are concentrating in
36 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
every respect upon the United States. And, South America is, as it
were, one of the ways of concentrating upon the United States.
Mr. SouRWiNE. When you went to the Lenin school to prepare for
your job of going to South America to organize Communist Parties
there, were you given specific training for your duties in Latin America,
which was not given to other Communist agents who were to be sent
elsewhere?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes. There was one part of the training that
applied only to South America.
Mr. SoTTRwiNE. What was that part?
Mr. KoRNFEDBR. That was a 3-week intensive briefing b}'^ Red
army officers who specialized in guerrilla warfare.
Mr, SouRWiNE. Guenilla warfare. Was this given to others who
were to go to South American countries too?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right. South America was considered the
proper terrain for this type of warfare, both topographically and
politically.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Mr. Kornfodor, what is the organization of the
Communist Party with regard to South America?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Woll, the Literratioual Communist Party, which
is run from Moscow, has two bureaus, field bureaus, which coordinate
the activities of tlic Communist Parties on the Latin American Conti-
nent. One was operating out of Montevideo and the other originally
was operating from New York.
Tile New York bureau had jurisdiction over all Communist Parties
down to and including tlie Panama Canal, and the other bureau bad
jurisdiction over the parties of the continent proper, down to Aigen-
tiua.
These two bureaus were tlie ones that were in immediate ciiarge of
all of the operations of the various Communist Parties within their
jurisdiction.
Mr. SouRwiNE. What were those two biu'eaus called?
Mr. KouNFEDER. Tiie bureau in Montevideo was the Latin Ameri-
can Bureau, and the bureau in the Caribbean was called the Caribbean
Bureau.
Mr. SouRWiNE. That was the one in New York?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That was the one in New York.
Senator Keating. May I interrupt there.
Ai'e you speaking now of some prior time or as of todaj'^?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oh, I am certain these bureaus are still there;
they couldn't operate without tliem.
Senator Keating. In other words, it is your opinion that there is
still this division, and the two bureaus still exist at the present?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right, Senator.
Mr. SouRWiNE. To summarize, then, up to the present time you
are testifying that Moscow iias maintained for over 20 years, and
maintains today, an organization to direct and supervise Communist
activities in Latin America;
That the long-range ultimate objective of this always has been the
overthrow or collapse of the United States;
And that in recent years, I think you said since World War II, the
priority has been given to this thrust at the United States?
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 37
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Now, what part did you have in this Communist
organization, with respect to Latin America?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, before I went to South America from
Moscov/, I Avas a member for about 9 months, ex officio, of the Latin
American Secretariat in Moscow. This is a secretariat that coordi-
nates the activities of the two field bm*eaus from Moscow down. It
is the one that discusses strategy, the field bm'eau discusses and
decides mostly on tactics, the major strategy being decided in Moscow,
and the instructions are channeled through the Latin American
Secretariat.
On the Moscow level, all the operations in Latin America are
coordinated through the Latin American Secretariat.
Then, later, when I returned from South America, I was made a
member of the Caribbean Bureau, due to my experience down there.
The chairman of the bureau at that time was Alexander Bittelman.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Bittelman?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
And, the chairman of the bureau down in Montevideo, a Kussian,
a very able individual by the name of Guralski.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Guralski?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Senator Keating, Was Bittelman an American citizen?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, I thought he was, but later on it was shown
he wasn't.
Senator Keating. He was in charge of the New York office, you
mean?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Senator Keating. Do you know of his present whereabouts?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. He is still in the United States.
Senator Keating. Is he in New York now?
Mr. Kornfeder. To the best of m^y belief, he is.
Senator Keating. Is he still engaged in the same activities?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That, I don't know.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know who is the head of the Caribbean
Bureau at the present time?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The present head, no; I don't know.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know who is the present head of the Latin
American Bureau?
Mr. Kornfeder. You mean the one in Montevideo?
Mr. SouRWiNE. Montevideo.
Mr. Kornfeder. No.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Did Palmiro Togliatti have anything to do with
the Communist activities in the Caribbean?
Mr. Kornfeder. Togliatti was the secretary at the Latin American
Secretariat in Moscow.
Mr. SouRwiNE. At the time you were there?
Mr. Kornfeder. That's right.
Mr. SouRwiNE. We have a situation in which the secretary of
the Latin American Secretariat is not a Latin American, but Italian;
the head of the Caribbean Bureau is not Latin American but a North
American; and the head of the bureau for the continent is not a
38 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN -
Latin American but a Russian. Is this typical of the operation,
that people foreign to the country where the operation is being
concentrated always head up the operation?
Mr. KouNFEDEU. Oh, yes; dcfitiitoly. Moscow utilizes its trained
personnel wiierever it considers it necessary, irrespective of any
nationality.
Air. SouRWiNE. Is there any Communist policy to avoid having
a continental movement or a subcontinental division or bureau
headed by a native of that particular area?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes. That is one of the rules; the Moscow
representative cannot be a native of the country in which lie is sent
to operate.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Is that to protect him against the dangers of
nationalism and chauvinism?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. He may be infected by friendships — well, by
other considerations, if he was a native of the same country.
Senator Keating. In other words, Bittelman was actually a native
of what country?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Bittelman was a native of Russia, but he had
lived in the United States for a long, long time.
Senator Keating. But you now know that he had never become
an American citizen?
Mr. Kornfeder. That's right, Senator.
Mr. Sourwine. You have told us of the jurisdiction of these two
bureaus.
Now, what can you tell us about their functions, their financing,
their personnel?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, the financing, of course, is done entirely
from Moscow, and they have an operational budget, usually decided
1 year ahead, and in which the amount is figured on the basis of the
minimum and a maximum.
All the operations of these bureaus are paid by Moscow, including
all the agents they utilize, or any publications that they may sub-
sidize— that is, everything that has to do with these two bureaus is
paid from Moscow, not from the local organizations.
Mr. Souravine. At the time you were with the Caribbean Bureau,
what was the size of the personnel there?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, there were only seven persons on it.
Mr. Souravine. Do you have any reason to believe it is larger now,
or would the bureau be the same size now?
Mr. Kornfeder. These bureaus are always small, but they hold
periodical conferences to which they invite the principal functionaries
of the various Communist Parties under their jurisdiction.
Mr. Sourwine. And the control goes downward that way?
Mr. Kornfeder. That's right.
Mr. Sourwine. Now, at the time that you were familiar with a
part of Communist work in Latin America, what persons did you
know who were then active in that work, who are still active in the
Communist conspiracy?
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 39
Mr. KoRNFEDER. You mean in South America?
Mr. SouRwiNE. Yes.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, to the best of my knowledge, those still
active that I knew personally, is, at the present time, the secretary of
the Communist Party of Colombia, whose name is Gilberto Viera.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Is that V-i-e-r-a?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Then, the present secretary of the Communist Party of Venezuela,
Juan Fuenmayor.
Mr. SouRwiNE. F-u-e-n-m-a-y-o-r?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
These individuals became radicals while they were students at the
Universities of Bogota or Caracas, and very able individuals and very
personable — I mean, educated individuals. They came from some of
the best families of those two countries.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know another student, Delgado — Francisco
Delgado?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Ycs, Francisco Delgado. He also originated at
the University of Caracas, and he was a very able individual, especially
as an organizer.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Did you work with these men at that time?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. I did.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Was it part of your function at that time to recruit
students, student leaders, into the parties, that is, respectively in
Venezuela and Colombia?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, in South America that is one of the principal
approaches of the Communists, to get at the students, and the students
down there are, as it were, ideologically preoccupied with poHtics, and
that, of course, conditions them for the type of propaganda and meth-
ods that the Communists have.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Did Gilberto Viera, at the time you were in Co-
lombia, have a particular function directly under you?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Ycs. I made him a manager of the paper.
Mr. SouRwiNE. What paper?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The party published a weekly paper which was,
of course, paid for out of the subsidy that 1 had for the operation,
the paper at that time we called Verdad Obrera,
Mr. SouRWiNE. This was a Communist paper?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. This.was a Communist paper, although it didn't
say so on the masthead.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Where did you get the subsidy that you spoke of?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. I had an authorization for the first year for
operations in Colombia, the minimum, which was $15,000.
Mr. SouRwiNE. You got that money from Moscow?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Did you ever get any money from the United
States for your operations in Latin America?
40 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, the money was transferred to me through
the United States by an arrangement with the then secretary of the
party, Earl Browder,* but it was Moscow money.
Mr. SouRwiN'E. The money came to you through the United States,
through Earl Browder, but from Moscow?
Mr. KoRN'FEDER. That's right.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Now, do you recall any other persons who you
know worked with you as Communists, when you were in Latin
America, and who are still active in the Communist conspiracy?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. You mean those that were not active in South
America itself?
Mr. SouRwiNE. I am asking for anyone whom you at that time
loicw to have been active in the party, in South America or Latin
America, who is presently still active in the party.
Mr. KoRNFCDER. I have no doubt that Bittelman is still active in
this operation, due to his experience. Most of the others that I knew
at the time are, as far as I know, out of the Communist Party of the
United States.
Mr. SouRwiNE. When you were on the Caribbean Bureau, were
there any other Americans on it besides Bittelman?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Ycs. There was — well, I remember some.
Senator Keating. Now, what year was this?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. This was 1932, and 1933.
* Robert Alexander, author of " Communism In Latin America" has acknowledged In his foreword that
Earl Browder has given him considerable Information which he has used In his book, from which the
following references are given:
(1) Mr. Alexander states that the Communist Parties of the Caribbean were directed from New York and
that leaders of the Communist Party, U.S.A. , intervened in the affairs of the Mexican Communist Party at
least twice during the 1920's. In 1937 Earl Browder Intervened to prevent the Mexican Communists from
engineering a split in the Confederation of Workers of Mexico. He talked at considerable length with
Vicente Lombaido Toledano. (36)
(2) Leading American Communists were assigned to missions in Latin America, as for example, Joseph
Zack Kornfeder. (36)
(3) Financial contributions to Latin American Communist Parties came from New York. (37)
(4) Leadinc; Comintern agents who were known in American Communist circles were active in Latin
America, such as Arthur Ewert (111), Carlos Contreras (37) and Oerhart Eisler. Leading members of the
Comintern took part in discussions regarding Latin America. (38)
(5) Earl Browder participated in a meeting with the Latin American Communist Parties while he was In
Moscow. He was suggested as the principal adviser and consultant of the Latin American Communist
parties. There were frequent conferences between Browder and leaders of Latin American Communist
parties In New York. (38)
(6) The Conference of Latin American Communist Parties was held in Moscow In 1038 at which Browder
and Manuilsky, Comintern leader, were present. (42)
(7) Dmitri Manuilsky addressed a meeting of delegates of various Latin American Communist Parties In
Moscow in 1938 urging that " Above all, our force must be used in defense of the Soviet Union." The entire
statement Is most significant. Browder was undoubtedly present at this meeting. (43, 44)
(8) BrowHpr Intervened in the Mexican Communist Party affairs in 1937 and on other occasions. (79) An
account of this appeared In the New York Daily Worker of July 3, 1937. (333, 334)
(9) Earl Browuer intervened with President Roosevelt in behalf of Victorio Codovilla, a leading Latin
American Communist. (170)
(10) Statement on unity of Latin American Communist Parties. ("The Second Imperialist War" by
Earl Browder, p. 45.)
(11) Statement attacking Leon Trotsky and his activities in Mexico. ("The People's Front" by Earl
Browder, pp. 305, 306, 307.)
(12) Chapter entitled "Labor Unity In Mexico." (Ibid., pp. 321 to 326, a speech delivered In Mexico
City on June 29, 1937.)
(13) Statement on Latin America and Mexico. ("The Way Out" by Earl Browder, p. 40.)
(14) The Pan-.\merican conference in Havana. (Ibid, pp. 74-80 which appeared in the Daily Worker of
July 19, 1940.)
(15) Chapter entitled "The Situation in Mexico." (Ibid, pp. 94, 95, which appeared in the Daily Worker
of Sept. «, 1940.)
(16) Statement on mass movements in Latin American countries. (Ibid., pp. 174, 175, from a report to
the National Committee of the Communist Party, Nov. 16, 1940.)
(17) Statement on Latin America and American imperialism. (Ibid., p. 201, from a speech delivered at
the Lenin memorial meeting, Madison Square Garden on Jan. 13, 1941.)
(18) Chapter entitled "Good Neighbors in the Americas." ("Teheran" by Earl Browder, pp. 56 to 63.)
(19) ChaiJf er entitled "Latin America's Contribution to Victory." ("Victory and After" by Earl Browder
pp. 213 to 224.)
(20) The following articles by Browder are taken from the Communist, also known as Political Affairs:
"Browder on Latin America," February 1939, p. 132; also, September 1939, p. 756.
"Browder on Latin .\merica," September 1940, p. 819.
"Browder and Mexico," May 1941, p. 447.
"Browder and Latin America," June 1941, pp. 496, 620 f., 630.
"Latin America Demands Browder's Freedom," August 1941, p. 693.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 41
Senator Keating. Do you know whether the ones you are about to
name are still active in the Caribbean Bureau?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No, I dou't. I am not sure whether they are
or not.
Senator Keating. We will receive such evidence as that, in execu-
tive session, not in a pubhc hearing.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The onh^ reason I would have for saying it is
that it requires a great deal of experience to be on these bureaus, and
those that have acquired experience, as long as they remain in the
party, are usually assigned to this type of operation.
Senator Keating. I think in the case of Bittelman, you believe him
to be still connected with the Caribbean Bureau.
Mr. Kornfeder. With the Latin American activities, yes.
Senator Keating. But in other cases you are not informed at this
time whether or not they are?
Mr. Kornfeder. That's right, sir. I don't know it for positive.
Senator Keating. I think we had better receive that evidence in
executive session, as far as the naming of names is concerned.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Chairman, I should like to have permission
to read to the witness one brief passage from the book, "Outline of
Political History of the Americas," by William Z. Foster, and I want
to ask the witness for the significance of this paragraph:
The writer wishes to express his thanks to the many men and women who
either read and criticized the manuscripts of the books or cooperated in the
extensive research and technical work required for its writings. These include
James S. Allen, Herbert Aptheker, Marion Bachrach, Theodore Bassett, Eric
Bert, Alexander Bittelman, Tim Buck, Vittorio Codovilla, J. Colon, ' arl Dorf-
man, Robert W. Dunn, Dionisio Encina, Philip S. Foner, Gilbert Green, Grace
Hutchins, Cesar Andreu Iglesias, Bias Roca, Carlos Rafael Rodriguez, Stanley
B. Ryerson, Joseph Starobin, Celeste Strack, and Robert Thompson.
This is a book wTitten by William Z. Foster, outlining the history,
as he sees it.
What is the significance of this paragraph of credit?
Senator Keating. What is the date of that?
Mr. SouRWiNE. 1951.
Mr. Kornfeder. Oh, the significance is that all these individuals
were familiar with one or another aspect of Communist operations in
South America, that is why Foster consulted them in writmg the
book. 1 know quite a number of those that you have listed.
Mr. Sourwine. Well, let's see which ones of them you know.
Do you know James Allen?
Mr. Kornfeder. I know Allen, but under a different name. I
don't recall the name any more.
Mr. Sourwine. Is he a Communists
Mr. Kornfeder. Oh, yes.
Mr, Sourwine. Is he an American Communist?
Mr. Kornfeder. As far as I know.
Mr. Sourwine. He is?
Mr. Kornfeder. Yes.
Senator Keating. Now, you are speaking of today, when you say
"Communist today," you Imow him to be a Communist today?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, he is still active in the Communist organi-
zation.
Mr. Sourwine. What was his name you knew him under?
Mri Kornfeder. I can't recall at the moment.
42 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Mr. SouRWiNE. Auerbach?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Auerbach ; that's right.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Did you recognize the name of Herbert Aptheker?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes; I recognized the name but I can't place his
image; I don't know whether I'm right.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Was he an American?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. As far as I know.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know whether he is a Communist?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. He is.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you recognize the name of Marion Bachrach?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Ycs; I recognize the name.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know that individual as a Communist?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Ycs ; I know her as a Communist. I don't know
whether she is still in the party.
Mr. SouRwiNE. You say, "her" — Marion? Marion Bachrach? Is
that a man or a woman?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. I was under the impression it was a woman.
Mr. SouRwiNE. All right.
Alexander Bittelman you testified about?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. YcS.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Do you know Victorio Cordovilla?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. I know him by reputation, I don't know him
personally.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Is he an Argentine?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know Dionisio Encina?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Wlio is that?
Mr. SouRwiNE. Dionisio Encina — E-n-c-i-n-a.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No, I don't think so.
Mr. SouRWiNE. He is a Mexican, isn't he?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know Cesar Iglesias?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No.
Mr. SoxjRwiNE. A Puerto Rican, isn't he?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know Bias Roca?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Blas Roca I remember; I remember vaguely.
He is from Cuba.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know Carlos Rafael Rodriguez?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. I belicvc he is also from Cuba.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know Joseph Starobin?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Do you know him as a Communist?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. I know him as a Communist, but I know him
imder a different name; again I cannot recall the name at the moment.
Mr. SouRwiNE. So, here you have people from a half a dozen
American countries, speaking of the whole hemisphere, North and
South America, who were cooperating with William Z. Foster in thf
preparation of this book on history, from the Communist slant?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, I may say also at this point that the Ameri-
can Communist Party all along, from the early twenties, had, as it
were, an authorization from Moscow, of political patronage over the
activities in South America, and throughout the years has used many
of its members as organizers in South America. In fact, originally
whatever activity was in South America was directed from New York.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 43
The two bureaus, that I mentioned, were only created, one in the
mid-twenties and the other was created in 1931. Until then the
American party was the one that was directing whatever Communist
activities were in South America, and ever since the American party
is consulted on anything relating to Latin America.
Senator Keating. What was the address in New York City of the
Caribbean Bureau?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. They met — it was a secret bureau which, of
course, operated like all of their bureaus, through secret addresses,
but the meetings were held at the party headquarters at that time.
Senator Keating. Have you had any contacts since you broke with
the party in 1934; have you had any contacts with any of these indi-
viduals since that time
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No. When a leader — I was one of the leaders —
quits, well, the situation that develops as a result of it is such that
none of the other leaders would dare to contact him except by special
instructions. I, of course, knew that, and I did not contact them,
neither.
Senator Keating. And you have not bumped into them in any
way since then?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oh, I have bumped into them, but the bumping
didn't lead to any briefing.
Senator Keating. I am curious about a person who breaks with the
Communist Party and runs into his former friends who were in it.
What does he do? Do they speak?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. He just stares through them as if they were not
there.
Senator Keating. They don't have any communication, then?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right. They build a system of hatred;
if you quit them and you are a leader, you are an enemy. In fact,
you are worse than the usual enemy. They consider you, let's say, all
non-Communists, in the category of enemies, it depends how much,
how active they happen to be, but a leader that quits them, well, he
has a high priority as an enemy.
Senator Keating. Proceed.
Mr. SouRwiNE. When you left Moscow to take up your work in
Latin America, were you given any task with respect to Panama?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes. I was supposed to stop in Panama and
settle a dispute that was then going on between three groups of
Communists.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Did you perform that task?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No. I did not perform the task because the
address I had for the initial contact proved to be a false one, and I
could not stay there and wait for some new addresses.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Was that dispute among the Communist factions
in Panama subsequently settled?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Ycs ; it was. According to my information, it
was later handled by Romulo Betancourt who is now President of
Venezuela, who at that time was a Communist.
Senator Keating. Was he working with you in the biu'eau at that
time?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No. Well, he was one of the principal operators
in South America, and he, I am sure, worked under the direction of
the bureau, but I never actually met the individual.
44 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Senator Keating. What was his — was he in an official position in
his country at that time?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No. That was during the dictatorship of Juan
Vincente Gomez. He was one of those exiled, so he worked in other
South American countries, but not in Venezuela.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Where did you go first when you went there —
Colombia or Venezuela?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. I first went to Colombia.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Outline for us briefly your operations in Colombia.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Wcll, in Colombia it was possible to operate
more or less openly, although there was a special law against com-
munism on the statute books. But in the Lenin School one is taught
how to bypass tiiat type of legislation, and we just operated formally
as being not Communist, being something else.
So, one could organize committees and fronts, and so on, rather
openly, and so I proceeded along that line.
Senator Keating. You were taught to deny you were a Communist
if it was necessary, to serve your purposes?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Senator Keating. And 3"ou were taught that an oath meant noth-
ing and that you didn't have to comply with any oath if you were
asked if you were a Communist?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes. That holds true for all Communists,
because an oath is what they call — they call it bourgeois fiction,
which, of course, a Communist isn't supposed to be impressed by at all.
Well, the contact in Colombia was made. I had a number of
addresses of members of a party that v/as disintegrating, that was
known then as the "Partido Socialista Revolucionario."
Mr. SouRWiNE. The Socialist Revolutionary Party of Colombia?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right, and there were still about 60 active
individuals.
]Mr. SouRwiNE. Sixteen or sixty?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Sixty of that organization who could be con-
sidered as potentially active elements. One of those mentioned is
Gilbert© Vicra who later became secretary of the Communist Party.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Was there a high proportion of students among
this 60?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oh, yes. There was a group of students at the
University of Bogota. In fact, they were from the beginning the
principal group.
Then, through this party that was then going to pieces, we obtained
some contacts amongst the labor unions and especially a group
amongst the Colombian peasants, and I started training these ele-
ments by bring them to Bogota and giving them a 2 weeks' training
course especially in organization work. Organization is the thing
that they know the least about, and they are tremendously impressed
by anyone that brings with them organization knowledge. So, I
trained those groups in 2-week courses, about 10 at a time, and that
really paid off as far as organization is concerned. They were the
elements out of which vv'e later on formed a committee to organize a
labor federation in Colombia, and a peasants' league amongst the
coffee plantation workers and other peasants.
Well, also out of that group — we liad the beginnings of an intelli-
gentsia for the party. After about a year of concentrated activity, we
had an organization of about 1,200 members in the Communist Party,
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 45
plus groups inside labor unions and, for the first time in the history of
Colombia, f n organization amongst the peasants.
Mr. Soui^wiNE. You went there with 60, and at the end of about
a year you had 1,200?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Mr. SouRWiNE. You had infiltrated the labor unions, you had
created a front operation for operations among the peasants?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Mr. Sour WINE. Where did you go then — to Venezuela?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes. Then I went to Venezuela.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Tell us about your work in Venezuela.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, Venezuela was an entirely different situa-
tion. It was one of those pretty tight dictatorships under a man who
had originally been, so the story says, a bandit in the Andes, a very
able one.
Senator Keating. A what?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. A bandit in the Andes.
Mr. Sour WINE. Are you talking about Juan Vincente Gomez?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That is one of the big mountain ranges.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Who is the man you are speaking of?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Gomez, Juan Vincente Gomez. He established
a dictatorship, taking over a democratic situation, but by the time I
got down there it was a dictatorship which did not allow any opposi-
tion whatsoever, whether Commimist, Sociahst, Liberal, Conserva-
tive, or whatnot. He just didn't allow operations — period.
And, the organization had to be underground from the very be-
ginning. The contacts there again were first with the students at the
University of Caracas, and basing myself on the experience in Colom-
bia, I begun to instruct them in organization techniques.
Well, it didn't take long, I probably had trained about two groups,
each of them of 10 individuals, when the dictator's political police
raided the place where we were meeting, and so, together with about
10 others, I was taken to one of the most notorious jails in South
America.
Mr. SouRWiNE. You were arrested and put in jail?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes.
Mr. SouRWiNE. What town, what city?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. In Caracas.
Mr. SouRWiNE. A prison in Caracas?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The name of the prison, which later on was torn
do%vn after Gomez died, was La Rotunda.
Mr. SouRWiNE. La Rotunda?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. An ancient fort built by the Spaniards, and later
on converted into a prison.
Mr. SouRWiNE. How long were you in that prison?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. I was there about 5 months.
Mr. SouRwiNE. What efiect did this arrest and imprisonment have
on your work for the Communist Party.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oh, it had a very good effect.
Mr. SouRWiNE. A good effect?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. A Very good effect.
See, the grapevine in this type of country is quite an institution, and
when it became known among the intellectuals, who were all opposed
to the dictatorship, that the Communists had at last come to help
66492 O - 61 - 2
46 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
them, the effect of that was considerable, and also I found out that
in the prison they had established a method of contacting, even though '
all precautions were taken against contacts. •;
The prison was divided into different compartments very much
separated, so it seemed, but actually the word went around that at
long last the Communists, who knew how to organize, have come and
after Gomez died and all these intellectuals got out of the prison, the '
party had a considerable influence among them, and accounts for their
very fast growth.
Senator Keating. You were not there when he died?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No ; I was already back in the United States.
Senator Keating. Were you given any trial of any kind there?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No. They don't proceed with trials, that is just
something like in Russia; you are arrested, thrown in jail, and then if
the dictator makes up his mind for one reason or another to let you
go, you are just let go; that's all.
Senator Keating. I was just coming to
Mr. SouRwiNE. How did you get out?
Senator Keating. I was coming to that. How did you get out?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. In my case, of course, I was not a Venezuelan,, i
I was an American. So, I had the privilege of having a whole cell to
myself, instead of being bimched together with 20 others. I was in '
solitary, which was — ^well, no one else had that privilege in that
prison, but I got out through the efforts of the State Department.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Of the United States? i
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Mr. SouRwiNE. How was this brought about? i
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, I don't know the details, but I know that |
the party used its contacts in the United States to push the case. I
Mr. SouRWiNE. This was in what year?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. This was in 1932.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Now, after you were sprung from the Venezuelan i
jail by the State Department of the United States, did you go forward
with your work as a Comintern agent, or did you then leave Vene-
zuela?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, I was deported in grand style, with a decree '
signed by President Gomez appearing on the front pages of all the
papers in Venezuela.
Mr. SouRwixB. You then left Venezuela?
Mr. KoRXFEDER. That's right. j
Mr. SouRWix'E. That is when you returned to New York and be- '
came a member of the Caribbean bureau of the Communists?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Mr. SouRwiXE. While you were in Venezuela, you said most of
your work had to be done underground. Were there any particular \
classes or groups of people or workers on whom you were instructed
to concentrate?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oh, yes. For Venezuela, the instruction was to
concentrate on the oil workers in Maracaibo, the oil area. '
Mr. SouRwiNE. Did you do that?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, I did not have the time to. I only, as it j
were, set up a committee to do that, and trained them for several
weeks in organization techniques. But, the instructions were to first |
create a political organization. It would not do to come into a coun- ■
try and say, "Well, Moscow wants you to be organized."
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 47
You do that in the name of a native movement, so since there was
no such movement, that movement had to be first created. But, the
strategy of Moscow in this respect was, however, carried out because
the concentration in subsequent years was on the oil workers and the
oil workers in Venezuela did get organized by the Communists.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Why the oil workers? Why did they want to con-
centrate on the oil workers?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That has to do, again, with the overall perspec-
tive on the United States. They figured that— they think way ahead
when it comes to big strategic patterns. They figured that in the
final clash with the United States, the oil of Venezuela, which is high
quality oil, would play a big role, and if they could shut it off during
strategic moments and sabotage it, and so on and so forth, it would
play an important role in the situation.
So, they were 20 years ahead. But the United States was even
then their long-range objective.
Now, they are concentrating directly on it; at that time it was a
long-range objective, and they thought that far ahead, and the in-
struction was to concentrate on organizing the oil workers above all,
but first organize the party through which to do it.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Has the Communist international conspiracy con-
tinued to send representatives into Latin America since you left the
party?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oh, I am sure they have. They couldn't operate
without it.
Mr. SouRwiNE. What do you know of such agents?
Mr, KoRNFEDER. Well, they have periodical conferences of repre-
sentatives of Communist Parties, and at these conferences names re-
appeared that I happened to be familiar with. They carry on cam-
paigns with the same line throughout Latin America, irrespective of
parties— a thing like, for instance, Nixon's tour — there, I could very
well understand, knowing their organization in such an operation,
because I had participated while I was down there in other similar
operations that were organized on a continental basis.
They have a cohesive machine which is well centralized and can
carry out strategy and tactics, and do it at a great speed.
Senator Keating. Do you know if they have, now?
Mr. KoRNFEDER, They have now, and they had then.
Senator Keating. Mr. Khrushchev says that they don't carry on
any activities outside of Russia, but they are only interested in main-
taining the Communist Party and the movement in Russia. You find
yourself in considerable disagreement with that, do you?
Mr.KoRNFEDER. Well, that is a fiction, probably the biggest fiction
of all fictions, because, they always maintain that they are not re-
sponsible for activities of the Communist Parties; thej^ are responsible
only for the official declarations and statements of the Soviet Govern-
ment.
But, Senator, I can assure you that it is the biggest lie that was ever
presented on earth. There isn't an ounce of truth in it. I mean the
whole thing is directed from Moscow, always was.
Senator Keating. Tell me, Mr. Kornfeder, what caused you to
break with the Communist Party?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, there were two thingp that prompted me,
and principal among them was what I saw in Russia ; it was so much
contrary to what I thought was there. I mean ideals, my ideals
48 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Senator Keating. Let me interrupt you a minute. You went back
there in 1934, did you?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. I was there from 1927 to 1930.
Senator Keating. Yes, but you left there as a dedicated Com-
munist.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. AVcIl, I was still a Communist in my theoretical
thinking and, in fact, I was still a Communist^ — -period.
But, I had some thoughts
Senator Keating. I see.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Tliouglits that began to grow, and the thoughts
originated from my stay in Russia, and the reason for them were two-
fold, in brief:
One was the actual situation, which was very different from what
the Daily Worker in the United States would say. I mean, the
description in the Communist press in the United States about the
idyllic conditions in Russia were simply completely a hoax.
But, the other thing that impressed me as a Communist is that for
the first time, Communists arrested Communists, that was the purge
of the Trotskyites.
Now, this you should understand, made a special impact on Com-
munists because Lenin, the founder of this thing, had warned in his
last will, against Communists settling disputes among themselves
through police methods, and here was Stalin arresting thousands of
party members who had made the revolution, because there was
disagreement on some phases of strategy.
Well, the impact of that kept on, as it were, working on me, and
although I didn't want to admit that I had been a fool for 15 years
and a very active fool, by the way
Senator Keating. You say an active fool?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes. I finally had to come to the conclusion
that I was entirely wrong, which took a few yeai-s to do it. As a
matter of fact, every leading Communist who quits the party, it
takes him anywhere from 2 to 5 years to get the ideas out of his head.
Senator Keating. How did you come to get into it in the first place?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oil, I was a Socialist before I became a Com-
munist. I was a member of the Socialist Party of the United States,
and in the split inside the Socialist Party I went with the Communist
wing of it.
Senator Keating. Proceed.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Mr. Kornfeder, wasn't Russia deliberately violat-
ing the Monroe Doctrine in sending you and other agents into Latin
America?
^li". KoRNFEDER. Yes. This thing came up at the Latin American
Secretariat in Moscow, came up at a time when several of the students
who were members of the Latin American Secretariat were about
to return.
And of coiu-se I already know I had an assignment, so Togliatti
gave us some briefing on that. He was then the secretary, and his
briefing was that we should not concern om-selves with it.
Mr. SouRWiNE. That is, Avith the Moiu-oe Doctrine?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The Monroe Doctrine. We should not concern
ourselves with it because the doctrine was designed for a different
typo of intrusion than the one contemplated or carried out by
Communists. That is, the Moiu-oo Doctrine was designed for
invasion from outside by foreign powers. That was his contention.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 49
"Whereas, the Communists, of course, organize from inside. And
furthermore, he said Communists cannot be guided by bourgeois laws
which we, at any rate, must violate in the course of our activities
anywhere on the globe, so we can't be guided by it in this case. That
was his attitude.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Chairman, without laboring the point, but so
that the record may be clear as to what the Monroe Doctrine compre-
hends, I offer for the record at this time an excerpt from the Seventh
Annual Message of James Mom'oe, of December 2, 1823.
Senator Keating. It may be received.
(The document referred to follows:)
The Monroe Doctrine
Excerpt from Seventh Annual Message of James Monroe, December 2, 1823
* * * At the proposal of the Russian Imperial Government, made through the
minister uf the Emperor residing here, a full power and instructions have been
transmitted to the minister of the United States at St. Petersburg to arrange by
amicable negotiation the respective rights and interests of the two nations on
the northwest coast of this continent. A similar proposal has been made by His
Imperial Majesty to the Government of Great Britian, which has likewise been
acceded to. The Government of the United States has been desirous by this
friendly proceeding of manifesting the great value which they have invariably
attached to the friendship of the Emperor and their solicitude to cultivate the
best understanding with his Government. In the discussions to which this
interest has given rise and in the arrangements by which they may terminate the
occasion has been judged proper for asserting, as a principle in which the rights
and interests of the United States are involved, that the American continents, by
the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are
henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European
powers.
* * * The political system of the allied powers is essentially different in this
respect from that of America. This difference proceeds from that which exists
in their respective Governments; and to the defense of our own, which has been
achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by the wisdom
of their most enlightened citizens, and under which we have enjoyed unexampled
felicity, this whole nation is devoted. We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the
amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare
that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any
portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the
existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered
and shall not interfere. But with the Governments who have declared their
independence and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great con-
sideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any inter-
position for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner
their destiny, by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation
of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States. In the war between those
new Governments and Spain we declared our neutrality at the time of their recog-
nition, and to this we have adhered, and shall continue to adhere, provided no
change shall occur which, in the judgment of the competent authorities of this
Government, shall make a corresponding change on the part of the United States
indispensable to their security.
* * * Our policy in regard to Europe, which was adopted at an early stage
of the wars which have so long agitated that quarter of the globe, nevertheless
remains the same, which is, not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of its
powers; to consider the government de facto as the legitimate government for
us; to cultivate friendly relations with it, and to preserve those relations by a
frank, firm, and manly policy, meeting in all instances the just claims of every
power, submitting to injuries from none. But in regard to those continents
circumstances are eminently and conspicuously different. It is impossible that
the allied powers should extend their political system to any portion of either
continent without endangering our peace and happiness; nor can anyone believe
that our southern brethren, if left to themselves, would adopt it of their own
accord. It is equally impossible, therefore, that we should behold such inter-
50 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
position in any form with indifference. If we look to the comparative strength and
resources of Spain and those new Governments, and their distance from each
other, it must be obvious that she can never subdue them. It is still the true
policy of the United States to leave the parties to themselves in the hope that
other powers will pursue the same course ♦ ♦ *.
(Source: Richardson's "A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the
Presidents," v. II, p. 778 and 787-8.)
Mr. SouRWiNE. Mr. Kornfeder, you said that the Kj-emlin con-
sidered all Latin America as a unit for operational purposes. Do I
understand you correctly?
Mr. Kornfeder. That's right.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Does that mean both politically and organiza-
tionally?
Mr. Kornfeder. Both politically and organizationally.
Mr. SouRWiNE. There are 20 dinerent Communist Parties in South
America, are there not?
Mr. Kornfeder. Yes, there are.
Mr. SouRWiNE. How can these 20 different parties be considered
as a unit, politically or organizationally, will you explain that?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, the entire Communist concept is that the
Communist Party is one party internationally, and the parties in the
various countries are only sections which are guided ^^rom one center.
Now, if the center decides to establish subcenters like, for instance,
the Caribbean Bureau, well, that is ]ust a mechanism through which
the centralized international party operates. That is their basic con-
cept. They do not operate on the basis of each individual party
being either autonomous or semiautonomous or being autonomous in
any way. They are just one cog in the total machinery which is
directed from a center.
The fact that thoy establish continental or semicontinental bureaus
that is only for the purpose of carrying out the major concepts of this
bemg one international party.
Of com'se, they preach nationalism, but anyone that becomes a
nationalist, as a Communist, is expelled, because the}'' cannot tolerate
nationalism inside the Communist Party. That is something for the
other fellow. They figure they can use the nationalism of the others
for their purposes.
For instance, in this particular case they would like to disintegrate
the inter- American relations that exist and nothing is better than na-
tionalism, extremist nationalism, with which to make the approach.
So, they preach nationalism, but actually their ultimate program, if
they ever would succeed, let's say, to take South America, would be
to establish one Soviet Federation over the whole area, just as the
Soviet Union is, and direct it from one place and, of course, affiliated
with Moscow.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Kornfeder, you have told us that the Com-
munist Party's long-range strategic objective has not changed since
the early 1930's. Has the strategy line in proceeding toward this
objective changed, to your knowledge?
Mr. Kornfeder. Yes, it has.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Will you tell us about that?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, this is in fact the most important develop-
ment in South America in the last 4 years or so.
Originally their strategy in South America was similar to the one in
Europe; namely, to work for a Socialist overturn. They then con-
sidered South America as being a semideveloped country, I mean,
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 51
semi-industrialized. There were some disagreements on that, even
then, but in the last 4 years they reversed their strategy in South
America completely.
Senator Keating. You mean in the last 4 years dating from now, in
these last 4 years?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right, yes.
They now operate with a strategy which Lenin called the bourgeois
democratic revolution, carried out by the proletariat. Now, to un-
wind this difficult phraseology, they want to carry out a type of revo-
lution in South America which they compare, and they take advantage
of the late President Roosevelt, they call it a new deal revolution, as
Castro does also, in which they aim to unite all the elements of the
population against Yankee imperialism.
We are the exclusive target. They aim to unite against us even
what they call the bourgeoisie, except those that happen to work
with Yankee imperialism, but the entire attack, sociologically and
strategically is concentrated against Yankee imperialism.
Now, this is a considerable departure from the technique that they
had been using years before, and they figure that they can effectuate
that much more successfully, and I must say, from what I know of
South Ajnerica, that this is a far more dangerous approach than the
one they were trying out before. They figure they will ride into power
on the basis of such a movement and then, after they entrench them-
selves, then they will carry out the other thing that they originally
had in mind.
In other words, they are now working on the same thing in two
stages: First, the so-called new deal revolution manipulated for their
purposes and after they ride into power and succeed to entrench
themselves, then the Soviet type of revolution.
In other words, you are likely to have a phenomenon in the coming
years where the Communist-inspired revolutions wouldn't look like
Communist revolutions. They will have all the outside trappings of
being bona fide spontaneous democratic rebellions.
In fact, that was the main reason we got confused about the Com-
munist operations in China, as you remember. What they engineered
there was called an agrarian reform. Of course it was no such thing.
I recognized their new operation because in the Lenin School, the
difference between these two types of revolution are very thoroughly
explained and taught and difference in techniques pointed out.
For instance, Dimitri Manuilsky described the techniques they are
now using as follows: "For backward countries, backward politics."
Mr. SouRWiNE. You mean that Moscow regards the countries of
Latin America as backward countries?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Industrially, backward countries.
. Mr. SouRWiNE. Politically backward?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Politically backward, yes.
So, they aim to take those countries, not at one stage, as their
original line, which is very difficult and which very often fails, but do
it in two stages, along the lines I just indicated.
Now, there is a great deal of documentation on that. This new
line has been written in the programs of the Communist Parties in
South America since the last — ^beginning with 1954, the party, the
program, the most elaborate dissertation along this line was in the
program adopted by the Communist Party of Brazil, and the others
following suit throughout the years, including Cuba.
52 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
That is the significance of the change. There is much detail in it.
but I think when we come to Cuba, it can be explained in more detail.
Mr. SouKwiNE. Mr. Chairman, may I offer for the record the draft
program of the Communist Party of Brazil of 1954?
I have the entire text here, and I respectfully siiggest that certain
excerpts bearing upon the testimony of this witness might be printed,
and the entire program might be put in the files as part of the report
by reference.
Senator Keating. Is that a published program of the Communist
Party?
Mr. SouPWiNE. Yes, sir. This is the published program of the
Communist Party in Brazil, published in "For A Lasting Peace For
A People's Democracy," which is the paper of the Information Bureau
of Communist and Workers Parties.
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(Excerpts from the document referred to follow:)
Excerpts From "Draft Programme op Communist Party of Brazil," Pub-
lished IN "For a Lasting Peace for a People's Democracy," February
26, 1954 (p. 3, 4)
"The poverty of the people in a country so rich as ours is tlie result of the
predatory policy of the American monopolies, the result of the rule of the owners
of the latifundia and big Brazilian capitalists."
* )|c 4e * * * iK
"Thus, the entire national economy of Brazil is being turned into a mere
appendai^e to the U.S. war economy. The American imperialists directly inter-
fere in the entire administrative life of the country; they have taken over the
state apparatus of Brazil in order ruthlessly to exploit and oppress our people,
to plunder the country's natural resources, and to extract maximum profit."
"Thus, the U.S. imperialists are penetrating; to all corners of economic, political,
social, and cultural life in Brazil, humiliating our people and destroying the
independence and sovereignty of our nation which they want to reduce to the
status of a U.S. colony."
*******
"Industrialists and traders are unable to expand their business because of
the low jjurchasing power of the working masses and the competition from Ameri-
can goods. American monopolies control entire branches of Brazilian industry
and use all the means at their disposal to strangle and retard development of
home industry, to prevent the founding of the basic branches of industry needed
to free Brazil from the economic dependence in which it now finds itself. The
control over bank credits, transport, the distribution of raw materials, and the
granting of import and export licences are utilised by the American imperialists
against Brazilian industrialists and traders. Imports of machinery needed
for the development of industry become more and more difficult while imports
of the raw materials necessary for our honie industry are more and more re-
stricted."
*******
"The American imperialists do not confine themselves to plundering our
national wealth and unbridled exploitation of our people. They also want to
involve Brazil in the aggressive war for which they arc getting ready. They do
not conceal their intention of using the people of Brazil as cannon fodder."
*******
"* * * the war now being prepared by the U.S. imperialists is an aggressive,
predatory war aimed at establishing world domination and at enslaving other
peoples for the sake of maximum profits."
* * * * ♦ * *
"History teaches that the war now b('ing prepared by the U.S. against the
Soviet Union, China, and the countries of people's democracy is a gamble, doomed
beforehand to complete fiasco."
***«*«*
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 53
"Should the American imperialists unleash a new war they will suffer inevitable
defeat."
* * * ' * * * , *
"The supreme interests of the people of Brazil call for a complete break with the
aggressive militarist and colonising policy of the U.S."
*******
"Brizil must put an end to the hateful American domination and establish
closer economic and cultural contact with all countries which recognise and respect
our independence, above all with the Soviet Union and China."
*******
"The Vargas Government is implanting in the state apparatus various kinds
of U.S. specialists, assistants and advisers who directly interfere in the entire
administrative life of the country. By means of its agents, placed by the Vargas
Ck)veniment at the head of the secret service of the armed forces and all police
organs in the country, the U.S. intelligence service interferes in the political life
of the nation, persecuting Brazilian citizens who refuse to submit to American
slavery or who fight for the freedom, sovereignty, and independence of Brazil."
*******
"Brazil needs another, a genuine people's government capable of safeguarding
the interests of the overwhelming majority of the people. Such a government,
as the lawful representative of the broad progressive and anti-imperifilist sections
of the population, would do away with the hated domination of the U.S. imperial-
ists, confiscate the capital and enterprises belonging to the U.S. monopolies, and
carry out a policy of peace and cooperation with all other nations on an equal
footiTig, in keeping with the supreme interests of the nation. * * * This people's
government would be in a position to abolish the feudal survivals and the owner-
ship of land Vjy big landlords and would ensure free distribution of the land among
the peasants and all those M^ho want to live by agricultural labour. This people's
government would put an end to illiteracy and backwardness, wipe out the local
diseases, put an end to the machinations and unnecessary expenditure v.hich are
of benefit only to the privileged minoritj^ to the expenditure on war prepiirations
and would use all this money for immediate and effective aid to the poor and to
those who have suffered from the natural calamities. This people's government
would establish a system of complete freedom and democracy for the people,
would guarantee industrial workers and other working people their gains, their
rights, and ensure for the entire population of Brazil a blossoming, free, and
happy life."
* * * * * * . *
"* * * we must put an end to the domination of the owners of the latifundia
and the big capitalists in the service of the U.S. imperialists and overthrow the
Vargas Government.
"The Communist Party of Brazil is convinced that the democratic transforma-
tion.s needed by our people can be achieved only by a democratic government of
national liberation, by a government in which along with the working class there
would participate the peasantry and intelligentsia, the petty bourgeoisie and the
national bourgeoisie."
'o^
"The Communist Party is fighting for Socialism, but it is convinced that in
the present economic, social, and political conditions in Brazil socialist trans-
formations are impossible. But it is quite possible to fulfill the task of replacing
the present antinational and antipeople's government by a people's government
which would free Brazil from the domination of the U.S. imperialists and their
lackej's — the owners of the latifundia and the big capitalists."
*******
"Annulment of all agreements and treaties with the U.S.A. that encroach on the
interests of the nation.
"Confiscation of all capital and enterprises belonging to the American monop-
olies and annulment of the foreign debt owed by Brazil to the U.S. Government
and U.S. banks.
"Clearing out of all military, cultural, economic, and technical U.S. missions
from Brazil."
*******
"25. Guaranteed freedom of private initiative for manufacturers and freedom
of internal trade. The democratic government of national liberation will not
54 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
confiscate the enterprises and capital of the national bourgeoisie. It will, however,
confiscate and nationalise the capital and enterprises belonging to big capitalists
who have betrayed the interests of the nation an4 who have alined themselves
with the U.S. imperialists."
***■»**♦
"26. Protection of the national industry. To ensure that import of foreign
goods, mainly American goods, shall not injure home industry or hinder the found-
ing of new industrial branches and enterprises. Free development of industry
producing for civilian needs shall be guaranteed.
"27. Independent develbpment of the national economy and the creation of
conditions for intensified industrialisation of the country utilising for this purpose
the confiscated capital and enterprises of the American imperialists. For this it
will be necessary to invite private capital which must be guaranteed profits and
protection in accordance with a special law."
*******
"34. Guarantee of freedom of organisation and free activity for the trade
unions. The trade unions shall be granted the right freely to conclude collective
labour agreements wit^i private and state enterprises and control over their
implementation.
"35. All forms of social insurance, including unemployment benefit, shall be
paid at state expense and at the expense of the capitalists. Pensions and benefits
for victims of industrial accidents in accordance with the needs of the working
people and their families. Transfer to the trade unions of management functions
and control over the activity of the social security bodies and pension boards."
"37. Confiscation of all land belonging to big landlords and its transfer, free
of charge, to landless and land-hungry peasants, and to all who care to till it.
Distribution of the land shall be recognised by law and each peasant given title
deeds. The possession and seizure of the lands, belonging to both landlords and
the state, already effected by the peasants shall also be recognized by law and
the peasants will receive necessary title deeds."
* * * 0 * * *
"And so all the progressive forces in Brazil irrespective of social status, party
aflRliatior , religious or philosophical convictions, all democrats and patriots anxious
to see their homeland free and powerful will rally around the great worker-
peasant alliance."
* m * * * * *
"The Communist Party of Brazil holds that the struggle for the creation,
extension, and reinforcing of the democratic front of national liberation is an
urgent and pressing task, a matter of honour for all Brazilian patriots."
****** )^
"The Communist Party of Brazil deems it necessary immediately to unite
throughout the country the broad popular masses, people of all classes and social
strata ready to fight for democracy and peace, against the policy of war, hunger
and reaction pursued by the Vargas Government, to fight for the overthrow of
the present government and its replacement by a democratic government of
national liberation."
*******
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Komfeder, you speak of documentation
respecting the Communist program for Latin America. Let me ask
you about several items here.
Would you consider this Moscow conference in November 1957, of
Latin American delegates, as a documentation?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. You mean, a description of what took place there?
Mr. SouRwiNE. Yes.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. YcS.
Mr. SouRwiNE. I ask that there may be inserted in the record at
this point, Mr. Chairman, paragraph 24 on page 34 of this subcom-
mittee's publication "The Revival of the Communist International
and its Significance for the United States."
It is a short page.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 55
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(The paragraph referred to follows :)
24. A conference of all Latin American delegates was held under the chairman-
ship of the CPSU specialist for Latin America. It was attended by Chinese Com-
munist delegates. Those who spoke were representatives of the following Com-
munist parties: Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Cuba, and Guatemala.
The CPSU chairman laid before the meeting a program for the Latin American
Communist parties which was accepted. This program included the following
points: (a) increased effort to fan and exploit anti-U.S. sentiment; (6) revival of
the Communist-controlled peace movement; (c) efforts to attack the Organization
of American States through a Communist-controlled conference in defense of
culture; (d) support for the Conamunist movement in Cuba; and (e) promotion
of the Soviet economic offensive' in Latin America.
The Communist Party of China serves as a coordinating center for Latin Ameri-
can activities. It is known to maintain courses for the training of Communists
from that area.
Arrangements were made for a number of secret conferences of Communist
parties of Latin America.
Mr. SouRwiNE. I show you an article, a photostat of an article from
the publication Kommunist.
I wUl ask you whether this article is part of the documentation to
which you refer, and while taking that down to the witness, may I ask
Mr. Mandel to state for the record what the publication Kommunist is.
Mr. Mandel. The Kommunist is published in Moscow and is the
official theoretical organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
There is a translation there.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Ycs. I kuow the magazine. I used to be a
contributor to it.
Mr. SouRwiNE. May I offer this for the record, Mr. Chairman.
(Excerpt from "Kommunist" follows:)
Summary of Co^fTE^fTS
"Kommunist" Article by Ponomarev on International Communist Movement
This publication presents the full text of an article by B. Ponomarev titled
"The International Communist Movement in Its New Stage," which appeared
in the Moscow monthly periodical Kommunist, No. 15, October 1958.
"Kommunist" Article by Ponomarev on International Communist Movement
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction.
I. The Socialist Camp Is Powerful and Solid, as Never Before.
II. New Profound Shocks in the Capitalist World.
III. Some Problems of the Communist and Workers' Movement.
introduction
The Communists of the Soviet Union, the Soviet people, and the entire inter-
national Communist movement are observing widely the first anniversary of the
Moscow Conferences of the Representatives of Communist and Workers' Parties.
These conferences were a significant event in the history of the Communist and
workers' movement and demonstrated its unity and loyalty to Marxism-Leninism.
The declaration of the Conference of the Representatives of Communist and
Workers' Parties of the Socialist Countries and the Peace Manifesto, signed by
representatives of 64 Communist and workers' parties are militant programs for
the Communist and workers' movement, which throw the light of Marxism-
Leninism on the most important problems of modern times and indicate ways
to solve these problems successfully.
"The work of the Conferences of the Representatives of the Communist and
Workers' Parties in Moscow in November 1957 and their decisions," noted the
Plenum of the Central Committee CPSU, meeting in December 1957, "represents
a very great achievement in the world Communist movement. These conferences
56 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
demonstrated convincingly the future unity of the socialist camp and the whole
international Communist movement on the ideological principles of Marxism-
Leninism. The working out and the declaration of the very important tasks
facing Communists in the struggle for peace, democracy, and socialism in the
present stage of their peaceful history, the consolidation of the whole international
Communist movement, and the subsequent strengthening of the ties between
the Communist parties are tlie most important goals of the conferences."
The decisions of the conferences were approved by all the fraternal parties.
The resolutions of the congresses of the Communist parties and the Central
Committees emphasize that the Moscow Conferences laid a firm foundation for
new victories in the Communist movement. The resolutions of the Second
Session of the Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of China state the
following: "The declaration laid the ideological basis for the solidarity of the
Comnmnist parties of various countries and strengthened the unity of the socialist
camp, led by the Soviet Union. This is a program that has ushered in a new
stage in the international Communist movement." This is a stage in the con-
tinual strengthening and development of the peaceful socialist system and the
unprecedented triumph of Marxist-Leninist ideals.
This year marked the further rise of the forces of ascending socialism and the
extended fall and decay of capitalism.
The stepup in the growth of social processes characterizes the present stage.
It proceeds along two opposite lines. The countries of the peaceful socialist
system are moving more swiftly toward the creation of socialism and Communism.
The decay and fall of capitalism, the extension of capitalism's general crisis, and
the intensification of all the differences of the capitalist regime are taking place
faster than previously. This is reflected in the great class conflicts within cap-
italist systems and in the conflicts betw-een the forces of peace and socialism and
the forces of war and imperialist reaction.
The theoretical analysis of the contemporary international development and
the conclusions drawn from this analysis given in the decisions of the 20th Congress
of the CPSU and in the documents of the Moscow conferences are fully confirmed
by facts.
The ideas of the Moscow conferences assisted in further rallying the interna-
tional Communist movement, in improving the level of the ideological and organ-
izational work of the Communist parties, and in consolidating Communist parties'
international ties. Guarding the purity of the Marxist-Leninist doctrine, the
Communist and workers' parties organized an active large-scale struggle against
revisionism and dealt it a number of shattering blows.
The international Communist movement, inspired by the Mar.xist-Leninist
ideas of the Moscow conferences, is confidently advancing forward while preparing
for great new victories of the working class.
*******
Very important processes are taking place in the Latin American countries.
For a long time, the U.S. imperialists have regarded Latin America as a sphere for
supplementing their capital, as a strategic rear area in the preparation for a new
world war. "The policj' of the U.S.," testifies a deputy of the Peruvian Congress,
"was always directed in such a manner as to maintain Ijatin American economy
in a state of dependency and to exploit these countries as its own backyard so
that they are bound to serve toward the fulfillment of U.S. interests."
The U.S. monopolies seized the enterprises which are extracting the basic
natural resources of Latin America. The plundering of the resources of Latin
American countries and the exploitation of their people by the U.S. monopolies
have attained monstrous proportions. According to the statistics provided by the
U.N., in 1946-1954, the U.S. monopolies realized a profit of 3.17 dollars for every
dollar invested in Latin America.
Having seized the wealth of the nations of Latin America, the monopolies of the
U.S. are trying with all their strength to repress the movement against the eco-
nomic exploitation and political oppression of the people of these countries by
North American imperialism.
However, now the people of Latin America are all the more decisively increasing
the struggle to defend their national wealth and democratic freedoms. Latin
America is a seething volcano. As in one countrj', so in another country, out-
bursts are taking place which are sweeping away reactionary regimes and
are loosening the nooses which the monopolies of the U.S. had thrown on their
economy.
In May 1957, as a result of the rebellion of the people of Colombia, the hench-
men of the U.S. monopolies. Dictator Pinilla, was overthrown. Extremely
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 57
characteristic events occurred in Venezuela. In 1957, on the initiative of the
progressive patriotic forces in Venezuela, the "Patriotic Junta" was established
to fight against the bloody regime of Jimenez. The representatives of the bour-
geois parties, Democratic Action, the Social-Christian Party, and the Republican-
Democratic Union participated in the "Junta." Having rallied the masses, it
called a general strike for 21 January 1958, which later turned into an armed
revolt. As a result of the participation of the working class and students, several
groups of the national bourgeoisie and a part of the army of the government of
Jimenez were deposed.
The forces which are working to strengthen national independencies and democ-
racy a^d to liberate the economy of these countries from the domination of the
monopolies of the U.S. are growing in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, and other
countries. The strength of these forces was shown by the failure of reactionary
plans and of the reactionary candidates in the general elections in Argentina.
There was established the Front of People's Action, which merged the national
and anti-imperialistic forces of Chile: the Communist, socialist, and democratic
parties and the labor party. A People's Front was organized in Brazil.
An important characteristic of the current stage of the liberation struggle in
Latin American is the continually increasing role of the working class. That is,
the parti cipjation of the working class imparts to the national liberation movement
in Latin America a clearly marked tintiimperialistic character. Earlier, when the
question of state power was decided on the bases of armies and by feudal-compra-
dor circles, one dictator was replaced by another dictator. Thanks to the partici-
pation of the m.asses, and mainly the working class, the overthrown military
dictators were replaced by bourgeois-parliamentary regimes offering the p>eople
the well-known democratic freedoms.
Under the pressure of the masses, many Latin American countries began more
sharply than ever to demand that the U.S. look into the character of the economic
relations and establish just prices on goods exported from Latin America so as to
protect national resources from encroachment by U.S. monopolies. The Brazilian
Congress passed a law nationalizing the reserves of atomic materials and pro-
hibiting their export from the country and canceling a secret agreement with the
U.S. regarding this matter.
The conflicts between the U.S. and Latin American countries were increased in
connection with the crisis which started in the U.S. Seeking to get out of crises,
the U.S. raised the tariff on products exported by the Latin American countries
and began to dump its own surplus products on the market at such low prices
that a great deal of damage was done to the economy of the Latin American
countries. To repulse North American imp>erialism, the Latin American countries
are taking several measures to strengthen mutual relations and unity. The
attempts of the U.S. to involve the Latin American countries in a military bloc,
to create the so-called South Atlantic Pact, have failed.
The U.S. still holds strong positions in the Latin American nations. But its
prestige grows weaker every day. The Latin AmeHcan people want to handle
their natural resources themselves and regulate their lives without interference
from outsiders. The fight for these ideals is spreading everywhere and has already
borne its first fruit.
Another important process is taking place side by side with the liberation from
colonial and semicolonial dependence — the liberation of the people from the old
slavish ideology which imperialism cultivated. The growth of national conscious-
ness is taking place both in the nations which are tnrowing off the foreign yoke
and in the countries fighting against the colonizers. The Conference for Solidarity
of Asian and African Countries m Canada and the Afro- Asian Writers Conference
held in Tashkent pointed this out very clearly.
« Id * * * * *
In recent years, the influence of the Communist parties in the countries of Latin
America, especially Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Cuba, Venezuela, and
Colombia, has been growing rapidly. This is the result of selfless struggle of
Communists for the development of the national liberation and democratic move-
ment. Since the end of 1957, 15,000 persons have joined the Communist Party
of Argentina and about 1,500 persons the Communist Party of Uruguay. The
Communist Party of Venezuela emerged from underground and became an im-
portant political force in the country. Its numbers have risen to 20,000. The
creation of a limited Trade-Union Center of Chilean Workers and a Popular Front
of Chile which includes all leftist parties is a great achievement for the Communist
Party of Chile. The authority of the Communist parties has grown so much and
their role in the national liberation movement is so great that governing circles
58 COMAfUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
in Latin America have been compelled by popular pressures to change laws ban-
ning the Communist Party, or to actually permit them to einerge from the uqderr
ground.
The Communist parties of Latin American countries ever more closely coordi-
nate their activities in the struggle against the common enemy of the Latin
American peoples— U.S. imperialism. This contributes to the further activation
of. the activities of the 21 Latui American Communist parties counting in their
rauk.s over 360,000 Comjnunists..
In the light of these facts, it is quite obvious how deceitful and awkward is th'e
noisy new campaign of imperialist propaganda on "the crisis of Communism."
The enemy, citing the situation which has arisen in pertain European Communist
parties and the. fact that several of them have received fewer votes in elections,
attempts ty show that the entire Communistmovement is allegedly in the process
of being. weakened. But the enemies are passing.off i^e desired for the real.
The revolution.ary movement is of a universal iiature. Its main support is the
socialist camp. The great successes of the pocialist camp are thesuccesseS of
international Communism.
Now when the entire world capitalist system is ripe lor socialist transformation,
the question arises once again of the development of the world revolutiorijjwy
workers' movement. Now this moveaient is developing on a much wider .front
than previously, and new centers of the revolutionary movement are Constantlcv
being created.
It is also characteristic tuat. if the revolutionary workers' movement does not
for the time being meet wjth such great success in certain regions of the world as
it has had recently, then this movement will grow up quickly in other regions of
the world. Whereas in certain old capitalistic countries — rin countries of so-called
classical capitalism — the bourgeoisie and its right-socialist accomplices succeed for
the time being in deceiving part of the toilers, including the workers, then in
other countries, particularly in countries of the East and Latin America, and a
number of * * *
Mr. SouRwiNE. I show you, Mr. Kornfeder, an article from World
Marxist Review written by Rodney Arismendi. Is this also a part of
the docuro.entation to which you refer?
And, while showing that to the witness, I will ask Mr. Mandel to
explain what the World Marxist Review is.
Mr. Mandel. World Marxist Review is a current magazine pub-
lished by the Communists and Workers Parties of the World.
Mr. Kornfeder. Yes. This is an article which contains the main
pieces for this so-called New Deal revolution technique.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Do you know who the author of that article is?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, I know him by reputation. I don't know
hrm personally
Mr. SouRWiNE. What is his reputation?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, he is a known Communist theoretician.
Mr. SouRWiNE. May I. ask that this also go in the record*^
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(The excerpt from World Marxist Review follows:)
[World Marxist Review, May 1959]
On the Role op the National Bourgeoisie in the Anti-Imperialist
Struggle
{A Study of the Liberation Movement in Latin America)
Rodney Arismendi
*******
Of the many themes confronting the researcher and the political leader, none,
perhaps, is more urgent or topical than that of defining the relation between the
strategy and the tactics of the proletariat in the Latin American revolution. * * *
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 59
We have in vieWof the role of the bourgeoisie in Latjn America, the possibilities
of the national bourgeoisie participating in the patriotic struggle and the peculiari-
ties of this participation, as well as the attitude of the proletariat and the masses
towards the conciliatory big bourgeoisie. By the latter we mean those economic-
ally powerful groups of the bourgeoisie who, although they have not sold them-
selves to imperialism, nevertheless maintain connections with it and, despite
frequent clashes, try to come to terms, first and foremost, with the U.S. monop-
olies and diplomats to the detriment of their own people and country.
The national bourgeoisie undoubtedly vacillate, that is to say, are conciliatory;
but their national interests are more clearly defined, while their antagoisms with
imperi^ism go deeper and, hence, predominate. In the main, the concept of
"natioiia! bourgeoisie" coincides with that of the middle, chiefly industrial,
bourgeoisie.
*******
Two events at the beginning of 1959 were New Year's gifts for Wall Street — the
launching of the Soviet space rocket — irrefutable proof of the socialist world's
strategic, scientific and technological superiority over capitalism; and the triumph
of the Cuban patriots who, in Marti's* words, imder the very nose of the monster,
announced that a new phase had begun in the struggle on the continent. For the
first time in many years, with the possible exception of Guatemala in the last
act of her tragedy, the anti-imperialist flag flies over a government palace in
Latin America. And although the rising tide has not reached the same level
everywhere, can anyone doubt that the Cuban events will have a torrential
impact on Latin American countries?
* * * !|e * * *
The foreign policy pursued by the Soviet Union and the socialist countries,
being more dynamic and elastic, made headway, especially after the XXth Con-
gress of the CPSU, in the sphere of easing international tension; moreover, gen-
erous proposals have been made to deliver industrial equipment and establish
broad trade relations on the principle of equality with Latin America, too. * * *
*******
Consequently, the cry for trade with the Soviet Union and all thi socialist states,
a cry that springs from the general interests of the Latin American countries, is
becoming, strange though this may appear at first glance, one of the most insistent
demands on the continent. The constantly growing trade with the socialist camp
eloquently attests to this. Yet the results of this trade fall far short of what they
could be, if we bear in mind the benefits our countries derive from it and the
enormous losses they suffer from the unequal trade forced upon us by imperialism
II. SOME PROBLEMS OF THEORY AND PRACTICE UNDER DISCUSSION IN
LATIN AMERICA
The role of the national bourgeoisie is of course determined by the character of
our eountries. Lenin's point about the differences between a revolution jn-an
imperialist country and one in a country dependent upon imperialism fully retains
its validity. The imperialist yoke, particularly North American, and the-need for
a solution of the democratic tasks of the revolution, primarily the agrarian prob-
lem, turns the national bourgeoisie into one of the factors of the revolution, ena-
bling it to participate in the democratic front of national liberation. One would
think that there is no difference of opinion on this point.
The Chinese revolution was a classical example of this, just as Lenin's tactics
before 1905 provide the basis for the contemporary Marxist teaching on the
participation by and the leading role of the proletariat in the bourgeois-democratic
revolution. Here, truly, we have a reliable compass.
*******
* * * -phe epic events in Cuba, in themselves, and inasmuch as they reflect
the deep-going processes maturing in many countries, signified a swing to the Left
and have influenced the thinking and the policy of the democratic movement
throughout Latin America.
This circumstance confronts the masses, not only from the viewpoint of propa-
ganda but also of practice, with the task of establishing democratic, anti-imperialist
unity. The Popular Action Front in Chile, the unity of the people in Caracas, and
• Jose Marti, ootstanding Cuban revolutionary democrat of the last century.
60 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Other examples, testify to the possibilities for bringing about deeper changes and
for achieving closer concerted action throughout Latin America. * * *
4t ***** *
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Kornfeder, do you know in person or by repu-
tation Alfonso Sanchez Madariaga?
Mr. Kornfeder. I did not hear what you said.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Do you know in person or by reputation Alfonso
Sanchez Madariaga?
Mr. Kornfeder. I know him by reputation. I don't know him
personally.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Mr. Chairman, I offer for the record a statement by
Alfonso Sanchez Madariaga.
I will ask the witness of his reputation. What do you know of
Mr. Madariaga's reputation?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, he is one of the principal leaders in Latin
American activities, as far as I know.
Senator Keating. In Conmiimist activities?
Mr. Kornfeder. Yes.
Mr. Sourwine. He is an anti-Communist, isn't he?
Mr. Kornfeder. He may have become one.
Mr. Sourwine. Madariaga is active in the executive committee
of the World Economic Conference of Free Trade Unions, isn't he?
Mr. Kornfeder. Let me see that name again. I didn't get it.
Mr. Sourwine. Let me give you this article and see if you can
identify the man who wrote it.
Mr. Kornfeder. Oh, yes. You're right. You're right. How-
ever, I just don't know the individual.
Mr. Sourwine. This article, Mr. Chairman, appeared originally in
the Inter-American Labor Bulletin, a Mexican newspaper, and it
amounts to an accusation of substantially what the witness has now
testified to.
I ask that, not as proof of what it says, but as an illustration that
similar things are being said by anti-Communists publicly, that it go
in the record.
Senator Keating. It may be received.
Mr. Sourwine. Let the chairman see it.
Senator Keating. I'm not sure that what it says has very much
pertinence, but it will be received.
(The article referred to follows :)
[Inter-American Labor Bulletin, June 1950]
"I ACCUSE"
Statement by Alfonso Sanchez Madariaga
ORIT General Secretary Denounces the Scope of Soviet Agent's Activi-
ties IN Latin America
The following article on the ''Aspects of the Cold War" appeared in the well
known Mexico City daily, Novedades, in its edition of April 23, 1959:
"Throughout the countries of Latin America, the Soviet plot against democratic
institutions, the reorganization and expansion of our economies and the normal
development of the free trade union organizations is well underway and, according
to the plans of its instigators, will reacli its fullest development during the months
of May and June."
^ With these words the ORIT General Secretary began his exclusive statement for
Novedades on Wednesday, April 22. Mr. Alfonso Sanchez Madariaga continued
as follows:
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 61
"Both the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and its
inter-American branch, the ORIT, have for some time past been denouncing the
plans to upset economic world stabilization in governments where democracy and
freedom are fully guaranteed which have been drawn up in Moscow by the despots
of the Kremlin as a fundamental part of their anti-Western strategy. The
ICFTU has pointed out, in statements made by its General Secretary, its Execu-
tive Committee and at the World Economic Conference of Free Trade Unions at
Geneva in March how the agents of the USSR, attempting to infiltrate in demo-
cratic institutions and in labor circles in the Americas, Asia, Africa, the Middle
East and certain countries of Western Europe, try to prevent the peaceful evolu-
tion of all free countries and, in the former colonial areas, the political, social and
economic development of natioi s which have only recently conquered their inde-
pendence. We are dealing with an offensive of universal proportions which tends
to undermine the. political and economic bases of true democracy throughout the
entire world. Such action is in keeping with Russia's attitude on Western Berlin.
We are witnessing an attack similar to that which the Kremlin launched against
the economic and political reconstruction of Western Europe in the Marshall Plan
era. The tactics are always the same: to confuse the masses and incite them to
subversion and disorder in order to hinder governmental action and dislocate the
process of economic reorganization and expansion in the West. The final goal is
the implantation of Communist or pro-Communist regimes under Moscow domi-
nation in as many countries as possible.'
THE CONSPIRACY IN LATIN AMERICA
"In Latin America," the inter-American trade union leader added, "the
conspiracy is carried out in a methodical fashion. It was revealed in Mexico,
thanks, on the one hand, to the vigilant action of the free trade movement, and,
on the other, to the determination of President Lopez Mateos' regime to defend
our institutions and our democratic way of life. The Soviet plot against inter-
American democracy, against the peaceful evolution of our economic systems and
against the power and unity of the free trade unions which are the foundation and
bulwark of modern democracy is gaining momentum just at the time when pro-
grams such as the inter-American Development Bank, the Latin American Com-
mon Market, the 'Panamerican Operation' of President Kubitschek, etc., are
about to take shape. Antieconomic strikes are organized on the fringe of respon-
sible trade union jurisdiction. Attempts are made at preventing the solid estab-
lishment of true democracy in countries such as Colombia, Peru, Chile and
Argentina. Artifical conflicts are created in Venezuela in order to harry the
activities of a constitutional government, honestly elected by the people, like that
headed by President Romub Betancourt. An offensive is launched to create con-
fusion among Latin American workers, turning them away from the path of free
trade unionism by false arguments. Caracas has been chosen as the center of
these maneuvers against the ORIT and its affiliated organizations in our 21 re-
pubhcs, the Caribbean and Canada, covered by the liberties which now exist in
the Venezuelan nation, which is a model, in this hemisphere, of civic progress
from the most abject dictatorship to the finest type of democracy.
FOREIGN COMMUNIST LEADERS SET TARGETS
"In the trade union field the conspiracy began in February in Santiago de
Chile at a certain so-called third regular national conference of what claims to
be a national labor center but which, masked by a false neutralism, has lent itself
as a focus of the Soviet plot against our liberties and against inter-Latin American
economic progress. Those who participated in that meeting included such notori-
ous international agitators as the Yugoslavians, Stane Kavic and Stane Yuznic;
well-known agents of Russian imperialism in our countries such as the Uru-
guayans Mario Acosta and Rosario Pietroroia; the Mexican, Antonio Garcia
Morena (one of Lombardo Toledano's lieutenants); the Chilean, Clotario Blest;
and other professional subversionists in Latin America. Later the Russian
pseudo-trade union leaders, Timofei Eremev and Minev Aleixev arrived at the
capital of Chile. It was agreed at that time to. intensify the grand offensive
against the free trade unions of this hemisphere, against the development of our
national and hemispheric programs for economic expansion and, especially, against
democracy in the hemisphere. Since Mexico is at the present time one of the
most stable nations in Latin America from the political and economic standpoints,
and since the obvious intention was to counteract the effects of the Eisenhower-
Lopez Mateos interview in Acapulco, this country was chosen as one of the
66492 O - 61 -3
62 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
targets of the general destructive action. Now the flames are spreading through-
out all of Latin America. The CTAL is distributing circulars requesting infor-
mations of an economic, political and, to a certain degree, military nature with
the evident intention of transmitting such reports to the Moscovite chiefs of
Mr. Lombardo Toledano. The strikes are multiplying, not to defend the
legitimate interests of the workers but to weaken the democratic systems of
government and the prestige of the free trade unionism leaders who, by their
honest and efficient actions over the years, have shown that they know how to
serve the interests of those whom they represent and, at the same time, cooperate
with the other social forces and with the progressive governments to achieve a
general improvement in the economic and social standards of our nations.
Naturally, this destructive, anti-patriotic enterprise frequently obtains coopera-
tion from the most reactionary of forces, the last remnants of colonialism, and the
partisans of classic Creole militarism." ^
SOLEMN APPEAL FROM THE GRIT
"The ORIT," continued Mr. Sanchez Madariaga, "makes a solemn appeal to
public opinion on this hemisphere, to the workers and to the democratic govern-
ments of the Americas on the eve of the celebration of May Day. The political,
social, and economic democracy in our hemisphere must be alert. An attempt
to take advantage of this Labor Day to advance the Communist conspiracy
against our hemisphere one step further is planned. The city of Caracas has
been selected as the site of this attempt. The conspirators who plotted in Santi-
ago de Chile in February propose to establish in the capital of democratic Vene-
zuela in May the bases for a new 'independent' Latin American labor center.
The idea was born in Moscow. The plan is to disassociate the workers of Latin
America from their brothers in the United States and Canada in order to employ
them better in the service of the foreign policy of the Soviet empire. Such is, in
brief, the scope of the operation. We know for a fact that neither the democratic
government of Dr. Betancourt nor the authentic free trade union movement in
Venezuela wish to favor this extravagant design. The hemispheric forces of free
trade unionism, more united than ever before, are preparing to resist the offensive.
But a clear and forceful statement must be made. My obligation as leader of
the democratic trade union movement in this hemisphere is to make a public
revelation of this conspiracy. No individual, no organization imbued with the
ICFTU and the ORIT policy of a determined defense of the rights and interests
of the workers and of public freedoms — without which trade union action is im-
possible— can or should lend any assistance to the Communist game which, at
this moment in the cold war, on the eve of the summit conference on Berlin and
Germany — constant motives for uncertainty in the post-war world — ^pursues the
breakdown of Western societies in favor of the expansionist and imperialist policy
of the Soviet Union."
Mr. SouRwiNE. There is one more item to show this witness, and
this an article also from the World Marxist Review on the 30th
anniversary of the first conference of the Communist Parties of Latin
America, by Paulino Gonzales Alberdi.
Are you familiar with Mr. Alberdi personally or by reputation?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Only by reputation,
Mr. SouRwiNE. Can you say whether this article represents the
Communist viewpouit?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oh, yes, definitely. I read it, and you have here
on page 54, he is here writing about a conference of Communist
Parties in Latin America, and he says that the conference is "taking
its stand on the Leninist thesis of the Bourgeois-Democratic Revolu-
tion," for South America.
Mr. SouRwiNE. That also will be offered for the record.
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(The document referred to follows:)
COMMXJNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 63
[World Marxist Review, July 1959]
Thirtieth Anniversary of the First Conference of the Communist Parties
OF Latin America
(Paulino Gonzales Alberdi)
In June 1929 representatives of the Communist parties of Latin America
assembled in Buenos Aires for the first time to discuss problems of the liberation
movement in their countries.* Contacts between the parties had been extended
and some experiences exchanged before this meeting took place.
Delegations from the Communist parties or groups of Argentina, Brazil,
Bolivia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay,
Peru, Salvador, Uruguay and Ecuador, and representatives of the Communist
International, Young Communist League International and the Communist
parties of the USA and France attended.
Police action stopped the Chilean delegation headed by Elias LaflFerte, the
present Chairman of the Communist Party of Chile, from crossing the border,
while a serious illness, which a few months later ended in his death, prevented
Jos6 Carlos Mariategui, notable Communist intellectual in Peru, from being
present. However, he sent his theses which were read at one of the meetings.
Ill health also prevented Rodolfo Ghioldi, a leading member of the Communist
Party of Argentina, from attending. The conference rendered homage to the
victims of reaction, among whom were Julio Antonio Mella, leader of the Com-
munist Party of Cuba, and Guadalupe Rodriguez, leader of the Mexican Com-
munist Party.
The following were the main questions discussed:
The international situation of Latin America and the threat of war; anti-
imperialist struggle and the tactics of the Communist parties of Latin America;
activities of the Anti-Imperialist Leagues; trade unions; the peasant question;
the race problem in Latin America; the Young Communist League movement;
work among women; problems of Party building.
The coiifen-iice made a valuable contribution to the building and development
of the Latin American Communist parties. It represented a considerable step
forward in coordinating their efforts and clarifying their points of view on problems
which called for the application of the general principles of Marxism-Leninism
with due regard to the national peculiarities of each country. No class or social
section had hitherto succeeded in rallying the spokesmen of the majority of the
exploited and oppressed peoples of Latin America with a view to coordinating
their struggle against the oppressors, and against the foreign imperialists. This
historical mission fell to the lot of the working class and its Communist vanguard.
The conference was called upon to give ideological and organizational help in
building the Communist parties so that they could lead the developing anti-
imperialist struggle to victory.
The workers and people could not achieve victory under the leadership of the
reformist trade unions associated with imperialism through the U.S. Right-wing
trade union bosses and the Amsterdam Trade Union International. The people
could not do so under the leadership of the corrupt anarchist organizations, nor
under the leadership of bourgeois or petty-bourgeois parties, such as the Liberals
in Colombia or the Aprists in Peru, who sought to come to terms with imperialism
or else placed their hopes not in the people, but in the victory of one imperialist
power over another. Nor could' the Right-wing Socialist leaders, who denied
that imperialist rule in our countries was of a colonial character and advocated a
pro-imperialist policy, lead the people to victory. Only the Communist parties
could do this successfully. Only they, guided by scientific Marxist-Leninist
theory, could carry on the best traditions of their people, and solve the tasks
confronting them.
The Great October Socialist Revolution and the international Communist
movement had a great ideological and political impact on the working people of
Latin America and this was a decisive factor in the founding of the Communist
parties. In some countries, Argentina for example, Marxist-Leninist literature
such as V. I. Lenin's "The State and Revolution and Imperialism, the Highest
Stage of Capitalism," was popularized.
'As a member of the Argentine delegation the author reported at this meeting on the work of the Antl*
Imperialist Leagues.
64 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
At the end of the 192()'s the Communists in Latin America were not yet suffi-
ciently experienced. It is true that the Communist parties of Argentina, Uruguay
and Brazil had several years of struggle behind them and had accumulated a
certain amount of organizational and ideological experience, but their links with
the workers in big factories were still very weak. Reaction was delivering hard
blows at the Communist parties of Chile, Cuba and Mexico. At the same time,
in view of their ideology and organizational structure some of the parties could
not, strictly speaking, be termed Communist parties. A number were only
groups whose activities were confined to communist propaganda in trade union
organizations.
STRATEGIC TASKS
At the conference the Latin American Communists began an exhaustive study
of the vital problems affecting their countries. The socioeconomic structure of
the Latin American countries was analyzed, and the effects ot imperialist rule
and of the latifundist character of agriculture exposed. In the light of the
decisions adopted at the Vlth Congress of the Comintern, the conference noted
the typical features of the relative stabilization of capitalism and its repercussions
in the Latin American countries. Capitalist "rationalization" signified greater
exploitation of the working people (for instance, the saltpeter mines in Chile, the
meatpacking plants in Argentina and Uruguay). Unemployment grew. The
United States introduced import duties which meant that fewer raw materials
were purchased from Latin America and export prices fell. The workers and
peasants retaliated by strikes and other protest actions which at times took on an
insurrectional character. These actions were brutally suppressed.
The Communists discussed the lessons drawn from the strike at the United
Fruit Company's banana plantations in Colombia, where hundreds of strikers
were killed ancl the United States threatened armed intervention.
In its analysis of Latin American conditions the conference stressed the fact
that during the First World War ligh't industry had developed in most of our
countries. This had led to the growth of the working class and increased the role
played by the national bourgeoisie. The national and petty bourgeoisie sought to
win the leadership of the masses. They pursued a twofold aim: to gain conces-
sions for themselves from the imperialists and landowners and to prevent the rise
of Communist parties, to prevent the proletariat from leading the struggle waged
by the masses. With a view to achieving their aims certain petty-bourgeois
parties declared themselves adherents of Marxism and friends of the Soviet Union,
while at the same time they fought against the Latin American Communists.
Having won a majority vote, the industrial and petty bourgeoisie came to power
in a number of countries. But they immediately capitulated to imperialism or
else were overthrown by reactionary military coups. Reaction at first applied
the methods used by the Italian fascists. In Chile, for example, the dictator
Ibanez, by combining repression with demagogy and insignificant concessions,
gained influence in the trade union movement.
Yankee imperialism's offensive against the Latin American economy and the
efforts of the British imperialists to maintain their positions found expression in
coups d'6tat, in artificially provoked conflicts and wars between the countries of
Latin America. Yankee imperialism used the liberal parties to bring pressure to
bear upon conservative governments associated with British imperialism and, by
resorting to blackmail, obtained the concessions and government changes it
wanted.
The conference demonstrated the worthlessness of the assertions that imperial-
ism in general, and U.S. imperialism in particular, was progressive, and that it
developed the economy of backward countries. It called for action against im-
perialism and pointed out that the revolution in the Latin American countries at
that stage would not be a socialist revolution, but an agrarian and anti-imperialist
revolution. For the revolution to triumph, the decision stated, a broad national-
liberation front under the leadership of the working class and its Communist
parties was needed.
Taking its stand on the Leninist thesis of the bourgeois-democratic revolution,
the conference opened up broad vistas before the Communist movement in Latin
America; in this respect the documents of the Communist International played an
important part. It rejected the stand adopted by some of the delegates who
•opposed the formation of Communist parties — the political parties of the prole-
tariat. These delegates alleged that a party built on a broader socio-political
base would be able to parry the blows of reaction. The subsequent experience
of such so-called "broad" parties in a number of countries demonstrated that they
only isolated the class-conscious section of the workers, and assisted the seizure of
the leadership of the working-class movement by the reformists.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 65
ACTION FOR PEACE
The conference drew attention to the need for action against the imperialist
war danger. In his report on this question Victorio Codovilla spoke of the tasks
that, in the light of the international situation, would confront the Marxist-
Leninist parties should their countries be drawn into a war against the Soviet
Union, or into a war between the imperialist states.
If the imperialists provoked a war between the Latin American countries, the
report stated, the Communist parties should rouse the masses against the govern-
ments responsible for the conflict, organize fraternization, linking it up with the
tasks of national hberation and the movement for radical social and democratic
transformations. It was at this time that the long-drawn-out war between
Bolivia and Paraguay broke out : its underlying cause was the struggle between the
North American and British oil trusts for the oil deposits in the Chaco region.
The capitalist and landlord groups in Brazil and Argentina, with imperialist
contacts, played a part in this conflict.
The young Communist groups of Bolivia and Paraguay were severely criticized
for having taken an opportunist line on this war. It shorJd be said that these
groups later took steps to rectify their mistakes; for instance, the Paraguayan
comrades expelled Ibarrola, one of their leaders, for his pro-imperiftlL«;t policy.
The antiwar activities of the Communist parties mobilized the people and
helped to force the imperialists and their satellite governments to end the Chaco
war which for them had been highly profitable. Influenced by these activities,
well-known workers leaders from anarchist organizations in Paraguay, Bolivia,
Argentina, and other countries and some of the leaders of the petty bourgeois anti-
imperialist movement joined the Communist parties.
The conference noted that the Communists acted correctly in supporting the
armed uprising of the Nicaraguan patriots under the leadership of Sandino against
the North American interventionists.
QUESTIONS OF TACTICS AND PARTY BUILDING
Working-class unity and the question of drawing into the anti-imperialist move-
ment the many allies of the proletariat were discussed in detail.
The conference was in favor of forming a national-liberation front uniting the
different classes under working-class and Communist Party leadership. This
would guarantee success. The speeches of some comrades showed that they did
not fully appreciate the need for allies, but many others criticized the under-
estimation of the petty and national bourgeois as possible allies of the proletariat.
Eventually this question was clarified and it was decided to encourage and extend
the anti-imperialist leagues to form a united anti-imperialist front.
On the trade union question the conference proclaimed enthusiastic support for
the Congress which had taken place not long before in Montevideo and founded
the Confederation of the Working People of Latin America. It summarized the
experience of the struggle and stressed the need to organize the working class
into trade unions, particularly those workers employed in the big factories and in
the basic industries. The conference exposed the disruptive role of the Right-
wing leaders of the American Federation of Labor and the Amsterdam Trade
Union International in the Latin American working-class movement. The Com-
munists in our countries supported militant working-class unity.
Erroneous views held by some comrades were not sufRciently criticized. They
agreed that the attention of the Party should be centered on the big factories,
where the proletariat was most exploited, but affirmed at the same time that the
"really revolutionary classes were the agricultural laborers and the exploited
landless peasants." "The workers in the cities," they declared, "by virtue of
their more privileged position and their European orientation, are an easier prey
to the influence of petty-bourgeois reformist and progovernment ideology or the
pseudo-revolutionary demagogy of anarchism and anarcho-syndicalism." These
assertions ignored the truism that the industrial proletariat is, by its very nature,
the most revolutionary class in modern society. True, there were sections of
artisans in the towns with a tendency towards anarchism, and privileged cate-
gories of workers with reformist sentiments. But the growth of the big factories
and the shift of the masses to the Left reduced the strength of these sections.
Furthermore, certain delegates wrongly characterized our large cities as "parasitic
cities," forgetting that not only the parasitic landlords and big capitalists, mer-
chant-middlemen, big officials, high-ranking officers and clericals lived there, but
also the industrial proletariat, which was not an artificial product but the result
of economic evolution.
66 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
An analysis was made, during the discussion on the agrarian question, of the
various forms of exploitation of the peasants in Latin American countries with
their remnants of feudalism (which to a large extent still obtain). The different
conditions of the peasants in the various Latin American countries and of the
sections of the peasantry in one and the same country were brought out. The
conference advanced demands which reflected the aspirations of Vjroad sections
of the peasantry. It was proposed to organize joint action by the peasants and
agricultural laborers. The experience of the peasant leagues in Mexico and the
worker-peasant blocs which functioned in several countries was summarized.
During the discussion on racial discriminaton, the conference dealt with the
socio-economic content of the Indian and Negro problems and criticized the theory
of the racial inferiority of the Indians and Negroes. Those who, in their defense
of the Indians and Negroes, reduced the problem to one of education, were also
criticized.
The conference called upon the Communist parties to pay more attention to the
wom.en's movement and that of the youth, to their demands, and to help in
organizing Communist youth.
Some delegations, who leaned toward spontaneity in the communist movement,
asserted that the lack of a traditional background in Latin America ruled out the
possibility of organizing the masses, of their being willing to pay regular dues, and
so^forth. The conference rejected this view and pointed out that it was precisely
reliance on spontaneity and disregard of organizational questions which made for
defeat. The discussion on Party building noted that democratic centralism and
the*'system of factory branches and branches in residential areas were the main
factors in the organizational work of the parties. Most of the Communist parties
represented at the conference had not yet formed such branches.
The conference resolutions pointed out the inevitable deterioration in the eco-
nomic situation in Latin America, a growth of social struggles and of conflicts
between the imperialists, of political instability, repression and the threat of war.
In this the conference proceeded from the decisions of the Vlth Congress of the
Communist International. Some comrades drew the wrong conclusions from
this and advocated as the "task of the day" the seizure of power by the working
class in alliance with the peasants. These comrades saw no difference between a
big strike and the seizure of power. Worship of spontaneity resulted in neglecting
the work of organizing and politically educating the masses, in underrating the
importance of building strong Communist parties.
Shortly afterward, the most acute economic crisis known to capitalism set in.
Carrying out its first five-year plan, the Soviet Union was in the meantime
successfully building socialism. During the years of crisis and new revolutionary
upsurge, the Communists of Latin America were subjected to persecution and
terror. Sectarian and dogmatic tendencies grew under these difficult conditions,
particularly with regard to the question of forming political alliances. In over-
coming these shortcomings the Latin American Communists were greatly helped
by the .speeches of G. Dimitrov to the Nazi tribunal, the decisions of the Vllth
Congress of the Communist International and the experience of the Popular
Front in France and Spain. The experiences of the Chinese liberation movement,
although it had many specific features arismg out of the national peculiarities of
the country, were also helpful to the Latin American Communists. Summarizing
the experience of the struggles waged by the masses under working-class leadership
for peace, democracy, national independence and higher living standards, the
Communist International played a big part in awakening and uniting the Latin
American peoples. The Communist parties, heading the struggle of the people,
resisted the offensive of reaction.
Today, 30 years after the First Conference of the Communist parties of Latin
America, we see clearly what a glorious path our movement has traversed. Social
development has given birth to Communist parties in countries where, in the
thirties, only small groups of Communists functioned. Courageously and de-
votedly defending the interests of the masses, upholding independence and peace,
and championing the great cause of socialism, these parties are winning the con-
fidence of the workers, peasants and other sections of the people. And they are
succeeding because they are guided by Marxist- Leninist principles.
The working class in the Latin American countries is firmly stepping out onto
the path charted by the Communist parties. In Argentina, for example, tens of
thousands of workers formerly under Peronist influence, have joined the Com-
munist Party. The policy of trade union and working-class unity guarantees
the Party the support of the masses. The Chilean working people highly appre-
ciate the efforts of the Communists who have done so much to build a single
trade union center.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 67
Through their consistent anti-imperialist struggle and selfless defense of the
nations' interests, the Communists have attracted to their parties the most sincere
Eatriots, people from among the nationalist and democratic sections. When
uiz Carlos Prestes and his fellow-fighters from the legendary column joined the
party this was an event of great importance. Outstanding intellectuals have
also joined our ranks.
Political and organizational levels differ among the Communist parties of Latin
America. Nevertheless, as they point out in their documents, their influence on
the masses is not yet to be measured by their numerical strength. They all note
the backwardness of the work in the countryside and are taking steps to over-
come this shortcoming. Our task is clear: we must speed up the growth of the
Communist Party.
Latin America is today an arena of struggle against imperialism and the dic-
tators who serve it; the Cuban victory is a graphic expression of this struggle.
The working class and peoples of Latin America have been ruled by many
governments in these past few years, yet the exploitation and poverty of the
masses is on the increase, inasmuch as the imperialists, particularly those of North
America, are making our peoples shoulder the burden of their economic difficulties.
It is noteworthy that, whereas at the First Conference of Latin American Com-
munist Parties the delegates spoke of the demonstrations of protest against the
visit to Latin America of Hoover, at that time President of the United States, the
■whole world today knows of the mass protest aroused by the visit of Nixon, Vice
President of the United States. The strike movement has grown, particularly in
Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile. In this way the working class is
repulsing the imperialist monopolies (mainly North American) which, acting
through various channels, particularly through the International Monetary Fund,
are endeavoring to lower still further the working people's standard of living.
Workers, peasants, students, and other sections of the population are advancing
economic and political demands and fighting for independence against their chief
enemy — U.S. imperialism.
The workers and other sections are beginning to understand that there is no
other way to solve their pressing problems and to safeguard peace and independ-
ence than through the broad unity proposed bj^ the Communists; they are be-
ginning to realize that pressing problems can orily be solved by way of struggle,
and that the guarantee of success lies in strengthening the Communist parties.
But the imperialists, the landlords and big national capitalists understand this
too, and resort to all kinds of provocations and anti-communist campaigns.
Neither slander nor provocation nor even the most savage terror were able to
stop the growth of the nascent Communist parties of Latin America. And there
is still less reason to belieeve that reaction will accomplish its objects now, when
the Communists have matured, and more and more people are coming under their
influence.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Komfeder, you mentioned Yankee imperialism,
or as the Spanish say, "Imperialisimo Yanqui."
Is this a Commmiist invention?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No, no. This Yankee imperialism has been an
ideological punching bag in South America long before the Com-
munists came. The Communists just picked it up as a handy item
for their purposes.
Mr, SouRwiNE. I think you mentioned earlier that there were some
students from Latin American countries at the Lenin School when
you were there. Do you know what happened to any of them? Can
you name any of those students and tell us where they went and what
became of them?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, I knew all of them, but by their party
names, but those that I worked with, I learned their real names.
Senator Keating. Did you have a party name?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes,
Senator Keating. What was your party name?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, in the Lenin School, my party name was
John Kass.
Senator Kttating. K-a-s-s?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
68 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Senator Keating. And then you took a different party name when
you came to this country?
Mr. KoRXFEDER. That's right, and another one when T went to
South America.
Senator Keating. How did you keep track of yourself?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That was a problem over the years, or it became
a problem. However, anybody that comes for training at the Lenin
School is ordered to take a party name while he resides in Russia.
The idea is that one should not associate the name used in the
United States with the name you have over there, because that is a
secret school. The Soviet Government repudiates its existence. I
mean, denies the existence of the school, although they pay for every-
thing in it, and it exists right in the middle of Moscow, and they never
admitted yet the existence of any of these schools, and this is just one.
There are several.
Senator Keating. Have you been back there since?
Mr. Kornfeder. No.
Senator Keating. Do they always have the same fu-st names?
Mr. Kornfeder. No.
Senator Keating. That is, when they take these different names?
Mr. Kornfeder. No. In South America I was Antonio Mendez.
In Moscow, I was John Kass.
Senator Keating. Proceed.
Mr. SouRwiNE. You were going to tell us, at least I had asked you
to tell us if there were any of the Latin American students whom you
knew at the Lenin School, and you can tell us about what happened
to them afterward.
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, two of them went with me for Operation
Colombia. Both of them had quit the party in the late thirties.
There was one from Mexico whose name I don't recall.
There were two from Argentine. There were two from Bolivia.
And, there were two just coming in as I was leaving from Peru and
one from ChUe, but I don't recall their names.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Kornfeder, what relations do the Communist
Parties of Latin American countries have with Red China?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, according to the conference held in Peiping
between Mao and Khrushchev, it was agreed that the Chinese Com-
munists act as instructors for these new operational techniques in
South America because they had the most experience in it and also
for the reason that they are the most experienced in guerrilla warfare.,
both of which fit into the South American picture.
Mao's main contribution was really in developing the techniques
of these so-called democratic revolutions and in developing guerrilla
techniques, so they agreed that the Chinese have the necessary
practical experience to operate the new strategy.
Senator Keating. Wo will take a 5-minute recess.
(A brief recess was taken at this point.)
Senator Keating. The subcommittee will come to order.
Mr. Kornfeder, would you give us your present address, please?
Mr. Kornfeder. 3210 Brook Tower, Detroit, Mich.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Chairman, on the point of relations between
Latin American countries and Red China, I have three exhibits to
offer for the record. The first is an intercept of a broadcast in English
Morse to Pyongyang concerning a meeting between Mao Tse-tung and
Latin American party leaders.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 69
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(The document referred to follows :)
Mao Meets Latin American Party Leaders
(Peking, NONA, in English Morse to Pyongyang, Mar. 4, 1959, 1130 GMT— W)
(Text) : Chengchow, Mar. 4. — Mao Tse-tung, Chairman of the Central Com-
mittee of the Chinese Communist Party, met leaders of fraternal parties of 12
Latin American countries on visiting China and held cordial conversations with
them yesterday.
The leaders of the fraternal parties were Luis Corvalan, secretary general of
the Communist Party of Chile; Pompeyo Marquez, member of the secretariat,
Pedro Ortega, and Alonso Ojeda, members of the political bureau, and Guillermo
Guardin, member, of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vene-
zuela; Gilberto Vieira, secretary general, and Joaquin Moreno, member of the
political bureau, of the Communist Party of Colombia; Raou Acosta, secretary
general, and Jorge Del Prado, member of the Central Committee of the Com-
munist Party of Peru; Elias Munoz, member of the executive commission of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ecuador; Humberto Ramirez
Cardenas, member of the political commission of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of Bolivia; Felipe Bezrodnik, secretary of the commission of
the treasury of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Argentina;
Wilfredo Velazquez, party organizer of the provincial committee of Las Villas
of the Cuban People's Socialist Party; and delegates of the Communist Party
of Brazil, the Communist Party of Paraguay, the Popular Vanguard Party of
Costa Rica, and the Popular Union — Communist Party — of Panama.
Teng Hsiao-ping, secretary general of the Central Committee, and Wang
Chia-hsiang, member of the secretariat of the Central Committee, of the Chinese
Communist Party attended the reception and took part in the conversations.
Chairman Mao Tse-tung and the leaders of the fraternal parties exchanged
views on the current international situation. They expressed the common view
that the current international situation is extremely favorable to the struggle
for peace, independence, democracy, and social progress by the peoples of all
countries. The reactionary forces headed by U.S. imperialism are disintegrating.
The revolutionary forces and the forces of peace and democracy of the socialist
camp headed by the Soviet Union and the people all over the world are con-
tinuously surging forward. They also agreed that, provided the people of all
countries maintained and continued their unity, their vigilance and their struggles,
the imperialists will certainly meet with ignominious defeat if they launch an
aggressive world war. The just cause of the people all over the world will cer-
tainly triumph in the end.
On the situation in Latin America, they unanimously pointed out with satis-
faction that there has been an unprecedented growth in the patriotic sentiments
of the people in various countries in Latin America recently and that it is an
irresistible certainty of historical development that the people of all countries
in Latin America will rid themselves of the control of American imperialism to
achieve complete independence.
Chairman Mao Tse-tung expressed enthusiastic sympathy and support for the
peoples of the countries in Latin America who have been resolutely opposing
American imperialism, defending national independence, and striving for democ-
racy and freedom. He extended heartfelt congratulations to the Cuban people
on their recent victory in overthrowing the pro-U.S. despotic government.
The leaders of fraternal parties of the Latin American countries talked of the
great achievements in building socialism that they have seen in China and viewed
these achievements as contributing greatly to the Latin American people's
struggle for independence, democracy, social progress, and peace. They ex-
pressed the sympathy and support of the peoples of Latin America for the Chinese
people and thanked the Chinese Communist Party for inviting them to visit
China and for their warm reception during the visit. Chairman Mao Tse-tung
expressed his gratitude to the leaders of the fraternal parties of Latin America
for their ardent concern over the Chinese revolution and construction.
In the talks, they unanimously considered it necessary to continue to develop
the contacts between the communist parties of the countries in Latin America
and the Chinese Communist Party for the sake of world peace, national inde-
pendence, for democracy and social progress, thus contributing to developing the
friendship and cooperation between the peoples of the Latin American countries
and the people of China.
70 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
VISITS TO PEKING, SHANGHAI -
Peking, NCNA, in English Morse to Pyongyang, Mar. 4, 1959, 1206 GMT— W)
(Text) : Chengchow, Mar. 4. — Delegates of fraternal parties of 12 Latin
American countries left here in two groups for Peking and Shanghai by plane
this morning. They arrived here from Wuhan for a visit on Mar. 2.
They were seen off at the airport by Wu Chih-pu, first secretary of the Honan
provincial committee of the Chinese Communist Party; Chiao Wen-fu and Li Li,
members of the secretariat, and Wang Li-chih, first secretary of the Chengchow
city committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and other local leaders of the
Communist Party.
Mr. SouRwiNE. The second is an excerpt from Pravda, February
1, 1959, pages 5 and 6, and a translation prepared b,y the Library of
Congress Legislative Reference Section, being the text of a speech by
Comrade Severo Aguirre, People's Socialist Party of Cuba.
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(The document referred to follows:)
[Translation— Pravda, Feb. 1, 1959, pp. 5-6]
Speech of Comrade Severo Aguirre, People's Socialist Party of Cuba
Dear Comrades. Permit me, in the name of the National Committee of the
People's Socialist Party of Cuba and its General Secretary, Comrade Bias Roca^
and likewise in the name of the fighting Cuban people, which has overthrown the
bloody dictatorship of Batista and which has struck a great blow against imperial-
ism, to transmit to the Central Committee and the 21st Congress of the Commu-
nist Party of the Soviet Union warm brotherly greetings. [Loud applause.]
Cuba is located far from the borders 'of the Soviet Union, but the Cuban people
with deep interest and true admiration are observing the wonderful successes of
constructive and creative work of the great Soviet people. During the gloomy
days which Cuba has lived through, the three Soviet Sputniks brought happiness
and hope to our people. Now with still more joy we are greeting the launching
of the cosmic rocket — this symbol of the final superiority of Soviet science —
because this new great victory over the forces of imperialist obscurantism has
coincided with the great victory of the Cuban people over the imperialist oppressors.
The great victories of the Soviet people which have been carried out under the
leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its Leninist Central
Committee are not only an inspiration but are a real aid to peoples, such as that
of Cuba, which are fighting against imperialist aggression and represent a great
contribution to the cause of peace and socialism.
Comrades. The Cuban people after seven years of hard struggle has over-
thrown the contemptible and bloody clique of Batista, this gang of criminals and
robbers, which seized power on March 10, 1952, was a result of a military revolu-
tion prepared in the State Department of the United States.
The American imperialists placed the bloody dictator Batista in power in order
to deprive the workers of their economic and social gains and to convert our
country into an American colony and to tie it to the military chariot of imperialism.
Carrying out the orders of his imperialist bosses, Batista established a bloody
dictatorship. Raising the tattered Fascist banner of anti-Communism, he
suppressed and persecuted with brutal fury the People's Socialist Party and broke
up democratic and popular organizations. He converted the army, operating
under the observation of American "missions", into units designed to inflict
violence upon the population.
It is difficult to describe everything which our people endured during the years
of tyranny. It is impossible to count all the men who were arrested, tortured,
or killed, the women who were beaten and violated, or the children who were
taken as hostages and killed because their parents were revolutionaries or simply
oppositionists. It is also impossible to tell here about the beatings and tortures
which the political prisoners underv/ent in the torture chambers and prisons,
the atrocities carried out by the aircraft delivered to Batista by the American
monopolies in order to bomb and shoot from the air the peaceful population of the
countryside, towns, and cities which were in the hands of the rebellious patriots.
After having sold the national sovereignty of Cuba, Batista, the sadist and crim-
inal, killed and tortured over 20,000 persons.
One can imagine how difficult was the battle of our party and of all Cuban
patriots. But, inspired by the victorious theory of Marxism-Leninism, the
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 71
Cuban Communists never lost faith in the people, and despite tremendous
obstacles, always found suitable and real forms of action for uniting the revolu-
tionary forces of the Cuban people from below in the battle against tyranny and
imperialism. [Applause,]
The People's Socialist Party, together with the Organization of Socialist Youth,
operating in the deepest underground and subjected to constant persecution, at
the cost of the Uves of many of its leaders and members, estabUshed close ties
with the masses of workers, peasants, and student masses and with the revolu-
tionary petty burgeoisie. It fought for the unity of all the opposition forces and
supported any form of action of the masses against the dictatorship. Even while
underground, it was preparing for battle.
The experience of our party shows that even in the underground in the most
diflBcult conditions of illegal existence, the party must and can carry out a success-
ful preparation for the battle against tyranny. [Applause.]
When, 25 months ago, the rebel units under the command of Fidel Castro and
other patriots and fighters against imperialism began their armed battle, our party
considered it its first duty to aid the rebels, giving them the correct orientation
and giving them the support of the popular masses. The party headed the battle
of the peasants for land and thereby increased its authority among the peasantry.
Our party took an active part in the rebel movement as long as it maintained
the character of a partisan struggle and did not have anything in common with
putschism and individual terrorism. It appealed to the popular masses to support
Fidel Castro in every way, and with the means of its disposal, it unmasked the
brutal repressions of the government against the partisans and the peasant
population of the partisan areas. Participating in the armed battle, the Com-
munists conducted themselves nobly, they were in the first ranks and were able to
win the love and respect of their comrades in battle.
As a result of the armed struggle, Batista dictatorship was overthrown and
then the military junta was liquidated — with the aid of which the ruling circles
of the United States were attempting to save the old reactionary regime from
complete defeat.
In theses just published by the National Committee of our party it is said:
"The tyranny was overthrown because the entire people turned against it and
took active participation in the struggle in all fields making use of every possible
method: armed struggle, strikes, general strikes, the patriotic movement, the
action of the workers and peasant masses, propaganda and agitation, boycotts of
the fake elections, and struggle against the agents of tyranny in various organiza-
tions."
At the present time power has passed into the hands of the rebel forces, headed
by Fidel Castro and his organization "the twenty-sixth of July," of which about
90 percent consists of peasants, agricultural and city workers, and students repre-
senting various revolutionary trends. This is a new power. The entire old
government and military system has been smashed. There do not remain either
authorities nor organized forces which would represent the old regime. The
newly created armed forces are completely under the control of the rebels. The
leading military and government positions are occupied by persons who have
been nominated by the partisans or approved by them. The old army no longer
exists.
Upon the proposal of the leader of the movement, Fidel Castro, there was
established a provisional government. This government enjoys such strong
support both within the country and abroad that the government of Washington
has been forced to reckon with its existence. The. country is being liberated from
oppression, it is winning freedom, and is becoming independent.
Comrades. It is difficult to describe to you what a revolutionary upsurge has
now taken the masses of the Cuban people who have risen in defense of their
country and which has smashed the political rale of foreign imperialism.
What have the events in Cuba shown? The events in Cuba, like in Venezuela,
have refuted the claims of those who try to prove that, because of the closeness
to the United States, a successful battle is impossible in the Latin American
countries. When the entire people rises in an armed struggle and takes the fate
of the country into its hands, victory is assured. [Applause.]
Small Cuba has defeated the forces of reaction and imperialism. This victory
was possible because of the new distribution of forces on the international scene,
to the growth of the camp of socialism and the successful struggle of the oppressed
peoples of Asia and Africa. [Applause.]
Latin America, whose peoples are successfully carrying out their struggle for
political and economic independence, have ceased to be a reserve of United States
imperialism.
72 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
However, the imperialists, who are still maintaining their domination over the
economy of Cuba, do not wish to reconcile themselves with reality and are con-
tinuing to attack the Cuban revolution. In the first place, they have unleashed
a furious press campaign against Fidel Castro in connection with his just con-
demnation of a group of the chief criminals of the Batista regime. American
propaganda is trying to deceive public opinion with the aim of weakening the
wide support given to our revolution by the public and to conceal the aggressive
intentions of the imperialists in regard to Cuba.
In the second place the imperialists are threatening Cuba with an economic
boycott and even military intervention. With these threats thej' are putting
pressure on the less reliable groups in the new government, attempting to force
them to retreat and surrender. At the same time they are carrying out an anti-
Communist campaign with the aim of dividing the people, isolating the left
parties, of regaining political domination and preserving their economic privileges.
Consequently, the main task of the People's Socialist Party is the defense of the
achievements of the revolution and its further development.
Comrades — Permit me, from this historic platform, to express my gratitude to
all the communist and workers' parties of the world for their solidarity in the
cause of the Cuban people. [Loud applause.] However, all of you, who are
people with great experience, can understand that the battle of the Cuban people
has not been finished and after this first stage of battle it has entered a new phase
which is f'ven more difficult and dangerous. And we must say to you all with
great clarity that we need even more assistance from the public of the world.
Permit me to wish you, comrades, success in j'our work at this Congress and to
express confidence in the victorious completion of the gigantic seven-year plan.
[Loud applause. All rise.]
(Translated by: Boris I. Gorokhoff, Library of Congress, July 29, 1959.)
Mr. SouRWiNE. Tlie third is anotlier intercept from the Peiping
broadcast in English Morse to Pyong3'^ang on August 4, 1959, with
regard to a message from the all-China Federation of Trade Unions,
supporting a land reform program .
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(The document referred to follows:)
ACFTU Messagk Backs Cuban Land Refoem
CPeiping, NCNA, In English Morse to Pyongyang, Aug. 4, 1959, 1324 GMT— W)
(Text:) Peiping, August 4. — Chairman of the All-China Federation of Trade
Unions Liu Ning-i today cabled the Confederacion de Trabajadores de Cuba,
in support of the Cuban agrarian reform.
"The Chinese workers from their own experiences realize the necessity and
justification of the present Cuban agrarian reform. We therefore give hearty
support to the struggles for the realization of the agrarian reform by the Cuban
workers, peasants, and the entire Cuban poeple," the cable stated. "Irresistible
is the will of the Cuban people to eliminate feudalism, raise the living standards
of the urban and rural laboring jjeople, bring about national industrialization,
and safeguard national independence," the cable said.
"We are deeply convinced that the Cuban people, who are rallying closely
around the revolutionary government, are bound to achieve final victory. The
obstructions and sabotage of the U.S. im])erialists and reactionaries are bound
to meet with ignominious failure," the cable continued.
"The Chinese working class will continue to give resolute support to each and
every struggle of the Cuban people for social progress, safeguarding national
independence and world peace," the cable concluded.
Cuban PSP Leader Hails CPR's Progress
(Peking, NCNA, radioteletype in Englisli to West and North Euroj^e, Aug. 4,
1959, 1331 GMT— W)
(Text:) Havana, Aug. 2. — Cuba has aroused great attention among progressive
peoples throughout the world, said Juan Marinello, chairman of the Cuban People's
Socialist Party, yesterday in giving his impressions of his visit to socialist countries.
He returned to Cuba on July 28 after visiting the Soviet Union, Poland, China,
and Czechoslovakia. He said that the warm reception accorded him in hia
lengthy journey to the socialist countries showed the confidence those peoples
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 73
had in the Cuban people and his party. Peoples in the countries he visited
understood very v>ell that a victory over U.S. imperialism, the major enemy of all
peoples, was a triumph of all and a guarantee of a just and happy life in the future,
he added.
Referring to his impressions of China, Marinello said that the changes that had
taken place in this vast Asian country could not be described in even 100 talks.
He said that the advance of China's revolution was a great spectacle in the current
world. In comparison to the past situation of misery and oppression caused by
the imperialists in the great nation, he said, China had within a short time gained
incomparable progress.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Now, I want to ask you, Mr. Kornfeder, is the
People's Socialist Party of Cuba the Communist Party of Cuba?
Mr. Kornfeder. Yes, that is the Communist Party of Guba.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Kornfeder, during the testimony that he gave
before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee considering his nomi-
nation as Secretary of State in January of 1953, noting the striking
similarity between Latin American and pre-Communist China to
which you refer, Mr. John Foster Dulles said:
I have the feeling that conditions in Latin America are somewhat comparable
to conditions as they were in China in the mid-1930's, when the Communist move-
ment was getting started. They, the Reds, were beginning to develop a hatred
of the Americans and British, but we didn't do anything adequate about it. It
went on and on and then finally it came to a climax in 1949. WeU, if we don't
look out, we'll wake up some morning and read in the newspapers that there
happened in South America the same kind of thing that happened in China in
1949.
Now, I would like to ask your interpretation of this: How could
what Mr. Dulles predicted come about? Could it be done on a conti-
nentwide basis in Latin America, or would it have to be a country-by-
country proposition in Latin America?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, as far as tactical operation, it would have
to be country by countrj^ but as to general strategic pattern, the
same pattern would hold good for the whole continent — that is, the
same strategy would be applied throughout, but each country — well,
circumstances, and so on, being slightly different, the tactics would
have, of com*se, to fit the local situation, correspond to the local
situation.
Senator Keating. What should we do to counter this movement in
Latin America?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, Senator, that is a subject that I have been
doing some thinking about.
To start with, you have to have people that understand it, and that
requires a concentration on the problem. It cannot be handled piece-
meal. Let's say the Communists are throwing something at us and we
resist what they throw at us. This is a type of enemy that doesn't
operate that way, and the counter tactic would have to take into
consideration the operational techniques of the enemy. You have to
train people for this type of combat. This is a new type of warfare,
of conquering countries from within.
It must be recognized by those that become the victims of it that
it is a new method, and you have to appraise it with sufficient serious-
ness to make an effort against it, and that effort would have to be on
a large, as large a scale as the enemy's effort. You cannot do it
without — no war can be conducted without trained officer personnel,
and this is a war. You have to train people for it, and you can't do
without it.
74 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Well, this, of course, is one angle, and if you get that far and begin
to wrestle with the problem of a continent, you probably will have to
modify your policy in various respects as compared to the present
one, but that day will come when you will handle the thing as a major
operation.
The Communists have things pretty much their own way at the
present time. There is just no organized, systematic counterforce
against it, and if that continues they will eventually take over South
America and, of course, the impact of that on the other continents is
going to be terrific because in other continents, to them America is
America, and if the Cormnunists begin to take pieces out of it, well,
the impact is that the big giant which is holding on to a free society
is going to pieces itself, and it is a very serious situation.
They, of course, are concentrating on South America, both for
their ulterior objective as well as for their present strategy. If they
could create a situation in South America serious enough, and compel
the United States to orientate on its own backyard and withdraw its
concentration on Europe or Asia, if that ever happens, that is exactly
what they need to complete their conquest of those two continents.
They are working with tremendous concentration on Latin America
now from every facet, whether commercial, diplomatic or political,
psychological, and every way they think of, and their main strategy
of approach is also motivated by the fact that they are now concen-
trating with priority on Latin America, not so much for Latin
America's sake, but to hit the United States with it.
It is a tremendous thing which, well, I hope sooner or later will bo
appraised in the light of its importance. I am trying to help along
in that proposition.
^Mr. SouRWiNE. Mr. Kornfeder, can you relate the overall Com-
munist operational pattern in South America as you know it, with
current events in Cuba?
Tell us, for instance, what differences there are between the Castro
regime and a typically Communist regime.
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, in my opinion, Castro is carrying out fairly
closely, let us say, anywhere from 80 to 90 percent of the Communist —
present Communist pattern in America, which calls for a so-called
New Deal revolution, a revolution which, in many of its essentials,
is a pro-Communist pattern; but, it is not exactly like — does not
exactly look like a Communist revolution, and the Communist machine
throughout Latin America is in full support of him.
Mr. SouRWiNE. But Mr. Castro's method of control of his party,
his organization, is not the same as the Communist method, is it?
Mr. Kornfeder. That's right.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Wliat is the difference? Explain it for us.
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, Castro, in my opinion, is one of those
fellow travelers who is not easily harnessed to their customary pat-
terns of operations. For example, his entire July 26 movement does
not operate organizationally the same way as the Communists.
Mr. SouRWiNE. How do you mean, it does not operate organiza-
tionally the same as the Communists?
Mr. Kornfeder. Well, the Communist pattern of operations is
through committees. They create committees, they exert their con-
trols through committees. Castro thus far has been ignoring entirely
the established Communist Party pattern of operating through the
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 75
committee system and appointing his officials purely as individuals
appointed by him.
The only place where there is a committee system thus far in Cuba
is in the trade unions, and in the trade unions the committee system
had been there before he came.
Well, he may have assigned the trade unions to the Communlbts,
but thus far they have not succeeded to establish control over them,
but this is the only place where there is a committee systen — in his
July 26 movement, in the agricultural regions or everywhere else;
Fidel Castro operates without the conmiittee system, just by ap-
pointing individuals.
Mr. SouRWiNE. So, this is a difference between the situation in
Cuba and the typical Communist situation?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Now, are there any patterns of activity ir- Cuba
which are typical of Communist operations on a worldwide basis?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oh, yes.
Mr. SouRWiNE. How many such patterns are there?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, I would cite at least three.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Tell us about the three.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The guerrilla warfare. Now, the difference be-
tween Communist guerrilla warfare and other guerrilla warfare is that
the Communists combine guerrilla warfare with political warfare.
Their guerrilla warfare is just, as it were, a feature of the political
warfare.
Mr. SouRWiNE. You say this situation exists in Cuba?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The same; that technique was operated in Cuba
while Castro was in the mountains.
Mr. SouRWiNE. What's the second point?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. It was due in coUusion with the Communist
Party machine, although not controlled in the usual way by the Com-
munist Party machine.
The second, after they came to power, is the liquidation of the
opposition. That is a standard Communist pattern. The first thing
you must do after you come to power is to liquidate systematically the
opposition, by arresting the individuals that you have reason to fear,
by taking over organizations that the opposition may control, or dis-
solving such organizations.
Well, that pattern has been evident also in Cuba.
Mr. SouRWiNE. The Communists don't have any monopoly on this
particular kind of an operation, do they?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Beg your pardon?
Mr. SouRwiNE. They are not the only ones who, on coming into
power, liquidate the opposition?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No. The other totalitarians do the same thing,
the Fascists, the Nazis.
Mr. SouRwiNE. What is your third pattern?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The third pattern, where there is a very close
similarity, is the peasant question.
Mr. SouRwiNE. You mean the land distribution?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The land distribution.
Land distribution — of course, originally land distribution was a
democratic measure, it has been done in many countries long before
communism was heard from, but when the Communists use it, it is
76 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
not an honest reform; that is, thoy simply use it to ride into power,
and once they are entrenched they take the land away. They sort
of play the game of Indian-givers, giving something and then taking
it away.
Now, the pattern that Castro has been playing is similar to those
of the Communists, because his land reform., which I studied quite
thoroughly, does, and proposes to do, a tremendous job in expropriat-
ing, but the land distribution that he prescribes is very similar to that
of the Communists because he does not give the land, does not dis-
tribute the land to be ow^ned fully by the peasants. He gives it to
them, and at the same time tells them that they cannot sell it, they
cannot buy land, they cannot mortgage it.
Well, that is very similar to the Communist method except that the
Communist method right at the beginning declares the land national-
ized and they hand it out to the peasants just for working, but they
don't truly own it; the state owns it.
Senator Keating. Can they under the Cuban land reform transfer
the land at will or dispose of it?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The state is the only one that can acquire addi-
tional land. The peasants cannot sell it, and they cannot buy it,
only the state, and what they call the cooperative system or collectives
can do such things by permission of the authority created under this
law, which is an authority entirely under the control of Castro who,
on the basis of this law, is the absolute boss of it.
So, you have a situation wheVe the land is not distributed fully,
it is only distributed partl3^
Senator Keating. In other words, the peasants are given the use
of a parcel of land, you might say.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That's right.
Mr. SouRWiNE. And virtually required to work it, are they not?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Beg your pardon?
Mr. SouRWiNE. They are virtually required to work that land?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes. The state may take it from them if they
they don't work it.
Mr. SouRwiNE. You can't give it out to a tenant to farm, j^ou can't
sell it, can't borrow on it; you can only work it?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That is why the Communist pattern of land dis-
tribution is there in principle.
Mr. SouRwiNE. There is one difference. In Russia, the piece of
land where a man is working, he is not able to convey that to his
children, is he?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Well, they work the same land.
Mr. SouRAViNTQ. They can, but it depends entirely on the state
as to whether they can tell them to do it or not.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. It depends on the state, but the state doesn't
bother them.
Mr. SouRWiNE. In Cuba, the right to work the land descends to
the eldest son, under the agrarian reform.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Under Castro not everybody can inherit, only
one person can inherit out of the family, and it may not be the eldest
son, it may be anyone to whom the one that now has the title desig-
nates it.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Sort of serfdom by primogeniture
Senator Keating. Not necessarily that.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Not necessarily the eldest child, but a child.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 77
Senator Keating. That is my understanding from the witness.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. The state becomes the latifundios.
Now, the Communists have been carrying on tremendous propa-
ganda against latifundios, that is the plantation system. The State
takes over that function now and calls it by a new name, cooperatives,
and well, social benefit measures or whatever good names they find to
baptize an old institution with new names.
And, the new boss, of course, is a worse boss because, as John L.
Lewis at one time said, "I prefer a boss who is not a jail warden at the
same time."
Now, in this case the State, which has political and police power,
and so on and so forth, becomes the boss. Under this system, the
private sector, that is, the land distributed to the peasants, can
shrink continually, whereas the State sector — that is the way the law
is set up — can grow continuously so that eventually it will be a state-
owned agriculture, if they want to make it so, under this law.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Chairman, perhaps you would wish inserted
in the record at this time the text of the agrarian reform law of
Cuba, from the Official Gazette of Havana, with a Library of Congress
translation.
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(Copy of "Agrarian Reform Law of Cuba," dated June 3, 1959,
follows:)
Agrarian Reform Law of Cuba
(Gaceta Oficial, Habana, Extr. issue No. 7, June 3, 1959)
CHAPTER I OF LANDS IN GENERAL
Article 1. Large landed estates (latifundios) are herewith proscribed. The
maximum extension of land which may be owned by a natural or a juridical
person shall be thirty caballerlas [one caballeria equal to 33?4 acres]. Lands
owned by a natural or juridical person exceeding this limitation shall be expropri-
ated for distribution among the landless peasants and agricultural workers.
Article 2. Exceptions from the provisions of the preceding article shall be made
with respect to the following lands:
(a) Areas sown to sugar cane, the production of which is not less than the
national average, plus 50 percent.
(b) Cattle raising tracts which are adequate for the minimum feeding ot cattle
per caballeria as determined by the National Institute of Agrarian Reform, taking
into consideration the racial category, time of development, percentage of births,
regulations of feeding, percentage of production of beef in the case of beef cattle,
or of milk, in the case of cattle of that category. The possibilities of the producing
area will be computed by means of physical analysis, chemical analysis of the soil,
the moisture present therein and the rain charts.
(c) Areas sown to rice which normally average not less than 50 percent of the
national average production of the variety in question, in the opinion of the
National Instittite of Agrarian Reform.
(d) Areas dedicated to one or more crops or to cattle raising, with or without in-
dustrial activity, for the effective exploitation and reasonable economic production
of which it is necessary to maintain an area of land greater than that established
as the maximum limit in Article 1 of this Law.
Notwithstanding the provisions above, in no case may a natural or juridical
person possess lands of an extension greater than one hundred caballerias. In
the cases in which a natural or juridical person possesses lands of an extension
greater than one hundred caballerias, and it happens that on these areas two or
more types of production concur as are described in sections (a), (b), and (c) of
this article, the benefit of exemption which is established up to one hundred
caballerias shall be decided in the manner determined by the National Institute
of Agrarian Reform, the remaining tracts becoming subject to the objectives of
this Law.
48354—59 — pt. 2 4
78 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
In the cases of the crops mentioned in sections (a) and (c), the production
mentioned shall be computed by taking into account the last gathered crop.
The benefits of exemption shall be continued only as long as those levels of produc-
tion are maintained.
In the case of the exception mentioned in section (d), the National Institute
of Agrarian Reform shallldetermine which shall be the areas over the maximum
limit of 100 caballerias to be subjected to the objectives of this Law, taking care
that the economic unity of production is maintained and, in the case of several
crops, considering the correlation among these, and between the crops and the
cattle raising, as the case may be.
Article 3. Lands belonging to the Nation, the Provinces, and the Municipalities
will also be subject to distribution.
Article 4. Exception with respect to provisions of Articles 1 and 3 of this Law
shall be made of the following lands:
(a) Undivided areas granted in ownership to agricultural production coopera-
tives organized by the National Institute of Agrarian Reform for the exploitation
of [public] lands of the Nation or expropriated for the purposes of this Law.
(b) Lands belonging to the Nation, the Provinces and Municipalities which
have been dedicated or may be dedicated to public organizations or of general
service to the community.
(c) Forest lands when these have been declared to be incorporated in the forest
reserves of the Nation, subject to the profits, public use or exploitation as deter-
mined by Law.
(d) Lands of rural communities destined to satisfy the purposes of social
welfai'o, education, health and others of this nature, following a decree establishing
nature by the National Institute of Agrarian Reform, and then only in the extent
required for these objectives.
For purposes of the determination of the maximum limit of thirty caballerias
mentioned in Article 1, there shall not be taken into consideration the tracts
necessary for industrial establishments affixed to rural estates, as well as for sugar
machinery, offices and buildings; neither will urbanized zones in the interior of
rural estates and those which, by resolution of the National Institute of Agrarian
Reform, are intended for creation of the villages or a nucleus of rural population
in each Agrarian Development Zone; nor where other natural resources exist
which are capable of exploitation in anticipation of the future development of
the country, within the discretion of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform.
Article 5. The order of procedure for expropriation in each Agrarian Develop-
ment Zone, as the case may be, and for redistribution of land shall be as follows:
First: Public (National) lands and those of private ownership on which there
are cultivators in the category of tenants, subtenants, sugar planters, share-
croppers or homesteaders (tenants at will) .
Second: Areas exceeding the extent of land not protected by the exceptions
provided in Article 2 of this Law.
Third: Other expropriable areas.
Unless there is a resolution to the contrary by the National Institute of Agrarian
Reform, expropriation and distribution of lands' comprised in the "Second"
paragraph shall take place only when the project of land distribution contemplated
in the "First" case has been completed, and the payments based on extrajudicial
assessments have been made, as referred to in this Law.
Article G. Lands of private ownership, up to the limit of thirty caballerias per
person or corporation, shall not be object of expropriation, unless these are subject
to contracts with tenants, subtenants, sugar planters, sharecroppers or occupied
by homesteaders (tenants at will) who possess parcels not larger than five
caballerias, in which cases their land shall also be subject to expropriation in
accordance with the provisions of this present Law.
Article 7. The owners of lands affected, once the expropriation, adjustments
and sales to tenants, subtenants, sugar planters, sublessees and homesteaders who
have established themselves on the farms have been completed, may retain the
remainder of the property insofar as it does not exceed the maximum extent
authorized by Law.
Article 8. Lands which are not registered in the Property Registers up to
October 10, 1958, shall be presumed to be lands of the State.
Article 9. State (public) lands are all those registered in its name, or recorded
in the inventory of National Patrimony, or acquired under bids or under any other
title, even though the titles may not have been registered in the Property Registers.
The Ministry of the Treasury shall proceed to annotate and register all the
lands which, in accordance with the preceding articles, belong to the State.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 79
Article 10. There is no limitation of action with respect to the State to recover
its lands, including wastelands and those which, at the time of establishing the
Republic, were transferred to it as integral property within its patrimony.
Article 11. From the date of promulgation of this Law, the making of contracts
for sharecropping and any others in which payment of rent for rural estates is
stipulated in the form of proportional participation in production is prohibited.
This concept will not apply to contracts for exploitation of the grinding of sugar-
cane.
Article 12. Commencing a year after the promulgation of the present Law,
corporations which do not fulfill the following requirements may not exploit sugar
plantations :
(a) That all shares of stock shall be nominative.
(b) That the shareholders be Cuban citizens.
(c) That owners of said shares shall not be persons who are owners, shareholders
of officers of companies dedicated to manufacture of sugar.
This period of time having elapsed, the lands owned by Corporntions which
do not possess the above requirements shall be expropriated for the purposes of
the Law. Likewise, said Corporations shall lose their right to their grinding
quotas which they had at the time of the enactment of this Law.
Article 13. Neither may natural persons exploit sugar plantations if they are
owners, shareholders, or officials of enterprises dedicated to the manufacture of
sugar. Lands owned by said persons on which sugar plantations are located shall
be expropriated for the purposes established in the present law.
Persons who previous to their present position as owners, shareholders of officials
of enterprises dedicated to sugar manufacture had been cultivators of cane for a
period of less than five years, provided that they prove this fact unequivocally,
and that they do not possess estates larger than thirty caballcrias, will have a
period of ore year in which to liquidate their incompatibilities.
Sales of sugar plantations comprised in these cases will take place with the
advance approval of the National Institute of Agricultural Reform, which will
authorize them only when, in the opinion of this agency, the objectives of the Law
are not being evaded.
The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall proceed to the enforcement of
this Article in the necessary time and manner to guarantee the normal continuity
of production.
Article 14. Likewise, the holding and ownership is prohibited of rural lands
destined for other categories of farming-hvestock activities by Corporations
whose shares are not nominative.
Nevertheless, Corporations constituted at the time of the promulgation of
this Law, possessing lands not destined to cultivation of sugar cane may continue
to exploit them, until the excess lands which they may possess have been expro-
priated and distributed in accordance with the provisions of this Law, without
being able during this time to cede or transfer the said lands under any title to
any other Corporation.
Once said excess tracts have been expropriated and distributed in accordance
with the provisions of this Law, said Corporations may not continue to exploit
the lands they possess unless they transform themselves into Corporations with
nominative or registered stock, and their shareholders fulfill the conditions estab-
lished in Article 13. If said Corporations do not make the change in the manner
above mentioned, the estates owned by said Corporations shall be liable to
expropriation for the purposes of this Law.
Article 15. Rural property in the future may be acquired only by Cuban
citizens or corporations constituted by Cuban citizens.
Farms not larger than thirty caballerias are exempted from the above provisions,
when, in the judgment of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform, it is proper
to transfer them to foreign enterprises or companies for industrial or agricultural
development, which are believed to be of benefit to the development of the
national economy.
In cases of transfers by inheritance of rural estates in favor of heirs who are not
Cuban citizens, these shall be considered suitable for expropriation for the objec-
tives of this Agrarian Reform, whatever may be their extent.
CHAPTER II ON REDISTRIBUTION OF LANDS AND COMPENSATION TO OWNERS
Article 16. There is hereby established as a "living minimum" for a farm family
of five persons a tract of two caballerias (66^^ acres) of fertile soil without irrigation,
far from urban centers and devoted to crops of average financial production.
80 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall be in charge of regulating and
issuing decrees in each case, as to what is the "living minimum" necessary,
differing from the above mentioned basis, and taking into consideration the
average level of annual income which is desirable for each family.
Lands comprising the "living minimum" shall enjoy the benefits of freedom
from attachment or alienation referred to in Article 91 of the Fundamental Law of
the Republic.
Article 17. Private lands subject to expropriation by virtue of the provisions
of this Law, and national (public) lands shall be granted in areas of undivided
ownership to coopen.iives recognized by this Law, or they shall be distributed
among the beneficiaries in parcels not larger than two caballerias, which property
shall be received without prejudice to any adjustments which the National
Institute of Agrarian Reform may make in order to determine the "living mini-
mum" in each case.
All lands, whoever may be beneficiaries, shall pay the taxes imposed by law as
their contribution to public expenses of the Nation and the Municipalities.
Article 18. Lands of private ownership cultivated by su»^ar planters, tenants,
subtenants, sharecroppers or homesteaders, shall be granted gratuitously to their
cultivators when the tract does not exceed the "living minimum." When these
farmers cultivate lands of an area less than the "living minimum," then the lands
necessary to complete this shall be gratuitously granted provided they are avail-
able, and provided the economic and social conditions of the region permit it.
If the lands cultivated in the cases mentioned in the preceding paragraph should
exceed the "living minimum," but provided they are not more than five, the
tenant, subtenant, sugar planter, sharecropper or homesteader shall receive two
caballerias gratuitously after the expropriation is made by the National Institute
of Agrarian Reform, the owner being able to acquire, through forced sale, that
portion of his possessions exceeding the area adjudicated gratuitously up to the
limit of five caballerias.
Article 19. To owners of land whose area is less than the "living minimum"
and who personally cultivate the soil, there shall be adjudicated also gratuitously
the lands necessary to complete it, provided these are available and the economic
and social conditions of the region permit it.
Article 20. Regulations to this Law shall determine the form of procedure to
be followed in cases in which some lien exists on the affected lands.
Article 21. Lands of the State, cultivated by tenants, subtenants, sugar
planters, sharecroppers, or homesteaders, shall be adjudicated gratuitously to
these possessors when the extent does not exceed the "living minimum."
If the cultivated lands in the cases mentioned in the preceding paragraph exceed
two caballerias, provided they are not more than five, the tenants, subtenants,
sugar planters, sharecroppers or homesteaders shall receive the lands gratuitously
in an area equivalent to the "living minimum," being able to acquire from the
State that portion of their possessions which exceed the "living minimum" already
adjudicated to them gratuitously.
Article 22, Lands which are available for distribution, in accordance with this
Law, shall be distributed in the following order of preference:
(a) Farmers who have been dispossessed from lands which they cultivated;
(b) Farmers living in the region in which the lands are located which are subject
to distribution, and who lack land or who only cultivate an area inferior to the
"living minimum."
(c) Agricultural workers who labor and customarily live on the lands subject to
distribution.
(d) Farmers of other regions, preference to be given to those of neighboring areas
who lack land or who have tracts of less than the "living minimum."
(e) Agricultural workers of other regions, preference to be given to those of
neighboring areas.
(f) Any other person who presents the corresponding application, preference to
be given to those who demonstrate experience or knowledge of agricultural matters.
Article 23. Within the mentioned groups in the preceding articles, these shall be
preferred :
(a) Combatants of the Rebel Army, or their dependent relatives.
(b) Members of the auxiliary bodies of the Rebel Army.
(c) Victims of war or of repression by the Tyranny.
(d) Dependent relatives of persons dead as a consequence of their participation
in the revolutionary struggle against the Tyranny.
In each case the heads of families shall have priority.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 81
Article 24. Applications for endowment of lands should be made on official forms
on which are stated the information or circumstances required by the Regulations
or Instructions adopted by the National Institute of Agrarian Reform.
Article 25. The owners, or possessors in concept of owners, of rural estates whose
areas, either singly or combined, exceed the maximum of thirty caballerlas fixed
by Article 1 of this Law, and likewise those of farms of less area which are totally
or partially used by renters, tenants, sharecroppers, or partnerships, or occupied
by homesteaders (tenants at will), are obliged to present to the National Institute
of Agrarian Reform, either directly or through agencies authorized for the pur-
pose, and within a term not longer than three months computed from the date of
the promulgation of this law, the following docimients:
(a) An uncertified transcript of property deeds with a note as to registration in
the Property Register and payment of taxes on Real Property or Transfer of
Property.
(b) An uncertified copy of the Instrument constituting a charge or lien, if any,
(c) Plans of the farm or farms, or a statement as to lack of land.
(d) Detailed statement as to buildings, constructions, installations, corrals,
machinery, farm equipment and fences, witti description of their types.
(e) Sworn declaration before a Notary Public or Municipal Judge of the domi-
cile of the deponent, as to contracts of lease, tenancy, sharecropping, sugar plant-
ing tenancy, as well as of the occupation of land by homesteaders (tenants at will)
with respect to the farm or farms in question, with data as to terms, conditions,
rentals, as well as, provided this is possible, of the crops or sowings, heads of cattle,
types of pasture and approximate production figures for all aspects for the pre-
ceding five years for the corresponding farm or farms, and the income derived
from the sale of products during the preceding year.
(f) Data as to what, in their judgment, are idle or semi-idle lands on the farm
or farms, in question, the area of excess land in proportion to the description of
the boundaries, and an estimate of the value attributed to them indicating these,
as the case may be, on an accompanying plan or plans.
(g) In the case of farms with areas under intensive cultivation, which are
considered of benefit under the provisions of Article 2 of this Law, there shall be
described by the deponent, also the areas estimated to be exempted and the
remaining area affected by the Agrarian Reform, indicating this on the accom-
panying plan, as the case may be.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Article, from the time of the promul-
gation of this Law, the National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall provide for
enforcement of precepts insofar as concerns expropriation and distribution of
lands, based, for this purpose, on information in their power as to lands of private
ownership which exceed the estabUshed limits.
Article 26. The ovraer who does not present the documents referred to in the
preceding article and/or fails to tell the truth in the sworn declaration, or alters
said documents in any way, shall lose the right to compensation provided for in
this Law, without prejudice to the criminal liability which he may incur.
Article 27. The authorities entrusted with the rpplication of this Law, after
consideration of the documents referred to in Article 26, shall immediately make
the pertinent investigations to ascertain the truth of the depositions within a
period of ninety days computed from the initiation of the application, and shall
enact the resolutions which may be necessary in order to proceed with the distri-
bution of the lands and the delivery of the corresponding ownership deeds to the
farmer beneficiaries.
Article 28. Once the resolutions which provide adjudications of parcels dis-
tributed to the beneficiaries are final, they shall be registered in the Section on
Rural Property of the Property Registry, to be created by this Law. To each
beneficiarj' shall be granted the corresponding deed of ownership with the formali-
ties established in the Regulation to this Law. For the purposes of Article 3 of
the Mortgage Law, the resolutions of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform
issued in accordance with the above paragraph shall be considered as registrable
deeds.
Article 29. The constitutional right of the owners affected by this Law to
receive compensation for expropriated property is recognized. This compensation
shall be determined by taking into consideration the sales value of the farms as
this appears in the municipal tax assessment declarations on a date previous to
October 10, 1958. Installations and buildings affected which are located on the
farms shall be the subject to independent assessment on the part of the authorities
charged with the enforcement of this Law. The stumps or stocks of crops shall
likewise be assessed independently for purposes of compensating the legal owners.
82 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Article 30. In those cases in which it is not possible to determine the value in
accordance with the provisions of the preceding article, the assessment of the
affected property shall be made by the National Institute of Agrarian Reform
in the manner and using the procedures established by the Regulation to the Law.
Upon making the assessments and in accordance with the provisions of Aj-ticle
224 of the Fundamental Law, the value for improvements which have been pro-
duced without the aid of labor or private capital but only by virtue of the action
of the State, Province, Municipality or Autonomous Agencies between the date
of the last transfer of the property and before the enforcement date of this Law
shall be fixed and deducted. Forty-five percent of the unearned increment
which, according to said constitutional precept, corresponds to the State, shall
be ceded to the National Institute of Agrarian Reform, delivering to the Province,
Municipality or Autonomous Agency in question the proportional share which
corresponds to it.
The deductions collected in favor of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform
shall remain available for benefit of the farmers who receive free lands in the
corresponding proportion, and the remainder, if any, shall be put into the fund
of Agrarian Reform for use as provided by Law.
These provisions shall be applicable also to all auctions or forced sales of rural
estates capable of registration, in the manner to be determined by the Regulation
of this Law.
Article 31. Compensation shall be paid in redeemable bonds. For such pur-
pose, an issue of bonds of the RepubUc of Cuba shall be made, in the amount,
terms and conditions which shall be determined in due time. The bonds shall
be known as "Agrarian Reform Bonds," and shall be considered as public se-
curities. The issue or issues shall be for a term of twenty years, with annual
interest no higher than four and one-half percent (4% percent). For payment of
interests, amortization and expenses of the issue, the corresponding amount shall
be incorporated each year in the Budget of the Republic.
Article 32. The holders of Agrarian -Reform Bonds, or their amounts shall be
granted an exemption for a period of 10 years from payment of Tax on Personal
Income in the proportion derived from the investment which they may make in
t»ew industries with tne sums received for compensation. The Minister of the
Treasury shall be entrusted with drafting a Law for the Council of Ministers
to regulate this exemption.
Equal rights shall be conceded to heirs of a person compensated in case they
should be the ones to make the investment.
CHAPTER III — ON EEDISTRIBUTKD AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY
Article 33. The properties received gratuitously by virtue of the provisions of
this Law may not again be incorporated in the patrimony of civil or commercial
companies, except for conjugal partnerships and agricultural cooperatives men-
tioned in Chapter V of this Law.
Article 34. The properties referred to in the preceding article by virtue of the
precepts of this Law may not be transmitted by any title, except by inheritance,
sale to the State or exchange authorized by the authorities entrusted with the
application of the same; nor may they be the object of contracts of lease, share-
cropping, usufruct or mortgage.
Notwithstanding this, the State or the proper semistate organs may grant to
such owners Loans with Mortgage Securities as repair or pledge loans.
Article 35. The new properties shall be maintained as individual real property
units, and in the case of hereditary transfer must be adjudicated to a single heir
in the partition of estates. In case such adjudication cannot be made without
violating the rules on partition of estates established by the Civil Code, they
shall be sold at public auction among bidders who are farmers or agricultural
workers reserving to the forced heirs if any in such casesj who are farmers or
agricultural workers, the right of redemption in the manner established in Article
1067 of the Civil Code.
Article 36. The ownership and possession of lands adjudicated by virtue of the
provisions of this Law shall be regulated by the provisions on legal joint ownership
of property in those cases of extra matrimonial unions of stable character legally
capacitated to contract marriage provided they have lived together on the land
during a period of not less than one year.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 83
CHAPTEB IV ZONES OF AGRARIAN DEVELOPMENT
Article 37. The Zones of Agrarian Development shall be constituted by
continuous and definite portions of the National Territory which, according to
resolution by the National Institute of Agrarian Reform, may be divided for the
purpose of facilitating the enforcement of the Reform.
Article 38. Each Zone of Agrarian Development, by resolution of this same
Organ, shaU be subdivided into sections, in order to facilitage the operations of
boundary marking and the administration of endowments and distribution as the
work of carrying out the reform progresses.
Article 39.' The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall identify each Zone
of Agrarian Development by an orderly numerical series with an initial referring
to the province in which it may be located.
Article 40. In setting up a Zone of Agrarian Development and carrying out the
redistribution or adjudication of lands, the National Institute of Agrarian Reform
shall consider the following:
1. The most adequate area to facilitate the work of officially recording the
real property, taking the census of the population, agrological investigations and
boundary marking.
2. The agrological characteristics, the advisable amount of production and the
facilities for improvement in the exploitation, warehousing, preservation and sale.
3. The nuclei of population or small towns located in each Zone for facilities
of local supply and communication with the centers of State aid, and the estab-
lishment and functioning of farm associations, cooperatives and service stations
for the Rural Police.
4. Hydrological resources for supply of water and installations of communal
irrigation under a rule of easement or of cooperation.
5. The facilities for economic development and technological application
through the development of small complementary rural industries, or the promo-
tion of industrial centers near the sources of essential raw products and centers
of distribution of products,
6. Existing facilities of communication and means of diffusion of news, infor-
mation and ideas in general, as well as the possibility of creating these, as the
case may be.
Article 41. In each Zone of Agrarian Development the National Institute of
Agrarian Reform shall create, with cooperation of heads of family or agrarian
cooperatives located there, centers of State aid, supplied with agricultural ma-
chinery, farm implements, grain storage, warehouses, deposits, means of trans-
portation, experimental and breeding camps, acqueducts, generating powerplants,
and other aids required by the agrarian and industrial development plans; and
likewise for the estabUshment of schools with internees for general and agricultural
teaching, maternity houses for farm women, first aid stations, medical and dental
dispensaries, recreation halls, libraries, sports fields, and all means of aid to cultural
production and diffusion.
Article 42. Each Zone of Agrarian Development shall be considered as an ad-
ministrative unit of the Agrarian Reform, being registered in the corresponding
record book with the collection of all pertinent background information to be
taken into consideration for the purposes of endowment of lands and determina-
tion of those to be affected by the Agrarian Reform or excluded therefrom.
Likewise, the organization of statistical services and the taking of an Agri-
cultural Census every five years shall be taken into account for analysis of the
units of production and administration represented by the Zone of Agrarian
Development, in order to check and compare periodically the results of the
Agrarian Reform and adopt the proper measures to eliminate obstacles and to
facilitate general progress.
CHAPTER V ON AGRARIAN COOPERATION
Article 43. Wherever it is possible, the National Institute of Agrarian Reform
shall encourage agrarian cooperatives. The agrarian cooperatives organized by
the National Institute of Agrarian Reform on the lands which it has to dispose
of by virtue of the above precepts of this Law, shall be under its management
which shall reserve to itself the right to appoint the administrators of same for
the purpose of insuring the best development in the initial stages of this category
of economic and social organization, and until such time as greater autonomy is
granted it bj' Law.
84 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Article 44. The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall give its support
only to agrarian cooperatives formed by farmers or agricultural laborers for the
purpose of exploiting the soil and gathering of fruits, through personal counsel of
its members, according to its internal organization and rules of the Institute proper.
In the cases of these cooperatives, the National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall
see that these are located on lands adequate for the purposes pursued, and capable
of accepting and using the technical aid and orientation of the said Institute.
Article 45. Other forms of cooperation may comprise one or more of the objec-
tives tending to provide material resources, implements of labor, credit, sale, pre-
servation, or conservation of products, constructions for common use, installa-
tions, baling, irrigation, industrialization of subproducts and residues, and as
many facilities and useful means as can be of aid to the improvem.ent of coopera-
tives according to the regulations, resolutions, and instructions issued by the
National Institute of Agrarian Reform.
Article 46. The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall mobilize all neces-
sary funds for the development of the cooperatives, facilitating for such purposes
long-term credits which may be amortized at a minimum interest. The Institute
shall likewise give short-term credit for the operation of such cooperatives, adopt-
ing systems of financing according to the financial means of the enterprises, and
always being careful to guarantee from the beginning a decent family income.
Article 47. The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall determine annually
the quota of funds to correspond to each Zone of Agrarian Development,
CHAPTER VI. ON THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRARIAN REFORM
Article 48. There is hereby created the "National Institute of Agrarian Re-
form" (INRA) as an autonomous entity, with its own legal personality, to apply
and enforce this Law.
The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall be governed by a President
and an Executive Director, who shall be appointed by the Council of Ministers.
The following shall be the powers and duties of the National Institute of
Agrarian Reform:
1. To undertake studies, provide for investigations, order and put into execu-
tion as many measures as may be necessary to attain the objectives of this Law,
for this purpose adopting pertinent general and special regulations and instruc-
tions.
2. Propose to the Minister of the Treasury the tax measures for encouragement
of savings and consumption believed adequate to promote the development of
production of articles of farming-livestock origin.
3. To propose the margin of customs protection necessary in each case for the
better development of agricultural-livestock production.
4. To coordinate the campaigns for improvement of living, health and educa-
tion conditions of the rural population.
5. To determine the areas and limitations of the Zone of Agrarian Development
which it has been decided to establish and organize.
6. Direct preliminary studies for the distribution and endowment of lands
affected, installations of State aid, the administrative regulation of each Zone
and delivery of the lands and their deeds to the beneficiaries.
7. Supervise the enforcement of the plans for agrarian development, endow-
ment or distribution of lands, with respect to the internal government of each
Zone as well as with respect to the objectives of the Law by issuing instructions
and adopting resolutions and measures which it considers necessary.
8. Draft the Regulations for the agricultural cooperative associations which
it organizes, and appoint the administrators of the same, in accordance with the
provisions of Article 43; keep records and decide problems which may arise among
its members; and hear and resolve any appeals which, according to the regula-
tions, may be made on basis of dissent as to resolutions or measures adopted.
9. Organize and administer the School for Cooperative Training.
10. Process and decide, in accordance with this Law, all petitions or proposals
directed to it with respect to colonization, endowment, distribution, administra-
tion and other aspects of the Reform, determining those presented in order to
obtain their benefits.
11. Draw up its budgets and administer its funds, as well as those intended for
' the realization of the Agrarian Reform.
12. Organize its own statistical services and five year agricultural censuses,
compiling and publishing their results for general information.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 85
13. Organize its own offices and enact necessary internal regulations, as well
as to establish its relations with the Departments of the Nation, the Provinces,
Municipalities, Autonomous and Semi-Governmental Organs, agrarian commis-
sions, and with agrarian and industrial delegations and associations in general.
14. Establish and direct its permanent relations with international Associations
as may be proper.
Article 49. The National Institute of Agrarian Reform will create a credit
Department for agricultural production. In turn, the Agricultural Division
of BANFAIC shall adapt its credit policies to the rulings of the National Institute
of Agrarian Reform.
Article 50. The State shall provide the funds to the National Institute of
Agrarian Reform for tjie establishment of development units of agricultural-
livestock production in all regions of the Nation. These units shall consist of:
(a) A center of equipment and machinerj'. Said center shall hire out services
for use of said equipment and machinery at a moderate cost, shall lease them also
at a reasonable cost, to the farmers, or facilitate their acquisition of the same.
(b) A center of research for experiments of agricultural or zootechnical nature.
(c) A center of technical counsel, for advice to the farmers.
Article 51. All the autonomous organs existing at the date of the promulgation
of this Law, destined toward the establishment, regulation, propaganda and
defense of agricultural production, shall be incorporated into the National Insti-
tute of Agrarian Reform as sections of its Department of Production and Foreign
Commerce.
Article 52. The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall have local dele-
gations charged with the execution of this Law in areas assigned thereto.
The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall regulate the functions of these
Local Committees.
Article 53. The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall present the draft
Regulations to this Law to the Council of Ministers within a period no greater
than sixty days from the date of its establishment.
CHAPTER VII ON LAND TRIBUNALS
Article 54. Land Tribunals shall be created to hear and resolve judicial cases
arising from the application of this Law, and any others related to agricultural
contracting and rural property in general.
The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall formulate within the period
of three months from the date of promulgation of this law, the draft Organic Law
for said Courts.
CHAPTER VIII ON THE CONSERVATION OF FORESTS AND SOIL
Article 55. The State shall reserve from the lands which it owns some areas of
forests and woods necessary for national parks for the purpose of maintaining and
developing its forest resources. Those persons who have received any lands as
owners, pursuant to the application of this Law, must obey strictly the forest
legislation and take care, while cultivating, to conserve the soil. Violation of
these provisions shall result in the loss of the right to the property acquired gra-
tuitously from the State, without prejudice to the compensation to which he has
a right on the basis of improvements and benefits made by him, from which sum
shall be deducted the amount corresponding to the damage caused.
CHAPTER IX GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 56. State lands possessed by tenants, subtenants, sugar planters, share-
croppers or tenants at will, insofar as these exceed five caballerias shall be the
object of distribution in accordance with the provisions of this Law, following
compensation to the possessors or tenants of the same for improvements and
benefits introduced by them on the said excess lands.
Article 57. The right of preemption granted to tlie State by Article 89 of the
Fundamental Law of the Republic to acquire with preference any real property
or securities representing such property, shall be exercised, by the National Insti-
tute of Agrarian Reform, insofar as concerns rural property.
The Institute shall exercise this right within the period of sixty days computed
from the date on which it is notified of the corresponding ruling of the Court,
official, or authority before whom the forced sale or auction of rural property is
to be made.
86 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
For this purpose, the judges, courts and other officials intervening in auctions
and forced transfers of rural property, or of securities representing these, at the
time of adjudication to a bidder, shall suspend the proceedings and give notice
through official memorandum to the National Institute of Agrarian Reform, with
a description of the property affected and the procedure followed, in order that
within the designated time the right of preemption may be exercised in the name
of the State. ■
The period having lapsed without action by the Institute to exercise its right
or with no communication to the official that the Institute would not exercise it,
the procedure will then take its corresponding legal course.
If the auction or forced sale is of rural farms subject to this Law, the National
Institute of Agrarian Reform may make payment in public debt bonds according
to Article 31.
Article 58. Excluded from the benefits of this Law are tenants, subtenants or
homesteaders (tenants at will) of rural farms dedicated exclusively to residence
or recreation.
Article 59. Whatever may be the fate of the property affected by this Law, all
grinding contracts for sugar cane shall be maintained in force, as well as the
rights of plantations to grinding quotas, distributing these among the new owners
according to the proportion of the quota which corresponds to the lot assigned to
them in the distribution.
The distribution of grinding quotas referred to in the preceding paragraph shall
be made with the necessary adjustments to guarantee, in each case, the protection
granted to the small planter by the laws in force. The National Institute of
Agrarian Reform shall take any necessary steps to guarantee to the sugar mills
the supply of cane required for the grinding.
Article 60. In all cases of auctions of rural farms as a consequence of violation
of loan or mortgage contracts, the children of the debtor who have been working
on the auctioned farm shall have the right of redemption which may be exercised
within the period of one month computed from the date of the corresponding
registration record.
Article 61. In case of death of a presumed beneficiary, which occurs before or
during the exercise of the rights recognized by this Law, these shall be considered
as transmitted to the heirs, without interruption of possession in question, in
accordance with the provisions of Article 440 of the Civil Code, and they may
be protected as to said possession by the procedures of the Amparo Appeal which
is governed by Order 362 of 1900, even when the eviction or ouster was the result
of a resolution of the administrative authority.
Article 62. Eviction is prohibited from lands possessed by the presumed bene-
ficiaries designated in the present Law, while the distribution of lands affected by
the Agrarian Reform is still in progress.
Article 63. In case of testate and intestate succession, in which the hereditary
estate includes a rural farm or farms which, as of January 1, 1959, was still in an
undivided state, this shall be considered as subject to the purposes of this Law as
if it were the patrimony of a single corporate person.
Article 64. It shall be a rule of interpretation of this Law that in case of doubt
the decision .shall be the one most favorable to the cultivator of the land, a rule
which shall be extended to cases in which a cultivator sues for ovsmership or pos-
session of the land or for his inherent rights as a farmer.
Article 65. Any act or contract shall be considered null, void and ineffective
which attempts to evade the provisions of this Law, frustrating its purposes,
through transfers, cessions, separations or combinations, which are fraudulent
or lack true basis.
For the effects of the application of the present law, any sales, separations, or
alienation of any nature shall lack legal value and effect if carried out since the
first of January of 1959 in favor of relatives within the fourth degree of consan-
guinity and the second of affinity, as shall also any partitions of land jointly owned
by said relatives.
Likewise for the effects of the application of the present Law, any adjudications
exercised smce the above mentioned date shall lack legal effect and value if made
in favor of shareholders or partners in Companies of any category, if th^y are
related to each other within the fourth degree of consanguinity and the second
of affinity.
From the date of promulgation of the present Law, the transfers, separations or
partitions listed in the preceding paragraphs, even those not between the relatives
mentioned, shall be considered to have no legal value or effect for the purposes of
the application of this Law.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 87
Article 66. Any practice contrary to the objectives of this Law, or the abandon-
ment or negligent use of the lands which are granted under its protection may be
punished by the National Institute of Agrarian Reform rescinding the transfers
by gratuitous deed, and declaring their reincorporation into the reserved lands.
The Regulation to this Law shall govern the application of this Article.
Article 67. The tenants, subtenants, sugar planters, sharecroppers and home-
steaders who cultivate lands of an area greater than five caballerias whether or not
these are located in expropriable areas, may acquire up to a limit of thirty (30)
caballerias, following assessment by the National Institute of Agrarian Reform,
through forced sale in a procedure which the Regulation to this Law shall estab-
lish, and provided they can prove beyond a doubt that they were in possession and
exploiting the mentioned lands before the first of January of 1959.
In the case of tenant, subtenants, sugar planters, and homesteaders who possess
and cultivate areas greater than 30 caballerias, this Law shall be applied as pro-
vided in Articles 1 and 2.
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
First: The National Institute of Agrarian Reform and the Department in
charge of Proposals and Studies of Revolutionary Laws shall present to the
Council of Ministers, within a period of six months following the date of the pro-
mulgation of this Law, a draft Law regulating the Section on Rural Property in
the Property Registers. Until such time as this Section is organized, the records
concerning rural farms shall be made in the form and in the books provided by
the law in force. The registered records made in favor of the beneficiaries of the
Agrarian Reform shall be free.
Second: The eviction suits or other procedures which concern eviction from
rural farms, shall be suspended at the point at which they are now, even if judg-
ment has been already rendered until a decision is made as to the rights which this
Law recognizes in favor of the occupants, and the judicial authorities who hear
these procedures must communicate same to the National Institute of Agrarian
Reform.
Once the rights recognized in favor of the defendants or occupants have been
justified in the procedures, the authority who hears the case shall order the filing
of the proceedings without further steps. In the event that communication is
made through the National Institute of Agrarian Reform that the defendants or
occupants are not protected by the benefits of this Law, the suspended procedures
will continue according to Law.
Third: Appointments are null and without value or effect which have been made
of officials entrusted with services related to the Agrarian Reform.
Fourth: Until such time as the Land Tribunals referred to in Article 54 of this
Law are organized, the ordinary courts shall continue to hear the cases assigned to
them.
Fifth: Until such time as the Regulation to this Law is promulgated, the same
shall be applied through means of Resolutions issued by the National Institute
of Agrarian Reform.
Sixth: Within the period of six months following the promulgation of this Law,
the National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall present to the Council of Ministers
a draft Law regulating its incorporation among the Autonomous Organs referred
to in Article 51 of this Law.
Seventh: Within two years following the enforcement of this Law, the operation
of all lands of private ownership must be encouraged, whatever may be their
extent. After the lapse of this period, those lands of private ownership which are
not in production shall be subject to the objectives of the Agrarian Reform in
accordance with the provisions of this Law.
FINAL PROVISIONS
Fu-st: There shall be reserved in favor of the State and at the disposal of the
Rebel Army the title to the peak of Pico Turquino and a belt of land toward the
West of this point, with a longitude of fifteen hundred meters, on which shall be
constructed the Rebel House (Casa de los Rebeldes), a Botanical Garden and a
small Museum which shall serve to recall the struggle against the Tyranny, and
help to maintain alive the loyalty to the principles and the union of the combatants
of the Rebel Army.
Second: The provisions of the present Law are declared to be of social interest
and public and national utility, because it insures the development of great
extensions of rural properties, the economic development of the Nation, the
intensive agricultural and industrial operation, and adequate redistribution of
lands among a great number of small property owners and farmers.
88 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Third: The section on Rural Property is hereby created in the Property
Registers in existence. All registration operations concerning rural property shall
be entered in the books of this Section commencing with the date designated by
the Law regulating the operation of the same.
Fourth: The National Institute of Agrarian Reform shall exercise its functions
coordinating them with the Rebel Army.
FINAL ADDITIONAL PROVISION
By virtue of the Constituent Power vested in the Council of Ministers, the
present Law is declared to be an integral part of the Fundamental Law of the
Republic to which it shall be added.
Consequently, this Law is granted constitutional force and hierarchy.
Therefore: I order that the present Law be observed and executed in all of its
parts.
(Translated by Mrs. Helen L. Clagett, Chief, Hispanic Law Division, Law
Library, Library of Congress.)
Mr. KoRNFEDER. I may say in reference to this law, there is another
point in there, that the land that is taken away is on the basis of this
law to be distributed with preference to the supporters of the July 26
movement. That is, the land isn't just distributed on the basis of
needy peasants, it is to be distributed with preference to the members
of the rebel army, to their sympathizers, supporters, and their
relatives.
In fact, the categories that he lists there of who is to receive the
land with the preference is so large, that one is justified to suspect
that after he distributes the land to all those that are listed as pref-
erences, there would not be any other land left. He has about five
categories listed along those lines; he can use this law to eliminate
the opposition and to entrench his poUtical following in possession of
the land.
Senator Keating. That might be said to have an element of appeal
to so many different groups.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. This law is really — it should be studied in detail
because it is a new method of building a political machine without
the Communist Party. This is one of the features where he tries to
establish an organization for himself that he controls personally, and
it may be used to keep the Communists on the sidelines.
Senator Keating. Do you think it is safe to put this plan in the
record of these hearings, and make it pubhc in this country — this
pohtical plan?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oh. If there were a plan to be put in operation
in the United States, you mean — well, that would be quite something.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Mr. Chairman, on the question of the Communist
line with respect to what happened in Cuba, I have an article from
the Worker of Sunday, May 31, by Bias Roca, general secretary of
the Popular Socialist Party of Cuba, under the title "What is the
Nature of Cuba's Revolution?"
I offer it for the record at this point.
Senator Keating. It may be received.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 89
(The newspaper article referred to follows :)
[The Worker, Sunday, May 31, 1959, p. 7]
Cuban Communist Leader Answers the Question: What Is the Nature of
Cuba's Revolution?
(By Bias Roca, General Secretary of the Popular Socialist Party of Cuba)
A short time ago, in an assembly of the Socialist Youth, a discussion developed
about the character of the Cuban revolution.
It has been interesting how different sectors have viewed it.
Some placed things in such a manner as to come close to saying that this is a
Catholic revolution, that it follows the lines of Rerum Novarum of the Catholic
social doctrine.
This, naturally, is false. The Cuban revolution is not a Catholic revolution, as
it could not have been either Protestant or Buddhist or Spiritist or Masonic, be-
cause the basic problems it has to solve are neither of a confessional nor of a reli-
gious nature. The epoch of the religious wars — that is to say, the wars and revolu-
tions in which the social, economic and political problems were presented and
debated under the cloak of religion — is past.
Those that want to have this revolution viewed as Catholic, or almost Catholic,
put even greater effort in demonstrating that this is not a Communist revolution.
All this effort is unnecessary. We, the Communists, are the first to agree that
the Cuban Revolution, in its present stage, is not Communist; it is not a proletarian
revolution which would establish Socialism tomorrow. Those who scare easy,
and those who want to scare everybody else with the ghost of Communism can
rest assured and reassure their excited friends. Nobody in Cuba — not even the
Communists — pretend to establish any kind of Communism of Socialism at this
time.
In relation with this a phenomenon characteristic of the action of the enemies
of the revolution is taking place.
During almost three months, the imperialists, the reactionaries and their friends
have been making efforts to demonstrate that the Cuban Communists had done
nothing for the Cuban revolution and that we had nothing to with it.
They pretended, even to tura the Revolution against the Communists and to
raise the infamous banner of anti-Communism of the Yankee imperialists, of the
defeated tyranny, of the Trujillos and Somozas, of Franco and his late sponsors,
Hitler and Mussolini.
Now, all of a sudden, they turn about, and without abandoning that campaign,
they bring to the fore of their news cables the aim to demonstrate that the Com-
munists determined everything; that the government, the journalists, the func-
tionaries, etc., are Communists. If we were to add up all those that the propa-
gandists of imperialism and counter-revolution claim to be Communists, we
would have the largest and most powerful party of Cuba. This, unfortunately,
is not true now. It will be, in time, because history marches relentlessly towards
Communism, towards the elimination of all forms of exploitation of man by man.
Let's return to the main subject.
The character of a revolution is not determined by the political (or religious or
philosophic) affiliation of some of its protagonists, no matter how many or out-
standing they may be, in the same way that the character of a party is not defined
by the name it assumes or the pretensions it proclaims.
Let us remember, in this respect that the "Liberals" of Cuba were not only
conservative but also reactionary and subservient to the tyranny and that the
"Authentic Revolutionaries" were not, as life has demonstrated, authentic
revolutionaries: they were falsified revolutionaries.
To define the character of a revolution, what must be studied firstly and
fundamentally, is the economic, political, and social content of its basic tasks,
of the historic tas''s it resolves or intends to resolve.
What are the historic tasks the Cuban revolution in its present stage of develop-
ment must resolve, is resolving, or is trying to resolve?
Our revolution, in its present stage, has, according to the objective realities, and
the needs for the development of our country, four basic historic tasks; they are:
1. The full independence and the sovereignty of our nation.
2. The Agrarian Reform to end the latifundia and other feudal remnants and
to give land to the peasants.
3. The economic development on an independent basis, which is the support
and guarantee of political independence (recovery of national wealth, national con-
90 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
trol of the economy, new relations with external markets, elimination of mono-
culture, diversification of production, etc.).
4. Broadening and deepening of democracy, giving it a truer content (demo-
cratic rights for the people and the workers, eliminating racial discrimination,
cultural revolution, elimination of corruption and fraud in elections, etc.).
The basic tasks, imposed by the historic needs of the development of our coun-
try and not by the opinions of any philosophers nor by the whims of any party,
movement, or social group, are the ones that determine by force the character of
the Cuban Revolution in the present stage.
The revolution is currently resolving anc trying to resolve these tasks.
That is why, to the question of what kind of revolution is this one, we can answer
that it is a patriotic and democratic, national-liberating and agrarian revolution.
It is not, in its present stage, a socialist revolution. Its tasks remain within the
bourgeois frame of society. It does not intend nor pretend to destroy the capital-
ist regime as such, but to eliminate the domination and exploitation of foreign
imperialism and to destroy the semifeudal latifundia, to promote and accelerate
its own economic development, and radically better the living and working condi-
tions of the exploited masses.
If we take into account not only the economic-political-social content of its
basic tasks, but also the forces that move this revolution, the classes and social
forces that determine, realize, and impel it, and the rhythm and depth of its
development, I would say that it is an advanced popular revolution.
I say "popular," because this is a revolution of the popular classes, of the
peasant, of the workers, of the middle layers of the petty bourgeoisie and of the
bourgeoisie. The masses of the Rebel Army are composed mainly of peasants
and agrarian workers. Its officers are also from these sectors, from the petty
bourgeoisie and from the workers.
The workers from the cities, in spite of the official Batista trade union machine
were the driving force and the mass of the resistance, of the agitation, of the
mobilization against the tyranny in the plains, and acted with decisiveness and
unanimity to frustrate the maneuvers* of Cantillo and others who tried to blunt
the revolution.
I say "advanced" because, even though the national bourgeoisie is a force in
the revolution, it has not been able to capitalize on the popular sacrifice to take
the leadership; because from the moment in which Fidel Castro assumed the post,
of Premier and fused the revolutionary power with the provisional government,
the leadership moved to the radical petty bourgeoisie; because the political
changes and the destruction of the power apparatus of the tyrannic-pro-imperialist
regime, have been profound and radical; because the measures against the bureau-
cratic bourgeoisie and those who misappropriate public funds are speedy and
direct; of simple confiscation of estates without further process; because the
recovery of the full national independence and national sovereignty has been done
sharply, resolutely, and radically, as demonstrated by the expulsion of the U.S.
military mission and the basic stands on foreign policy proclaimed by Fidel Castro.
Because of all this we can conclude that the Cuban revolution is an advanced
popular revolution, a patriotic and democratic, national-liberating, and agrarian
revolution.
1. This is the revolution of the full independence and sovereignty.
2. This is the revolution against the latifundia and for the distribution of land
to the peasants.
3. This is the revolution of the economic independence and industrialization
which guarantee and consolidate the political independence and sovereignty,
already recovered and established.
4. This is the revolution of democracy with a new meaning, with the meaning of
revolutionary and progressive democracy.
5. This is the revolution of the Cuban people, the old revolution started in
1868, restarted in 1895, frustrated in 1933, which in every date poses the same old
demands on a higher level, which now develops victoriously under the conditions
of a new epoch which impresses on it its stamp; of the epoch of the advance of
socialism and of the decline of imperialism, of the epoch of the end of colonialism,
of the epoch in which the proletariat has substituted the bourgeoisie as the embodi-
ment of progress, of the epoch in which the world marches speedily to the new and
higher freedom of Communism.
It is, as Fidel Castro said, a revolution as Cuban as the palm trees, but that, as
these, makes its mark in the world picture, it influences it and receives from it its
inevitable influence.
Yes, we can simply say, this is the Cuban revolution, the revolution that will
not halt, that must not halt, that must maintain its rhythm and, at the right
time must pass to its next stage, in search of greater social and national progress.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 91
Mr. SouRWiNE. Following what you just said about Castro building
a personal machine, do you foresee cooperation or friction between
Castro and the Communist Party in Cuba?
Mr. KoRNFEDER, Oh, I foresee friction because the Communist
Party is a political animal, which, as it were, has its automatic laws
of growth and development. They cannot tolerate a situation where
they do not grow, are not permitted to wedge in. They must be in
opposition if they are obstructed, and the type of machine that Castro
is setting up there is a machine that could obstruct them, they will
seek to break through and force Castro to establish the committee
system instead of personal appointees, then that will give them an
opening to move in.
So, friction, in my opinion, is inevitable between Castro and the
Communists.
Mr. SouRWiNE. You mean, the Communist Party of Cuba or
Moscow Communists, or is it the same thing?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. No. I mean the Commi'.nist Party of Cuba.
Moscow, in my opinion, will play along with Castro for major strategic
reasons, even if they have to overrule the local Communists. Moscow
has sacrificed its hard core many times before to serve its gods of
strategy, and it is possible that they will do it here. Certainly, they
will restrain the local Communists from developing a conflict.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Mr. Chairman, further on the point of Communist
views in regard to what is happening in Cuba, I offer certain excerpts
from a two-page article from the World Marxist Review of April 1959,
headed "Cuba Today."
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(Excerpt of article from World Marxist Review of April 1959
follows:)
Excerpts Fkom World Marxist Review for April 1959, Article Entitled
"Cuba Today," Pages 69 and 70
"The new regime, as we see, has mass support (workers, peasants and national
bourgeoisie), with the national and petty bourgeoisie playing the leading role.
The provisional government is not representative of all the political forces which
brought it to power and which support it and for this reason cannot be regarded
as the government of a revolutionary and popular coalition."
*******
"The fight for unity does not preclude the possibility of differences arising among
these forces.
"These diflferences should not be hushed up or evaded. On the contrary, in
view of the tasks facing all classes, they should be overcome in unison, in a demo-
cratic way, but utilizing the freedom which has been won. Furthermore, it is
necessary to preserve the solidarity of the revolutionary camp, the identity of
viewpoints and co-ordination for the purpose of achieving the common aim and
plans."
*******
"All agents and associates of the tyranny guilty of crimes, torture, etc., must
be severely punished and the reactionary deputies, elected during the last, rigged
elections and during the equally shameful elections in 1954, deprived of the right
to engage in politics."
*******
"The Popular Socialist Party, the theses say, aims at achieving its lofty libera-
tion goals and a socialist future without another civil war.
"Although during the years of the tyranny the Party tried to avoid violence,
the imperialists and reactionaries made civil war inevitable. Consequently the
Party supported the revolutionary war. Many of the members and sympathizers
92 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
fought with the insurgent army in which they distinguished themselves, winning
general recognition for their courage. In some places the armed units formed on
the Party's initiative joined forces with Fidel Castro."
*******
"While not satisfied with the present composition of the provisional government
the Party nevertheless supports the new regime and defends it against the attacks,
conspiracies and pressure of the home reactionaries and foreign imperialists. It
stands for a government based on a broad popular coalition, including repres6nta-
tives not only of the bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie but also of the peasantry
and the proletariat."
*******
Mr. SouRwiNE. I also offer an article by R. Hart Phillips, special
to the New York Times, from the New York Times of Sunday, May
31, 1959.
Senator Keating. That will be received.
(The newspaper article referred to follows:)
[The New York Times, Sunday, May 31, 1959]
Communists in Cuba Pose a Big Problem
castbo has tet to take firm stand on their role in politics
(By R. Hart Phillips, special to the New York Times)
Havana, May 30. — Cubans and the outside world are today attempting to
measure the degree of influence the Communists have in the revolutionary gov-
ernment of. Premier Fidel Castro.
Many Cubans feel that Dr. Castro's reforms follow the Communist pattern.
They note his steps toward expropriation of the lands of the big sugar companies,
both American and Cuban, and other big tracts under the new agrarian law, his
drastic lowering of land values through mandatory rent reduction, and other re-
forms, which they say indicate that the Government is being led down the path
to communism. They point to many key figures in the Government who are
known to be sympathizers and close collaborators with the Communists.
"The Communists are a part of Castro's 26th of July revolution," Dr. Carlos
Rafael Rodriguez, editor of the Communist newspaper Hoy, told this correspond-
ent. "We are not participating in the actual government but we are participat-
ing in the revolution because this is a revolution of the people.
"If you will read our program written in January 1956, and published in Decem-
ber 1957, you will see the coincidence between the program of the Castro revolu-
tion and the Communist program for this historic moment."
DECLARED PROGRAM
Dr. Rodriguez went on to say that the Communists believe Cuba must have
"economic and political independence, industrial development, agrarian reform,
a change in fiscal and tariff policies and other reforms before going into socialism."
Conrado Beauer, recently elected secretary general of the Federation of Sugar
Workers of Cuba, said yesterday that "the Communists never helped the 2fith
of July labor movement until the 26th of December — 5 days before the fall of
the Batista regime."
According to Senor Beouer, the Communists have lost force in Cuban labor
unions since the 26th of July movement won the elections in all unions this year.
"The Communists never helped or cooperated with the 26th of July revolution
durinoc its 2 years' fight against Batista," he asserted.
Sefior Bequer went on to say that the Communists had been unable to elect
more than 13 delegates to the recent congress of the Sugar Workers Federation
which elected him secretary general.
The Communist newspaper Hoy and the official organ of the Castro Govern-
ment, Revolucion, have been engaged in a public argument for the last 3 weeks.
Revolucion charges that the Communists are trying to divide the Cuban revolu-
tion by maintaining their identity instead of working for the revolution.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 93
COOPERATE CLOSELY
Since the victory of the Castro revolution last January 1, the Communists
and the 26th of July movement have been in close cooperation. Premier Castro
has repeatedly said, "We will never combat communism."
So far, there has been no statement by Premier Castro directly criticizing or
expressing his opposition to the Communists. One man high in the 26th of
July circles said this week that the revolutionary Government has "no intention
of taking any action against the Communists, who have the same liberty in Cuba
as anyone else."
The numerical strength of the Communists in Cuba at present is difficult to
estimate. However, their organizing ability and the dedication of their leaders
and members make them a formidable force against even the overwhelming
majority of the 26th of July movement, according to the opinion of many.
At one time during the forties the Communists had 150,000 registered mem-
bers. They began to achieve strength during the first administration of former
President Fulgencio Batista (1940-44), when they were given every support,
controlled island labor, elected senators and members of the house of representa-
tives and were given cabinet posts. Later, after the party was outlawed bj' the
Prio government and again by General Batista after he seized power in 1952, the
Communists broke down the party to a hard core of faithful.
David Salvador, present Secretary of the Confederation of Cuban Workers,
which controls labor of the island, seemed to be in accord with the Communists
several weeks ago when he declared, "Cuba can never be with the United States,
which oppresses us."
Castro Support
Premier Castro supported Senor Salvador at that time against the former
President of Costa Rica. Col. Jos6 Figueres, who was here as a guest of the Gov-
ernment. Speaking to a huge crowd of workers, Colonel Figueres said that the
Latin-American countries should be on the side of the United States in case of
war between that country and the Soviet Union. Dr. Castro replied that Cuba
would be neutral.
While Dr. Castro said in the United States during his visit in April that Cuba
would adhere to her treaties on hemispheric defense, he has never made that
statement in a speech to the Cuban people.
At present the Communists are trying to build up their power in the island.
There are no poUtical parties urder the revolutionary law, but the Popular
Socialist Party, the name by which the Communists have been known since the
thirties, works to organize its followers for any coming elections.
The old leaders of the Communist Party are back again. Among them are
Lazaro Pena, former czar of labor under the first Batista regime and the Grau
Administration Bias Roca, regarded as the top Communist leader, and Carlo
Rafael Rodriguez. All are spea'-ing over the radio and appearing on television,
supporting the revolutionary Government and attacking the United States
almost daily.
RADIO STATION
They are attempting to net back their former radio station. Mil Diez, which
was the only free channel station in Cuba, This station was taken from them by
tlie Prio administration.
Since last January 1, the Communists have acquired sufficient funds to install
a modern printing plant for the newspaper Hoy, the former plant of which was
destroyed by the Prio and Batista administrations. There seems no doubt from
reading Hoy that the Communists are highly pleased with their progress under
the Castro regime.
The policy of the revolutionary government is the policy of Premier Castro.
So, until he openly opposes the Communists, who are today active in the revolu-
tion, few people here v/ill believe there has been any serious break between him
and them.
It is pointed out in some quarters here that it would not be an act of political
wisdom at present for Premier Castro to make an open break with the Communists.
While they are still in the minority, they are powerful as a highly organized and
disciplined group.
66492 O - 61 -5
94 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Mr. Sour WINE. I next offer an article from the Worker, headed
"CPUSA Urges Defense of Free Cuba", from the Worker of February
8, 1959.
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(Newspaper article referred to follows:)
[The Worker, Feb. 8, 1959, p. 3]
CPUSA Urges Dilfense of Free Cuba
The National executive committee of the Communist Party last week called
on the American people to declare their support of a "good neighbor policy of
friendship to the Cuban poeple and their government of national liberation and
demorcratic reform." The statement, signed by Eugene Dennis, national secre-
tary, and Robert Thompson, executive secretary, pledged the support of the
Communists in the U.S. to do their utmost to "defend Cuba's rights to full and
untrammelled sovereignty, its independence, its social and economic welfare."
The statement was entitled "Hands oflf Cuba I Solidarity with Free Cuba!"
The text follows:
"The Cuban Revolution has had a most profound effect upon vast sections of
the North American poeple, who enthusisatically hail the new people's power as
an historic rebuff to imperialism and native tyranny in this hemisphere.
" 'Cuba Libre' is a cry of emanicipation that finds great support among Ameri-
ca's working people. In growing numbers they welcome the democratic aims
of Cuba's new government and its revolutionary justice against the sadists, the
murderers, the arsonists who tortured and killed untold numbers of Cuban patriots.
"The cables today that tell of concealed Batista supporters who hurled hand
grenades into a procession in Oriente arouse great indignation among Americans.
The tragedy in Oriente further underscores the imperative need to rid Cuba of
Batista's butchers — to bring to the ber of the people's justice those who are
known, as well as to ferret out all hidden supporters of the Batista dictatorship.
"It is no secret that Batista and his followers looted the national wealth of
Cuba — looted it as did the big monopolies of Wall Street, which have been robbing
the Cuban people for generations. Hence the urgency of firm revolutionary
justice so that Batista and his backers, with the incalculable millions they stole^
will not succeed in carrying out their evil, subversive designs in Free Cuba.
"The American public is well aware of the Galindez tragedy, of his disap-
pearance and undoubted death at the hands of the tyrant Trujillo — that same
tyrant who is today the host of Batista and other deposed blood-stained dictators.
And it should be clear to the American people that Batista, like Trujillo, will stop
at no atrocity, no horror, no open or concealed trickery, to sabotage and subvert
the people's will. "Increasingly, it is recognized by Americans that the horrors
of the Batista regime could not have been possible without the machinations,
guidance and support of American imperialism, and its political representatives.
By the same token, it should be evident that the fresh horrors which Batista,
plots in his efforts to overturn the revolution could only be effectively perpetrated
with the open or hidden support of the State Department and the FBI.
"To make this crystal clear is the sacred responsibility of all who cherish
freedom, of all who realize the glorious advance, made by the Cuban people —
an advance which is part of the great national liberation movement unfolding
in all Latin America as well as elsewhere in the world.
"The mask of U.S. imperiahsm must be stripped from its face so that all carv
recognize it plainly and act accordingly to prevent its open or concealed inter-
vention, which remains the primary danger to the Cuban Revolution.
"We American Communists hail the great achievement of the Cuban people,
and the new power that was led to victory by the noble forces of Fidel Castro and
his associates. We hail the Cuban working class and peasantry whose struggles,
and especially the general strike of January 1, played so important a role in
overthrowing the Batista power. We hail the Cuban women who fought so
valiantly for the lives of their sons and for a free Cuba, and the youth — workers,
peasants, students, Negro and white — who labored so bravely to write thi&
magnificant chapter in the history of the Americas.
"We hail the glorious Popular Socialist Party of Cuba — valiant, selfless,,
indestructible, with its exemplary record as patriots and fighters for national
liberation and social progress. And we hail its slogan: 'Defend the Revolutioa
and Make it Advance.'
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 95
"The Communists of the United States know well that the monopolies of Wall
Street, in their striving to wring limitless profits from the sweat and blood of the
Cuban people, constitute the greatest peril to Cuba's freedom and social progress.
These monopolies are the enemies of the people of the United States, as well as
of those of the colonial and semicolonial countries. And their oppressive role,
their intrigues and interference in the internal affairs of Cuba and the other
Latin American countries has intensified the exploitation and tax burdens of the
American people and retarded democratic advance in the United States no less
than elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere.
"We American Communists pledge our utmost to defend Cuba's right to full
and untrammeled sovereignty, its independence, its social and economic velfare.
"Hands off Cuba" must be the reply of America's workers and farmers, of the
Negro people, the students and intellectuals, to all open or covert conspiracies of
the big trusts and their agents in the Government to interfere in any way with
the unfolding of Cuba's sacred aspirations for freedom, social advance and world
peace.
"We call upon the American people to express their solidarity with these
aspirations, and to declare their support of a good-neighbor policy of friendship
to the Cuban people and their government of national liberation and democratic
reform."
Mr. SouRWiNE. Finally, to show the other side of the newspaper
reports, an article is offered from the New York Times of Thursday,
July 16, 1959, by Herbert L. Matthews.
(The newspaper article referred to follows:)
(The New York Times, Thursday, July 16, 1959, p. 1]
Cuba Has a One-Man Rule and Is Held To Be Non-Red
toothful castro regime, beset by problems, is learning by doing
(By Herbert L. Matthews)
Havana, July 15. — Half a year after the revolt against the Batista regime, Cuba
is in the midst of the first great social revolution in Latin America since the Mexi-
can Revolution of 1910.
The overthrow of the dictatorship of Gen. Fulgencio Batista January 1, 1959,
merely ended the poHtical phase of the struggle for power. In the process, the
entire structure of government as it then existed was destroyed and a revolution
to establish a different social, economic, and pohtical status was begun.
For one who has followed the struggle closely from its beginnings 2^ years ago
and has just spent nearly 2 weeks in Cuba, it is possible to draw an outline of the
situation as it really is. This being a pdriod of creation, gestation, and transfor-
mation, such an outline cannot be simple or complete, but the main features are
clear enough.
Premier Fidel Castro, the young man who headed the forces that fought and
wen the military phase of the struggle, is now so powerful personally that for all
practical purposes he is the Provisional Government of Cuba.
CASTRO STILL POPULAR
His popularity has not dimirished appreciably. No one in Cuba has any
doubts that in a fair election he would win at lease 80 percent of the votes, atd
more likely 90 percent.
The powerful enemies Dr. Castro has made because of his agrarian reform and
economic measures are few, have no mass backing and are unarmed.
This is not a Communist revolution in any sense of the word and there are no
Communists in positions of control. This is the overwhelming consensus among
Cubans in the best position to know and this writer subscribes to that opinion
after searching inquiries and talks with Cubans in all walks of life and with many
Americans.
The accusations of the former head of the Cuban Air Force, Maj. Pedro Luis
Diaz Lanz, before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee yesterday are re-
jected by virtually all Cubans. It is stated here that before his resignation
Major Diaz was removed from his high post for ir competence, extravagance and
nepotism.
96 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
U.S. ACTIONS RESENTED
The use to which his defection was put in Washington has aroused more bitter-
ness and resentment against the United States than any event in the history of
Cuban-American relations, according to the reactions in Havana today.
[President Eisenhower said Wednesday that charges of communism against
Premier Castro were not easy to prove. "The United States has made no such
charges," the President noted.]
There seem to be very few in Cuba— and one need have no hesitation in saying
this — who beheve Fidel Castro is a Communist, is under Communist influence
or is a dupe of communism. The problem of communism, which aroused little
interest in Cuba until Americans picked it up, can be easily summarized. The
point of view among the most experienced and knowledgeable Cubans is as
follows :
There are no Reds in the Cabinet and none in high positions in the Govern-
hient or army in the sense of being able to control either governmental or defense
policies. The only power -worth considering in Cuba is in the hands of Premier
Castro, who is not only not Commui'ist but decidedly anti-Communist even
though he does not consider it desirable in the present circumstances to attack
or destroy the Reds — as he is in a position to do any time he wants.
There are some Communists in secondary positions in such fields as motion
pictures and culture and a few in the army, although not in key positions. In
addition, there is the much less clearly defined zone of fellow-travelers. Communist
sympathizers and those who are tolerant of known Communists and of comniunism.
Lists of supposed Reds and sympathizers circulate in the various embassies,
newspaper offices and undoubtedly in the chancelleries and secret services of all
countries. The names that appear on all lists are those of former Communists,
but there is no way of proving that any but card-bearing party members are
Communists today. Consequently, there is a great field for controversy.
Premier Castro and his followers have made it clear that, as Cuban patriots
working for Cuba and the Cuban people, they are against communism since the
Reds have entirely different aims and loyalties. Moreover, Cubans agree that in
present circumstances Dr. Castro is not going to share his power with anyone or
any other movement.
The main point that Cubans make is that such lists do not give anything but a
small part of the Cuban picture, whatever element of truth they may contain.
One feature of Premier Castro's attitude is typical of the Cuban leaders. This
is that however anti-Communist they feel, they will not, as they see it, humiliate
themseh'es by acting as if they were under American orders, pressures or threats.
The attacks and suspicions in the United States are considered here to be strength-
ening the Communists by making them far more important than they really are.
Even the agrarian reform, Cubans point out with irony, is not at all what the
Communists were suggesting, for it is far more radical and drastic than the Reds
consider wise as a first step to the collectivization they, but not the Cuban leaders,
want.
The fears about the land reform are economic and social. It is so drastic and
radical that experts say it will be extremely difficult to put into effect. There
are not enough trained men and not enough capital, it is said, and the reform
requires an understanding and cooperation from the peasants and workers that
cannot be counted upon.
It is, in theory, possible that the reform will succeed; it is more probable that
it will fail or oniy partly succeed.
To students of the Cuban scene, the bad or weak features of the situation today
lie in other fields than communism. The complete upheaval of Cuban life would
in any event have brought enormous and multiple problems.
The Cubans say that to have maintained law and order, to have established
the first completely honest regime in Cuban history and to get a vast majority
of the people moving behind a drastic revolution in their country and their lives
is as much as should be expected in 6 months.
ECONOMY IN DIFFICULTY
Nevertheless, there is a great deal of disorganization; the economy has con-
tracted seriously and is expected to get worse; the radical agrarian reform is
an enormous gamble that has done injustice to many large and medium pro-
prietors; the budget is in deficit; investment has dwindled to a trickle; more
inflation threatens. While there are many expert, inteUigent and devoted
ministers and public servants, there is also much inexperience, amateurishness
and inconipetence.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 97
This a revolt of youth, and youth proverbially has its fling, and learns only
by trial and error. Young men who should be spending years learning by guid-
ance and experience how to run a department have been forced suddenly to take
control of ministries, to wield great authority and to handle many millions in
pubUc funds.
The "old" men in the Cabinet and in the top banking positions are about 45
years of age, and while they are authorities in their field, few have had any ex-
perience in government. With few exceptions the old politicians and public
servants were so discredited that no one wants them back.
]\Ioreover, the young man who single-handed has made the history of Cuba
today, Fidel Castro, towers over all his associates in power and popularity to such
a degree that one can understand why Cubans sav: "Fidel is No. 1; there is no
No. 2."
Thus, one sees in Cuba the paradox of a great centralization of power with an
equally great dispersion of authority, because no one man can deal with every
problem that arises.
It is because everyone tries to see Dr. Castro and because he tries to do every-
thing and usually is the only one who can get something done that there is such
disorga'iization in Cuban affairs. Ministers and heads of departments soniotim.es
wait weeks before they can see him on urgent problems. Decrees pile up un-
signed.
CASTRO IS IMPATIENT
Dr. Castro is so sure of himself, so full of ideas, so fabulously energetic and so
popular that to get in his way is like bucking a steamroller.
But he is not yet 33; his experience in economics, politics and administration
began January 1. He knows what he wants; he is impatient of many rules of
orthodox politics and economy (although he has a healthj^ fear of inflation) and
he is a young man in a hurry.
His method of putting over his ideas, molding public opinion and even, up to
a point, conducting government, is unique. This, in a manner of speaking, is
government by television.
Premier Castro spends incredible hours every week before the television, ex-
plaining, cajoling, threatening, promising, announcing — at times it would seem
on the spur of the moment — new policies.
Three hours is a short speech for him; four to six a normal one. He shows up
from. 1 to 2 hours late and thinks nothing of talking until 3 in the morning or
later.
Premier Castro is avoiding elections in Cuba for two reasons. He feels that his
social revolution now has dynamism and vast popular consent, and he does not
want to interrupt the process. Moreover, most observers would agree that Cubans
today do not want elections. The reason is that elections in the past have merely
merely meant to them the coming of corrupt politicians seeking the spoils of
power.
Those who argue in favor of elections say it is the duty of the leaders of a country
to teach the values of fair elections, that a popular mandate and a legislature
are necessary if Cuba is to establish democracy. Those urging elections add that
balloting would show the weakness of the Communists and make a good impression
abroad.
The best guess is that Cuban elections still are 2 to 3 years off.
As far as the economy in general is concerned, authorities point out that there
are three possibilities. Either there is private investment or public investment or
great unemployment. Since the last is ruled out, and since private investors
are frightened or antagonistic or waiting to see what happens, nothing remains
but public investment. This means inflation and deficit financing.
BUSINESS STAGNATING
It is hoped that the stimulus to business and a belief that Dr. Castro and his
26th of July Movement are here to stay a long time and will bring about a normal
adjustment in the course of time. At present, business is flourishing in some con-
sumer goods but on the whole it is stagnant and there is very little foreign
investment.
The question of how to make the best of the situation is basic to all calculations,
internal and external. Premier Castro's power and popularity are such that
realism demands taking a long view. This affects all business and diplomatic
considerations, and since Cuba is so close to the United States in every sense,
Americans are more affected than anyone.
98 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
For this reason the grave disagreements that have arisen between Americans
and Cubans, the antagonism against Cuba in the United States and against the
United States in Cuba are considered here to be exceptionally disturbing.
Another foreign issue with which Cuba is deeply concerned is the Dominican
Republic. The young Cuban revolutionaries consider themselves as paladins of
freedom and social justice in all of Latin America. Their chief target is General-
issimo Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, dictator of the Dominican Republic.
For the time being, at least, encouragement of invasion of other countries like
the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua seems to have ended. The emphasis
from now on is expected to come in the diplomatic field and especially in the
Organization of American States.
At the same time, Premier Castro does believe that he and his 26th of July
Movement represent the wave of the future in Latin America, not just in Cuba.
Cubans are convinced that his voice will be heard all over the Western Hemi-
sphere, and it is the voice of the angry young man of our times.
Mr. SouRWiNE. I would like to show this next item to the witness
and ask him if he knows that to be a Communist indoctrination paper.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes; I do.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Utilized for party instruction?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. That is the directive that the Communist Party
of the United States sends out to orientate its members in favor of
the Cuban revolution, and Castro, and is very, very vitriolic.
Senator Keating. What was your last comment?
Mr. Kornfeder. Very, very vitriolic; made my blood boil when I
read it.
Mr. SouRwiNE. May that be received?
Senator Keating. It will be peceived.
(Document entitled "The Cuban Revolution and the Tasks of the
Communist Party, U.S.A.," follows:)
The Cuban Revolution and the Tasks of the Communist Party, U.S.A.
I. THE significance OF THE CUBAN REVOLUTION
Castro's prolonged resistance against the Batista tyranny "has inflamed the
hearts not only of his own people, but of people all around the globe. Not
since Sandino resisted the American Marines for six years in the Nicaraguan
Mountains, has any Latin American figure so caught the imagination of the
world as Fidel CastTO," writes Carleton Beals in The Nation (Jan. 17, 1959).
The overthrow of the Batista dictatorship in January 1959 by Castro and the
Cuban people's liberation forces is a tremendous victory for democracy, peace,
and social progress for the peoples of the world. It was an uncompromising vic-
tory without the mediation or last-minute move by U.S. imperialism.
Occurring only ninety miles from Florida, on the very doorstep of the United
States, this historic event represents a profound defeat for American imperialism,
which armed and supported the Batista dictatorship. On the other hand, it
has aroused the admiration of the American people. The victory aids the struggle
of the American people against the U.S. trusts, and will give a fresh impulse to
the freedom struggles of the Negro people.
It is highly significant that U.S. imperialism was not able to intervene to pre-
vent the people's victory. It sent in marines at one stage of the struggle but it
was forced by world public opinion to withdraw them. Little Cuba delivered a
staggering defeat to the imperialist Colossus. This indicates the power of the
socialist, anti-imperialist and democratic forces on a world scale.
The events in Cuba and Venezuela show that under the new world conditions
it is possible for the oppressed people of Latin America, when it is united and
fights mUitantly, to win national liberation despite the power and nearness of
U.S. imperialism.
The anticolonial, national Hberation struggle, which embraces Asia and Africa,
is also in full swing in Latin America. The Cuban struggle stirred the Latin
American peoples everywhere and the victory will heighten and broaden it still
further.
National reaction and American imperialism may save a little longer the re-
maining dictatorships in Latin America. They may even save themselves for a
while by demagogically making some concessions to their oppressed people,
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 99
like the present Trujillo efforts to raise the very low basic wage of the Dominican
worker with the blessing of the International Labor Office. But the strength of
the liberation movement is shown by the destruction in Latin America of half a
dozen dictators during the last four years.
On September 19, 1955, General Juan Domingo Peron had to abandon the
presidency (read dictatorship) of Argentina.
On December 13, 1956, Paul G. Magliore, dictator of Haiti, was forced into
€xile.
On May 10, 1957, dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla of Colombia was thrown
out of office.
On January 23, 1958, dictator Marcos Perez Jiminez of Venezuela was ousted
and fled to Trujillo's Dominican Republic.
Four dictators still remain: Alfredo Stroessner who became dictator of Paraguay
after forcing the duly elected president Frederico Chaves to resign in 1954.
General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo y Medina has been dictator of the Dominican
Republic for the last twenty-eight years. Francois Duvalier, who became presi-
dent at a national election in 1957, has become for all intents and purposes Haiti's
dictator, after the powers granted to him following the crushing of the last July
rebellion. Then there is Luis Somoza who inherited the presidency of Nicaragua
after his father Anastasio was assassinated in September 1956.
There is no doubt that as the Cubans continue their revolution and make
efforts to take away the usurped rights and privileges of U.S. imperialism in Cuba,
the danger of intervention will grow. It is essential that the democratic freedom-
loving forces in this country realize the danger and act to arouse public opinion
in the United States.
II. THE BATISTA DICTATORSHIP AND U.S. IMPERIALISM
BatLsta established his dictatorship by a coup on March 10, 1952. He ruled
by bloody terror, by torture, airplane bombings of peoples (with Napalm bombs) ,
executions of workers' leaders, wholesale imprisonment and shootings of rebels.
Twenty thousand patriots — men, women, and children — were killed. "I have
seen reports of human fingernails and toenails yanked out of live victims and
human eyes that were gouged out. It is almost a Buchenwald story, the crimes
committed by this clever little dictator so pampered by our State Department in
both Democratic and Republican days." Carleton Beals, in The Nation, Janu-
ary 24, 1959.
Refugees from Batista's tyranny, of which there were many thousands, were
harassed in the U.S. by immigration authorities. The Batista clique enriched
itself by outright corruption, sale of concessions and in countless other ways.
The thefts ran into billions.
The Batista tyranny, as the Popular Socialist Party (the Cuban Communist
Party) points out, represented a government of unconditional submission to
imperialism, to the foreign banks and corporations, to the big landowners, to the
big import merchants and sugar magnates and other producers. That is why the
Batista government was an antinational, anti-working-class and antipeople's
regime.
These forces feared the growing movement of the workers, peasants, intellectuals,
and the national bourgeoisie for greater democratic freedom and for freeing them-
selves from the domination of U.S. imperialism which has ruled the country for
the past sixty years and which today owns 70 percent of the wealth of the country.
The trade union center, the Confederation of Cuban Workers, was transformed
into a government agency. The trade union leaders selected by the workers were
removed from office by the government and corrupt and subservient men were
designated in their places. The dictatorship ruthlessly intervened in union
matters on all levels, dismissed, murdered, and imprisoned those loyal to the
workers' cause.
Batista would not have been able to remain in power without the direct military
aid of the U.S. State Department which supplied the guns, planes, and ammuni-
tion from the U.S. Naval base at Guatanamo and through the Dominican
government.
"Our military men were advisers and trainers of the Cuban army . . . Our
commanders in the area decorated the worst killers of the Cuban Army. Diplo-
matic and army banquets with the dictator were frequent and lavish." (Beals,
The Nation, January 17, 1959.)
Moreover, the State Department and Ambassador E. T. Smith intervened
directly in the affairs of the government and virtually dictated Batista's actions to
the very end.
100 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
As Herbert Matthews writes in the New York Times, January 4, 1959:
"History will prove that the dictator did have U.S. support for much of the
greater part of his second seven years as the sole ruler. The U.S. ambassadors
either by inclination or under orders from the State Department were friendly to
Batista and openly so. Ambassador E. T. Smith, now in Havana, also openly
showed his hostility towards Fidel Castro and this is something every well-in-
formed Cuban knows."
III. BRIEF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FACTS
U.S. imperialism has dominated the country economically and politically for
more than half a century. Cuba, with a population of about six and one-half
billions, is one of the largest of the Caribbean Islands and one of the wealthiest.
But its wealth is largely in the hands of American banks and industrialists.
"Economically Cuba is as much a part of the U.S. as if the 90-mile stretch of water
between it and Key West never existed," wrote Robert M. Hallet, Latin American
expert for the Christian Science Monitor in 1956.
U.S. monopolies' sales amounted to $1,425 millions in 1953.
All raw materials and all public utilities are owned by U.S. monopolies. Three-
fourths of the tillable land is in the hands of foreigners.
The sugar industry accounts for 75 percent of the income. This is controlled
by 161 sugar "centrals" most of which are controlled by U.S. interests that has
75 million dollars invested in the industry. In 1952 the Cuban Atlantic Sugar
Company grabbed profits equal to forty percent of its capital in 1952. Other
American corporations received like sums. The lack of a real estate tax increases
their profits.
The United States sets annual quotas on sugar imports from Cuba and other
countries. In this way the Big Business interests exercise a stranglehold on the
country since the U.S. is by far the largest buyer.
The U.S. government built and owns a one hundred million dollar nickel re-
finery which is exploited by the National Lead Company.
International Telephone and Telegraph Company has twenty million dollars
invested and operates through its subsidiary, the Cuban Telephone Company.
Standard Oil of New Jersey has a refinery at Belot with a capacity of 35,000
barrels a day.
Wages of the Cuban workers are one-fourth of those paid in the U.S., while
prices are about the same as in our country. About 500,000 Cuban workers are
dependent on seasonal employment in the sugar industry.
A substantial part of the population of Cuba are Negroes.
The overwhelming majority of the people of Latin America, and this applies
to Cuba, live in miserable conditions. "They are subject to a high incidence of
disease, malnutrition, and illiteracy. * * * Two thirds of the people are physically
undernourished." (U.S. over Latin America, International Publishers, 1955.)
The tuberculosis mortalitv rate in Cuba is 169.4 per 100,000. (In the U.S.
in 1953 it was 12.3 per 100,000.) Based on 1954 census figures, infant mortality
was 99 per 1,000 live births. (In the U.S. it was 29.)
IV. THE people's LIBERATION MOVEMENT ITS CL.\SS COMPOSITION
The opposition to Batista began soon after his coup of March 1952. It grew
in strength and embraced the vast majority of people. It was given great force
by Castro who on July 26, 1953, led an attack on the Moncada army barracks in
Santiago de Cuba. This was the origin of the July 26 movement by which name
the Castro followers are known. This failed. Castro was captured and im-
prisoned but released in a general amnesty in 1954. From his exile in Mexico he
organized an expedition and in 1956 landed with 90 men on the Southern coast
of Oriente Province. All but a dozen were killed or captured. Castro and the
few rebels went into the Sierra Maestro mountains and organized the struggle.
At first his numbers were a mere handful of 3'outh but this gradually grew with
the enrollment of workers, peasants, intellectuals, small and medium bourgeoisie.
The whole youth were behind Castro and the liberation forces.
"The tyranny was overthrown because the entire people opposed Batista and
his regime and fought actively for its overthrow in every possible way and on all
fronts: in the armed struggles, in strikes and in the final general strike, in nu-
merous civilian struggles, in mass struggles of the workers and farmers, by means
of propaganda, by boycotting the fake elections and fighting against the entire
Batista agents in the various organizations (such as the treacherous and corrupt
gang of Eusibio Mujal in the trade unions). Ninety percent of the rebel forces
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 101
are composed of farmers, agricultural workers, city workers, and students of every
revolutionary trend." (From the thesis of the Popular Socialist Party on the
Present Situation.)
While the national bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie had hegemony in the
movement, a decisive part was played by the working class, as the nationwide
general strike indicated, and by the Communists (the Popular Socialist Party).
Leadmg Communist trade unionists were murdered by the Batista forces.
The Popular Socialist Party was an active force in establishing a loose coalition
of all liberation forces. This party has a long history of struggle against reaction
and imperialism. It arose in 1925 and was in the front ranks of struggle in over-
throwing the Machado dictatorship through the general strike in August 1933.
Among the organizers and leaders of the party from its inception were people who
embody the best traditions of struggle of the working class of Cuba, such as the
organizers of the Party, Carlo Balino, friend of Jose Marti, the great Cuban
liberator, and Julio Antonio Mella, Cuban youth leader and fighter against im-
perialism. Mella was assassinated by orders of Machado in Mexico City on
January 10, 1929. Other well known leaders include lazar Pena, tobacco workers'
leaders and later general secretary of the Confederation of Labor; Bias Roca,
shoe worker and Secretary of the Socialist Party; and Juan Marinello, its presi-
dent, university professor and one of the great writers in the Spanish language.
The Popular Socialist Party took an active part in the struggle against the
tyranny, aiding it in every way, and worked for a popular coalition government,
for national independence, for democracy, economic development, social progress,
and peace.
A strong contingent of party members and sympathizers belonged to the rebel
forces and many of them distinguished themselves for their bravery and conduct.
The party stimulated a great number of mass actions by workers and peasants
which served to undermine the dictatorship (protest movements against bombings,
boycott actions in the elections, strikes, etc.). It popularized the program of
essential reforms, and made important contributions in spurring on the national
mobilization against the Batista tyranny.
V. THE PRESENT SITUATION AND THE OUTLOOK FOR THE REVOLUTION
The military victory of the Cuban revolution was complete and total. The
liberation forces did not compromise with reaction but swept it out of power.
They destroyed the military and police power of the old regime and power passe'd
into the hands of the rebel forces.
The rebel government is completely democratic and is subject to no force other
than the rebel army and the revolutionary and social organizations which backed
the liberation movement.
The new government is free of any submission to American imperialism. The
social composition of those who compose the new government is primarily petty
bourgeoisie, representatives of the small and middle bourgeoisie, professionals,
rich farmers, and small landowners.
The thesis of the Communists states that:
"Such social forces, as is well known, although they do not bow to imperialism
and resist it, do not work in consistent struggle but waver in the face of economic
and social measures that have to be adopted to carry forward the national libera-
tion struggle, economic development and social progress.
"These forces limit the anti-imperialist and revolutionary orientation by their
desire to maintain the capitalist system at all costs. At the same time the social
support of the new government rests not only on the classes and strata which
compose it but also on the farmers and workers who have given their full support
to the revolution and who have their own concrete demands for fulfilling the revo-
lution."
All this means that from the social viewpoint the new power rests on the popular
forces (workers, farmers, petty bourgeoisie and the national industrial bourgeoisie.)
"It cannot be termed a government of revolutionary and popular coalition."
(From thesis of Popular Socialist Party)
Main Communist proposals for advancement of the revolution
The Popular Socialist Party supports the new government and seeks to maintain
the utmost unity against native reaction and U.S. imperialism. At the same time
it strives to have the government represent more fully the coalition of forces which
achieved the victory, particularly the farmers and proletariat.
In its thesis issued on January 6 the Party is pressing to "defend the revolution
and to enable it to advance."
102 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
As Joseph North writes in The Worker (February 15, -1959), the thesis "calls
for strengthening a People's Army, built around those who took arms against
Batista." It urges a formal legislative confirmation of the new rights won by the
people and guaranteeing those rights. It makes concrete proposals for a demo-
cratic constitution.
It proposes the immediate enactment of the agrarian law written during the
revolutionary struggle and further steps to "complete agrarian reform until we
end latifundism — the ownership of the vast plantations." Toward that end and
to improve the conditions of the farmers the thesis emphasizes the importance of
the organization of a farmers movement.
It calls for a genuinely effective policy to end race discrimination, for the
restoration of education, to guarantee trade union rights and to reorganize the
trade union movement on democratic lines.
It proposes measures to achieve the full sovereignty of the nation, eliminating
all foreign interventionist agencies — and to end the U.S. Naval base at Guanta-
namo. Also to make progress toward nationalizing public services that are owned
by foreign interests and to annul colonial concessions which Batista gave the
imperialist monopolies "and undertake the exploitation of oil to improve the
development of a national industry."
Further it calls for measures for the reconstruction of destroyed areas and for
achieving a maximum sugar crop. It also proposes the strengthening of relations
with the peoples of Latin America to defend their common interests and to main-
tain peace. Towards the same end to establish diplomatic, cultural, scientific
and economic relations with Asian and African countries recently freed from
colonialism and to develop trade w-h the socialist countries.
To achieve this program, the thesis urges the upbuilding of the Popular Socialist
Party and its press and the Young Socialist organization.
<■ VI. THE POLICY OF U.S. IMPERIALISM AFTER THE REVOLUTION
After the victory of the Castro forces, U.S. imperialism through its press began
a campaign to discredit the revolutionary forces by charging the government with
callous murder in its treatment of the Batista agents. By its campaign it sought
to retain intact the reactionary forces in the government and also to lay the
ground for possible armed intervention. At the same time it exercised pressure on
rightward-leaning elements in the government, seeking to divide the ranks of the
government and revolutionary forces. •
This failed. The government continued to mete out revolutionary justice to
the assassins of the people. It would be a mistake, however, to underestimate
the power of reaction and of U.S. imperialism which still dominates the country
economically. U.S. imperialism by economic, political, and possibly military
pressure will seek to retain its special privileges and control of the country. It
seeks to boycott Cuban industry and bring the revolutionary forces to capitulate
or disastrously compromise themselves. It is also carrying on an anti-Communist
campaign.
The struggle of the Cuban people to consolidate and advance the revolution will
go on for some period of time, at all stages of which it will encounter the resistance
of U.S. imperialism.
VII. THE TASKS OF THE CP AND THE DEMOCRATIC FORCES IN THE U.S.
Under these conditions great responsibility falls on the Communist Party, and
all democratic forces of the U.S., in the first place labor, to aid the Cuban people
and to block and nullify the efforts of U.S. imperialism to reestablish its domina-
tion of the country.
In the past our party gave substantial aid to the struggles of the Latin-American
people. As William Z. Foster wrote in History of the CPUSA, our party was
active in "organizing the All- American Anti-imperialist League in 1924 * * *
gave vigorous support to August Cesar Sandino * * * and constantly kept the
Latin American question before the American working class."
In recent years, however, there has been a severe decline in attention and aid
to the struggles of the Latin American people. This is a great weakness in inter-
nationalism which harms the struggle of the American people.
The American labor movement and the people cannot make continuing advance
if they do not fight against the oppression of the Latin American people by U.S.
imperialism. On the contrary, failure to take up this struggle can only result in
setbacks and defeat for labor and democracy.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 103
The victory of the Cuban revolution, which follows on the heels of the series of
revolutions in other Latin American countries, emphasizes the extreme import-
ance of these great events for our country and for our party. Major attention
must be given to rally the support of the American people behind the Cuban people.
(1) It is essential to call for resolutions, letters, and other expressions of solid-
arit}^ and support to the Cuban revolution. Delegations from trade unions and
people's organizations to Cuba should be encouraged.
(2) Also letters and resolutions should be addressed to President Eisenhower,
to the State Department, to Congressmen and Senators protesting the support
given to the Batista regime in the past and to demand no intervention in the
internal affairs of Cuba.
(3) In Latin American and in Negro and white communities, efforts should be
made to establish committees to aid the Cuban revolution. Such committees can
push solidarity actions of various types, such as meetings, delegations, etc.
(4) It is necessary to bring the truth and meaning of the events in Cuba to the
trade unions and people's organizations and to the people of the communities by
means of leaflets, forums, pamphlets and by lectures and discussions in organiza-
tions.
(5) A leaflet has been issued by the State Committee. A popular pamphlet
(10 cents) by Joseph North in English and one in Spanish is ready. All clubs
should order and distribute this pamphlet.
Finally we urge all community and industrial clubs, sections, and counties to
review work in relation to Puerto Rican workers and communities and to take
practical measures to ensure a series of steps which will improve contacts, organ-
ization, and aid to the Puerto Rican people.
Reading:
(1) Joseph North, Cuba's Revolution: I Saw the People's Victory, New Century
Publishers.
(2) Lazaro Pena, "The Cuban People and the Batista Tyranny," Political Affairs,
February 1959.
(3) P. Reyes, "Liberation Movement in Latin America," World Marxist Review,
January 1959.
(4) U.S. over Latin America. International Publishers.
(5) William Z. Foster, History of the CPUS A, pages 365-367.
(6) William Z. Foster, Outline History of the Americas,
Mr. SouRwiNE. I offer, Mr. Chairman, on the question of relations
between the Communist Party in Chile and the Castro regime, first
an article from the New York Times of May 11, 1959, written by
Tad Szulc. ^
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(The article referred to follows:)
[The Xew York Times, May 11, 1959, p. 1]
Chilean Red Asks Ties With Castro
hails cuban' movement as worthy of collaboration efforts by the party
(By Tad Szulc)
Santiago, Chile, May 10. — Fidel Castro, Cuba's Premier, and his move-
ment were described today as the best example of the "progressive burgeoisie"
with which Latin-American Communists should collaborate.
This policy line for hemsiphere Communists was enunciated by Luis Corvalan,
secretary general of the Chilean Communist Party, in a speech before its central
committee.
"We must march with the burgeoisie, and Cuba is the example," he declared.
His statements seeking to identify the Communists with Dr. Castro's regime
came a day after 10 United States Ambassadors in South America had ended
consultations here and issued a warning of an "intensified effort by international
communism to undermine the unity of the hemisphere."
Cuba was not mentioned in the communique, but the degree of Communist
infiltration in Cuba public life was discussed by the ambassadors with concern.
Rey exchanged views on how best to deal with the problem.
This point was discussed even in greater detail when United States Ambassadors
in Central America and the Caribbean held a similar conference in El Salvador
last month.
104 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Offering his views and those of Mao Tse-tung, Chinese Communist leader,
whom he visited in Peiping in February, Senor Corvalan went far to confirm
United States suspicions that the Communists were undertaking to turn the
Cuban revolution to their advantage.
Five thousand party members applauded when Glen Corvalan cited the growth
of Communist Parties in Colombia and Venezuela, "and especially the Cuban
revolution," as important steps toward "the inevitable liberation of our countries
from the Yankee yoke."
In his 2-hour report, he charged that the United States had begun an attack
on democracy in Latin America, with the "Cuban revolution as the first target"
of an anti-Communist campaign.
He said the meetings of U.S. Ambassadors in El Salvador and Santiago were part
of this campaign. He held that the campaign would continue "with the same
objectives" when the Foreign Ministers of the American Republics convened in
Quito, Ecuador, next February.
The last reference interested diplomats here in the light of U.S. intelligence
reports that the Communists were planning major disturbances during the Quito
Conference.
Senor Corvalan said Mr. Mao had told him the Cuban revolution had dis-
sipated the myth that "the Yankees are invincible."
According to him, Mr. Mao also said:
"Many people say the Yankees are powerful because they have the atomic
bomb. But the people of Cuba did not need the bomb to overthrow their yoke.
There cannot be a triumph of revolution when there is an idea of fear."
Senor Corvalan is a short man with the air of a provincial teacher. He de-
veloped another theme for Latin Communists, and again Dr. Castro was invoked.
He charged that cooperative inter-American programs for economic advance-
ment were a plot to strengthen the U.S. domination of the hemisphere.
Last week's conference of the Committee of Twenty-one in Buenos Aires failed
to produce results, he said.
Plans for a Latin common market, to be discussed this week in Panama by the
United Nations Economic Commission for Ijatin America, "will only lead to
strengthening U.S. monopolies," he declared.
"As Fidel Castro said," he went on, "these meetings do not interest the people.
Sefior Corvalan charged that the Inter-American Bank created last month, as
the result of a year's insistence by Latins, would "open new fields to L^.S.
capitalists."
Referring to the Buenos Aires Conference, which marked a year of discussions
with the United States on economic cooperation, he commented:
"In the end, the Latin-American delegates went home with empty pockets.
Mr. SouRwiNE. Second, is an article from Political Affairs of
March 1956, by Galo Gonzales Diaz, General Secretary of the Com-
munist Party of Chile.
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(The article referred to follows:)
[Political Affairs, March 195S]
Foster and Latin America
(By Galo Gonzales Diaz, General Secretary, C.P. of Chile)
The 75th anniversary of Comrade William Z. Foster fills the workers of Xorth
America and of the entire world with joy. This anniversary is especially cele-
brated by the Latin- American peoples. The long career of the Chairman of the
Communist Party of the United States — the fact that he is a great leader of the
working class and a profound Marxist theoretician — make of him an example for
those who have placed their lives at the service of the most noble and urgent task
of(Jour epoch: to win the battle between the forces of war and those of peace. In
these years when the peoples confront imperialism and open the road to Socialism,
Comrade Foster has distinguished himself as an anti-imperialist fighter.
The Draft Program of the Communist Party of Chile states:
"The North American monopolies have taken possession of almost all our
copper, nitrate, and iron; they run our foreign trade; they hold in their hands a
part of our water power and of the distribution of electrical energy ; they own the
telephone service; they control the important steel industry of Huachipato, and
control part of the internal trade through large distributing firms.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 105
"The Yankee monopolies are plundering Chile; they carry off our raw materia^
they prevent its processing in our country, and they make fabulous profits from
*^''This plunder is increased tremendously through Yankee monopoly of our
foreign trade. * * * An idea of the great losses jpAicted on Chile by this
monopoly can be had from the fact that during the Second World War we lost
five hundred million dollars because the North American government quoted
""ThS^^picture'^of'ihe^etpToitati^ suffered by Chile at the hands of the North
\merican monopolies is generally the same throughout Latin America.
4s if this were not enough, in addition to economic control and parallel with it,
the North \merican government makes us the object of pitiless political doniina-
tion With the backing of despicable traitors whom they always find at a cheap
price and in alliance with landholding and banking ohgarchies, the imperialists
impo'se upon us military pacts, international "agreements undercutting the
sovereignty of our countries, and repressive laws of every kind. Furthermore
with a systematic plan of ideological penetration, they smother our press and
radio and even the universities with their reactionary propaganda; at the same
time, they trample upon our culture, our republican traditio.s, and our national
sentiments. , , ,. j r i
The contemporary history of our continent is, therefore, the record ot a long
chain of aggressions" and acts of robbery by North American imperialism; but it
is also the record of a rich, glorious and heroic struggle by our peoples to defend
and extend our sovereignty, to maintain or regain our democratic forms and to
rescue our resources from' the hands of the hated Wall Street monopolies In
this long struggle, our peoples have found an ally in the working class and the
democratic masses of the United States; and the Communist Party of the Ijmted
States has ably pointed out that we have one common, basic opponent and that
we must act together in order to defeat him and get rid of his exploitation.
On the occcasion of Comrade Foster's 75th birthday, we can confirm that these
75 years saw a persistent attempt by the Wall Street bosses to reduce our countries
to the status of semicolon ies, and even of outright colonies. But they are also
75 years of struggle bv the Latin American peoples for their independence and
simultaneously— even jointly, at times— struggles by the North American peoples
to open up a democratic path. During these 75 years we have seen glorious
figures arise in the struggles for emancipation and against fascism who today
are the heroes of the common people, among them thousands of the unsung
and unknown who have fallen in the streets, factories, and jails of Santiago or
New York, of Mexico or Chicago, welding forever with their blood the brother-
hood of Latin American and United States workers.
In accordance with the fundamental law of imperialist economy to e.xploit us
to the maximum— and as the wave of liberation sweeping through Asia and Africa
tears from imperialism tens and hundreds of millions of people— the monopolists
trv to compensate themselves by redoubling their economic and political pene-
tr'ation in Latin America. In Chile, we are being subjected to a new offensive of
the exploiters, who wish to unload upon our people the full weight of the crisis.
They have tried to silence popular protest with new repressive measures— many
leaders of the United Workers Federation have been arrested and concentration
camps have been reopened in various parts of the country.
These events highlight the exceptional significance of the judgment ma,de Dy
Comrade Foster in 1951 in his Outline Political History of the Americas, and since
further confirmed: , , ^ i • *k ?„«»,
"The trade unions of Latin America have a heroic record of struggle in the tace
of the most violent opposition from the state, the employers, and the landowners.
Their honor roll is replete with the names of innumerable workers shot down and
jailed in their dauntless fight to secure the necessities of life for themselves and
their families from the parasitic elements who are exploiting them.
At the same time that imperialism is being fought in Latin America, no less
intense nor less sustained is the struggle which the comrades of the Communist
Party of the United States, with William Z. Foster at the head, are waging against
the common antagonist— an antagonist which is directing its repressive blows
against the North American working class with as great or greater force than upon
our peoples. During the last decade, the North American monopolies have tried
frantically to annihilate all democratic forms in that country; they have passed
repressive laws of all kinds, have jailed or deported the most loyal sons and daugn-
ters of the working class, have persecuted all progressive groups, have persisted m
a shameless policy of race discrimination, have let loose anti-Commumst hysteria,
106 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
have filled tons of paper with war propaganda, have converted an important
sector of industry into factories of armament and death. - They have not stopped
even at execution, as in the case of the immortal Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.
To sum up, in seeking domination, they have overlooked nothing in their war
upon democratic forms of life so beloved by the North American masses, in order
to exploit them and to use them more easily for cannonfodder.
And, during some years, they achieved successes along these lines.
Nevertheless, facts prove the precarious nature of all this repressive apparatus.
The struggles for peace of all the peoples of the world — headed by the U.S.S.R.,
the Chinese People's Republic and the People's Democracies — began to inflict
most important setbacks upon imperialism's plans for war and fascism. The
North American people themselves, joining the fight, have contributed in good
part to the successes obtained. According to a statement made recently in
Carnegie Hall in New York City of Comrade Eugene Dennis, that which five
years ago was proclaimed by Communists alone, is now the belief of millions of
U.S. citizens, who advocate peaceful coexistence among all peoples, an end to
poverty and discrimination, and the restoration of all democratic rights guaranteed
in their Constitution.
McCarthyism, already isolated within the United States and repudiated
throughout the world, has begun to rot.
The working class has strengthened itself by the merger of the AFL and CIO.
Several of the most reactionary candidates were defeated in the last elections.
Internal pressure has become a powerful factor, which together with international
factors, compelled the holding of the Geneva Conference, eased international
tension and lessened the intensity of repression.
Comrade Foster, unflinching at his fighting post at the head of his Party, with
the firmness characteristic of the working class, has proved during these years
that a good Communist grows in moments of difficulty. Moulded in the most
severe struggle, as have been all great popular leaders. Comrade Foster already
at an early age knew what exploitation was, having to leave school when 13
years old and go to work. A striker at 14, socialist at 19, union organizer at 20,
he proved staunch in service to his class. The Negroes, the unemployed, organ-
ized workers, women workers — all who fight for their rights have always found
him at their side.
His ideological firmness led him to watch over the Marxist-Leninist line,
combatting the Browder deviation which threatened the very life of his Party.
After a sharp inner fight, Foster in 1945 returned to the leadership of his Party,
maintaining a consistent proletarian line.
Comrade Foster's contribution to Marxist theory is as valuable as his practical
Communist activity. His basic work. Outline Political History of the Americas,
is a monumental contribution to the study of the history of our continent.
In its struggle, the Communist Party of Chile is inspired by the traditions and
experiences of the working-class movement of our country and by the enlightening
examples of the glorious and invincible Communist Party of the Soviet Union, of
the Chinese Communist Party, and of the others which have succeeded in ridding
themselves of imperialism. Since we are interested in assimilating everything
positive in the history of all peoples, we consider the Outline Political History of
the Americas important not only for its correct proletarian internationalism, but
also for the great wealth of experiences it offers from the North American
workers' movement.
Wisely does Comrade Foster observe in this book:
"The Communist Parties of the Americas live and function in a capitalist
environment; they are therefore subjected to powerful ideological as well as politi-
cal pressures from the huge capitalist propaganda apparatus of the governments,
schools, church, press, and controlled labor leaders. It follows that they must
wage a constant struggle against these foreign influences and educate their mem-
bers in the principles of Marxism-Leninism. This struggle for ideological develop-
ment has been continuous since the organization of the Communist movement."
The Communists of Latin America confirm the wise words of Comrade Foster
concerning the future of our national liberation movement:
"The march toward Socialism is a revolutionary march and, because of the
different stages of industrial development and political history in Latin America
and of the United States, the road will not be precisely the same in these two
areas. * * *
"A favorable situation for a real advance toward Socialism by the workers and
their allies could develop swiftly in the Americas. Latin America is in an explosive
state, and profound revolutionary mass movements may be expected there before
long. As for the United States, the last great stronghold of world capitalism, it,
too, is by no means invulnerable to mass advances toward Socialism.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 107
"Fifty years ago capitalism was triumphant throughout the world and the
Communists were but a small minority among the huge ranks of the masses;
but today capitalism is visibly rotting, and the Communists are leading 800
million people into Socialism. This is the way the world in general is going,
and this is the route, too, of the peoples of the Western Hemisphere. The great
historical process that has gone on in the Americas for more than four and a
half centuries since Columbus landed in the West Indies, does not lead to the
fascist Yankee-dominated world of Wall Street, but to the new free world of
Socialism."
Mr. SouRWiNE. I should like to ask the witness, from your knowl-
edge of Communist affairs and operations, can you state whether a
piece in Political Affairs by the Secretary of the Communist Party of
Chile would necessarily represent the current Communist line?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Oh, yes; that is a directive.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Mr. Chairman, I have one other article by Tad
Szulc. This appeared in the New York Times of May 15, 1959, and
refers to an alleged Communist plot in Ecuador.
May that also be offered for the record?
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(The newspaper article referred to follows :)
INew York Times, Friday, May 15, 1959, p. 4]
Reds in Ecuador Accused op Plot
PARTY IS reported PLANNING TO SABOTAGE HEMISPHERE PARLEYS IN FEBRUARY
(By Tad Szulc)
(Special to the New York Times)
Quito, Ecuador, May 14. — The Ecuadorian Communist Party is preparing
a campaign to discredit and if possible disrupt the conference of American foreign
ministers to be held here next February.
It is part of Communis^, strategy aimed at isolating the United States from
Latin America.
The Communist plans which were first drawn up in outline in a secret resolution
of the party's central committee last December, are now developed in detail and
are expected to include acts against a meeting of the presidents of the hemisphere
nations near Guayaquil, Ecuador, immediately after the foreign ministers' parley.
PROPOSAL GAINS APPROVAL
Ecuador proposed a Western Hemisphere summit conference last week and the
idea appears as to have gained acceptance among the governments.
The preparation of the Communist campaign against the inter- American con-
ference in Quito — evidently one of the top current Communist objectives in the
hemisphere — has been accompanied by increased Communist activities in Ecuador
in recent months.
Ecuadorian authorities report a clandestine but substantial flow of Communist
propaganda into the country. Only this week a shipment of 8,500 Communist
propaganda books for the indoctrination of children arrived here from Mexico,
which is one of the main hemisphere centers for distribution of this type of
material.
ARMS CARGOES ARRIVE
According to a Government source, several shipments of arms believed to be
destined for Communist groups or groups with Communist connections arrived
in Ecuador in February.
Ecuadorian intelligence reports also indicated four Cuban Communist leaders
either arrived or were about to arrive in Ecuador to assist the small Ecuadorian
Communist party in coordinating its new activities, presumably including plans
against the foreign ministers' conference.
In the view of the President Camilo Ponce Enriquez, all these activities suggest
that Ecuador has become "one of communism's prime targets in South America."
In an interview yesterday, President Ponce said that the Government was on
the alert and that he believed it could handle any situation, including whatever
difficulties the Communists might cause on the occasion of the conference.
108 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Dr. Ponce said one of the reasons for Communist interest in Ecuador was that
the nation of 4 million inhabitants was an island of stability in a restless South
American Continent. Indeed, in 3 years of democratic administration by Dr.
Ponce, a moderate Conservative, Ecuador has enjoyed remarkable political
stability, made some economic gains and became virtually the only South American
republic to have escaped inflation and currency depreciation.
ELECTIONS SLATED IN JUNE
With presidential elections scheduled for June 1960, the political atmosphere is
certain to become more turbulent.
As the foreign ministers' conference will be held only a few months before the
elections, the Communists may seek to capitalize on political tension to sabotage
the parley.
The party's secret directive, prepared at the central committee's meeting in
Guayaquil December 6 through 8, was intercepted by the Ecuadorian Govern-
ment but not made public thus far. It ordered the executive committee of the
party's central committee to "prepare a detailed work plan for amplification of
this resolution."
The directive orders that there be "coordination of action of the Communist
Parties of Latin American countries and of the Communist Party of the United
States for the campaign against the conference.
The ground work for this coordination was done in February in Moscow,
when Latin American Communist leaders met there for the 21st congress of the
Soviet party. There has been subsequent consultation through frequent but
brief visits here by Latin American and European Communist agents, who,
according to President Ponce, have been coming to Ecuador in increasing numbers.
Mr. SouRWiNE. I should like to show this to the witness.
I believe you have read it. Have you read that article by Mr. Tad
Szulc?
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Yes; I am generally familiar with it.
Mr. SoURWiNE. Is that evidence, Mr. Kornfeder, of the integration
of units of the Communist Party operations in Latin America?
Mr, Kornfeder. Yes. This is the result of a conference held by
Communist leaders in South America, and it contains some of their
decisions.
As I said before, they hold these conferences periodically for a
tactical checkup of their operations. This was one of them.
Mr. SouRWiNE. Mr. Chairman, I hold here an article, a photostat
of an article, from Political .Affairs of June 1959, and the title of the
article is ".A Program for Cuba." The writer of the article is not
identified except by the initials "N.C., Popular Socialist Party."
Does what you said earlier with regard to an article in Political
Affairs apply also with regard to this article, Mr. Kornfeder; by reason
of its publication in Political Affairs it would necessarily represent a
Communist du'ective of the current Communist line?
Mr. Kornfeder. Yes.
Mr. SouRWiNE. On that basis, Mr. Chairman, it may be offered
for the record.
Senator Keating. It will be received.
(The article referred to foUows:)
[Political Affairs, June 1959]
A Program for Cuba
(By N. C, Popular Socialist |Party)
Monopoly capitalism in the United States, having enchained the
Cuban people for sixty years, and having maintained in power there
puppet dictators like Machado and Batista of unspeakable brutality
and colossal corruption, fears that the success of the recent revolution
will really free Cuba. As part of the monopolists' campaign to con-
COMMUlSriST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 109
tinue Cuba's enslavement, there has developed in all the propaganda
media in the United States horror stories about the alleged "infiltra-
tion" of Communists into Cuban life and the terrible plans of these
awful Communists. In the pages that follow, readers will find —
for the first time in English — -the full suggested program for Cuba
recently put forth by tlie valiant Marxists- Leninists of that Re-
public; they will see from this why the Popular Socialist Party of
Cuba is honored with the special hatred of Wall Street. — The Editor.
NATIONAL IXDEPENDENCE AND FOREIGN POLICY
1. Absolute recovery of the national sovereignty and inviolable defense of the
independence, integrity, and honor of our country. Eliminations of all inten-
tions to submit to orders, pressure, and influence of foreign imperialists. To
confirm the aspirations and determination of Cuba to attain its economic inde-
pendence by virtue of the administration of its own resources and the promotion
of its own economy on a developed and progressive level. Liquidation of the
control, intervention and interference in our internal affairs by the embassy,
consulates, and other missions that the U.S. keeps in Cuba.
2. Reintegration to Cuban sovereignty of the territory occupied by the U.S.
Naval Base in Guantanamo, as well as cancelling the leasing or concession to
any outside power of national territory for the construction of land, sea, or air
bases.
3. Denunciation and cancellation of all treaties, agreements, and accords in
as much as they deny, undermine, or restrict the independence and sovereignty
of the nation or are contrary to its best interests.
4. Annulment of the colonialist concessions (Canal Via-Cuba, King Ranch,
Boa Bay Company, oil concerns, etc.) which undermine the national sovereignty
and are counter to the free economic development of Cuba.
5. Immediate nationalization of Public Service enterprises (Compania Cubana
de Electricidad, Cuban Telephone Company, railways, aviation, port facilities,
etc.) and of foreign banks with the aims, among others, of cutting their exploitation
through shares and also in order to reduce their service charges for the sake of
the national economic development.
Recovery, for the national patrimony, of all lands, reservations and mine
projects owned by foreign businesses or individuals.
6. Protection of enterprises not nationalized, and even though not Cuban
owned, which respect the sovereignty and the interests of our nation, obey the
laws and cooperate with the national democratic power in promotion of the na-
tional economy. On the contrary, foreign businesses 'and enterprises, even
though not of a public service character, that attack or conspire against our
sovereignty, protect or finance counter-revolutionaries, violate our social
rules and .sabotage the national economy, shall be interfered with or nationalized.
7. A foreign policy based on the faithful observance of the following principles:
defense of our national independence; defense of world peace and cooperating
towards this fulfillment bv means of solving international conflicts through nego-
tiations, the prohibition of nuclear weapons, halting of the armaments race and
gradual disarmament; peaceful coexistence; nonaggression and respect for the
territorial integrity and sovereignty of all nations; noninterference in the affairs
of other states; support of all peoples struggling for national liberation and for
the rights of every nation to build freely its self-determination; and to establish
trade and friendly relations with all nations on the basis of mutual benefit and
equality. With these principles and considerations as a starting point, Cuba
must develop a double course of action:
A. Renegotiating its diplomatic and trade relations with the U.S.A. so as to
alter the status quo not favorable to the national interest; and B, Maintaining or
establishing diplomatic and commercial and cultural relations with all countries
capable of treating Cuba as equal lo equal, including the countries of the Socialist
camp, such as the U.S.S.R., the People's Republic of China, and all popular democ-
racies in general. With particular interest Cuba should carry out a policy of
solidarity, friendship and cooperation with the sister republics of Latin America.
8. Adoption of all means to prescribe and to punish war propaganda.
AGRARIAN REFORM
9. Solution of the agrarian reform problem, based on the expropriation of all
lands belonging to big landowners; elimination of "Latifundism" and farm rentals
and other remnants of Feudalism; also, the partition and delivery of expropriated
6649Z O - 61 - 6
110 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
and government lands free of charge to the peasants and farm workers who own
little or no land and who desire to cultivate the same. - Each peasant or farm
worker benefiting from the partition of land shall receive a property deed covering
the piece of land received. On the same basis, all lands heretofore occupied by
other impoverished peasants shall receive the corresponding legal title. In like
fashion, all members, temporarily in the armed forces and who are of peasant
stock, shall have the right to participate in the land partition. As a transitory
measure and as lon;^ as present sugar producing conditions prevail, those lands
belonging to latifundists and other sugar companies actually planted with sugar-
cane so indispensable for milling, such lands shall not be expropriated or shared
out, except those lands which had been handed, rented or given to peasants or
sharecroppers — in which case they will come under the conditions of landsharing.
All persons of foreign extraction who have resided and raised families within our
national territory, will have the right to possession of land under the same condi-
tions covering Cuban citizens.
10. The maximum amount of land possessed by a peasant will be fixed by law
considering the location and quality of such land, but in no case will it be more
than "thirty" (30) caballerias (33^ acres). On this basis middle income and rich
owners will have a legal guarantee — as will the poor landowners — of the property
they shall possess.
1 1 . Abolition of sharecropping (aparceria) and of all forms of semifeudal explora-
tion of the peasantry.
12. Revision of all debts, particularly the onerous and unjust debts the peas-
antry have contracted with the latifundists, sugar mills, speculators, stock
merchants, and other imperialist enterprises. Cancellation of the debts the
peasants owe the state because of taxation.
13. Rights to permanency as well as reduction of rentals to peasants who lease
land while the renting system is in effect.
14. To afford all peasants, farm workers and all other peasants that may need
them, with such facilities as farm animals, equipment for such animals, etc., as
well as low-paying, long-term loans towards the purchase of machinery, seed,
fertilizer, insecticides, dwelling construction, wells, etc. To make sure that cheap
transportation is provided for these farm products. The National Government
will organize ample technical help to the peasants, and will promote among
them the necessary spirit to collectively exploit the land through the organization
of voluntary cooperatives.
15. Construction of irrigation systems, country lanes, warehouses, cold storage
stations, driers, coffee and rice peelers, etc., with the purpose of satisfying the needs
of the peasants and to develop Cuban agriculture. Protection of forests plus
ample reforestation. Steps against erosion and in favor of soil conservation, as
well as filling of swampy regions. The creation of experimental stations so as to
help the peasants to improve the quality of their seeds, their methods of cultiva-
tion, their assorted livestock, etc.
16. Organization of an official corporation whose aim shall be to receive and
store the peasants' products and to assure them stable and remunerative prices
so as to eliminate speculative warehouse grabbers and all sorts of exploiting middle-
men and thus facilitating and assuring the peasants of prompt and satisfactory
sale of their crops. This will, in the meantime, prevent middlemen from specu-
lating so as to protect the large consuming masses.
INDEPENDENT PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY
17. Liberty of initiative for industry, agriculture and domestic trade based on
the defense of the national economy and the sound interests of the people.
18. Control of banking credits to mobilize inactive capital and to concentrate
all national resources so as to change the semicolonial and semifeudal structure of
the Cuban economy thus protecting, developing and diversifying the industry
and agriculture of the nation. Benefits and protection shall be guaranteed to
private capital investments within the law.
19. Defense and promotion of industry and agriculture with a view towards
the needs of the country and its complete independence, and towards the elimina-
tion of the single crop and of economic backwardness. Development of heavy
industry in conformity with the possibilities and resources of the naticn.
All categories of tariff protection (import quotas, reduction or extension of im-
posts, subsidies, etc.) as regards the national production in the face of outside
competition. Prohibition or restriction on the importation of such goods and
products which mean an unnecessary drainage on the shares of our economy,
which obstruct the development of our industry or agriculture or may jeopardize
the creation of new national sources of production and employment.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN IH
20. Development, under the direction of the government, of sugar by-products
such as alcohol, cattle feed, several chemical products, paper matter, etc. In
general, to get the most out of the sugar industry so as to extend to as large a
degree as possible the work in the mills and farms and to reduce to the minimum
any waste of time.
21. National development of oil wells, without intervention of imperialist
monopolies, with the aim of guaranteeing to the nation, under safe conditions and
low prices, the necessary fuel for its industrial and agricultural growth.
22. Revision and ruling of commercial relations with all countries on the basis
of selling what we produce and purchasing what we need for our development and
our consumption, from any part of the globe without undermining the economy
and independence of our country. Annulment of sugar policies inspired by the
onerous Chadbourne Plan of the past and by the London accord of the present,
which forces unilateral restriction of the Cuban production, adopting instead a
new line of action to disavow the said unilateral restriction, a line that is based
primarily on the national interest and not on that of the large North American
sugar monopolies.
23. Measures with the aim to protect small-time industrialists vis-a-vis the
monopolists and grab-bags as well as the promotion of cooperatives of artisans
and shopkeepers. Among these measures we point out the following: Govern-
ment aid, credit concessions, facilities towards the acquisition of machinery, tools,
raw materials, plus organizing a corporation with the purpose of storage, distri-
bution and sales of the products.
24. Protection and development of the fishing industry with particular aid to
small and petit-bourgeois fishermen by means of credits, delivery of equipment
and boating, establishment of cold storage, fish-drying places, fisherman coop-
eratives, etc.
25. Promotion of the merchant marine, both coastal and overseas, employing
for this purpose whatever resources might be necessary.
26. A tax reform to eliminate indirect imposts which burden our people, and
to rely on progressive and direct taxing on revenue to facilitate and propel the
national economy forward. Price control and measures to be taken against
inflation and in favor of the national currency.
27. A planned national economy, which, with this program as a basis and
without losing sight of the limitations within the existing economic system, will
fix the general steps to be followed in the maximum development of industry and
agriculture and the full economy of the nation.
28. The country, based upon the inescapable letter of the law and respect for
our national interests, will be permitted to utilize the help of foreign capital assets
or offers in good faith without strings attached made by countries and other inter-
national organizations in order to develop industrialization and the independent
growth of tlae national economy.
ON IMPROVEMENT OF THE WORKING-CLASS CONDITIONS AND OF THE PEOPLE IN
GENERAL
29. Fulfillment of the social benefits earned by the workers and crystallized in
the 1940 Constitution. Development and extension of social security legislation
favorable to the working class and to include farmers and civil employees within
its benefits.
30. Fixing a livable minimum salary, that is, increasing the wages to a level
that will guarantee minimum living conditions to all workers within the national
territory. Increase of salaries and pensions. To effectively apply the principle of
"equal wages for equal labor" regardless of sex, age, race, or nationality.
31. Effective application of the eight-hour day as concerns all workers and of
the 44-hour week with 48-hour payments, plus the progressive establishment of
the 40-hour week. A six-hour day for those who work in mines, places or trades
that are unhealthy as well as for those who are under 18 years of age.
32. To forbid outright the discharge of workers or employees because of social
or political reasons or because of unilateral decisions of management.
33. Effective guarantees of the right of workers to collective bargaining with
management, and obligation of the state to acknowledge and to supervise the
punctilious fulfillment of same.
34. Protection of all workers against rushing tactics employed by the exploiters
within the productive process.
35. Enforcement and extension of assistance and social security benefits for
which management and state are responsible, so that pensions and other benefits
concerning sickness, old age, accident, disability, or death be improved sub-
stantially and may cover all workers and employees, both public and private
112 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
as well as their relatives, without exception. Extension of maternity benefits i o all
workers, both industrial and farming and to all public and private employees.
36. Monthly subsidies to the luiemployed in sufficient amounts to take care of
their urgent needs of shelter, food and clothing.
37. Full recognition of syndical democracy plus guarantees to the right of the
workers to organize and to elect freely their officers without any interfcjrence on
the part of the government or any other public or private organization, the right
to hold meetings, organize the May First parade and to strike as many timt's as is
deemed necessary, because of demands, solidarity matters and boycotts.
3 8. Participati" I of democratically elected labor leaders in the regulating or-
gan! sms of the sugar, tobacco, coffee, livestock and other branches of industry.
These representatives would be under obligation of regularly giving an account of
their functions to their rank and file.
39. A law to organize and guarantee on-the-job training within the various
branches of production and to assure jobs to our working youth.
40. Free medical assistance to all workers and employees in factories, shops,
mills, plantations, offices and other working places, at the expense of management
and the state (Government).
41. Reduction in prices of popular items and services such as food, clothing,
things for hire, medicinal goods, transportation, etc., in order to improve the
standard of living of the working cla.ss and the general public.
42. Construction of healthy, low-income housing for workers, employees and
for the people in general.
43. Creation of a bank for loans in order to facilitate low interest loans to
workers, employees, etc., who may need them, with the aim of eliminating the
limitless exploitation and outrages exercised by "speculators" and money leaders.
ON THE RIGHTS OF OUR CITIZENS AND OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM
44. Complete resurrection, effective enforcement and consistent application of
the 1940 Constitution, which resulted ftom the agreement among all the social
forces and trends of the country. Only the peoples and their legitimate repre-
sentatives have the right to amend it — within the norms established by its own
text — when the popular and national interests dictate it, so as to improv»' same
and to make it more efficient as an instrument of the national sovereignty, of the
economic development and of the fullest guarantee of the rights of the people and
of the working class.
45. Abolition of all laws, decrees, dispositions and measures that deny, adul-
terate or restrict the democratic rights and liberties stated within the C-onsti-
tution, among which stand out the confiscations and raids of democratic and
workers printing shops, the so-called dispositions against Communism, the
outlawing of the P.S.P. and other political movements, brutal police persecutions
and tortures, the existence of emergency tribunals, the so-called Certificate of
Passport enforcement, the concentration of power in the hands of the Govern-
ment Ministry to deny and grant permits for meetings, public activities, etc.
As a result, full enforcement of the democratic rights and public liberties,
will he established for everyone. There will be special guarantees to provide
the workers and the general public with material means to exercise freedom of
speech, press, radio broadcasting, assembly, association, striking, public meetings,
etc. Binding respect for freedom of education, for choosing a profession, for
the inviolability of the home and the right to correspond through the mail. Guar-
antees for the free political organization of all citizens.
46. AboHtiqn of SIM, BRAC, BIP, SIN, the SIR and other undemocratic
organs of torture and repression. Cleaning out of all armed elements who heat,
torture, kill, and agents of imperialism and enemies of the workers, peasants
and of the general pubfic. Abolition of the Military Act.
47. The armed forces shall be an exclusibe instrument for the defen.-^e of the
country, the liberty and integrity of the motherland, a citizens' guarantee, of
the public will and of the observance of the Constitution and the Dem'jcratic
Laws.
48. Effective establishment of the semparliamentary system as stated in
the Constitution, with a President who fully represents the national solidarity,
a Prime Minister who will direct political affairs and a Council of Mimsters
approved by Congress and fully responsible to this body.
49. Constituting a National Liberation Democratic Government, integrated
by the working class, the peasants, the petty-bourgeoisie, and the national
bourgeoisie, the one and only government that would be capable to apply con-
sistently and to the very end the program of the Salvation, the Progress and
the Liberty of Cuba, and of the Public Welfare.
CO]VIMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 113
The close-knit alliance of the workers and the peasants shall be the founda-
tion of such a government.
The leadership of the working class is essential for its success.
50. Election of Senators through proportional representation or election by-
virtue of receiving the largest number of direct votes among all the candidates of
the different parties.
Democratization and perfecting of the election system so that we can eflfectively
bring about the cooperation of the parties in the fulfillment of the common program
promised or agreed to.
Extension of the voting right to young peoples from the age of 18 (eighteen)
and to members of the armed forces.
51. Rigidly observed administrative morality maintained from top to bottom,
from ihe President of the Republic to the most modest employee and functionary.
Reduction in the cost of the maintenance of the nation by virtue of the sensible
lowering of the incomes of the high functionaries and Congressmen.
Elimination of imposts (exactions) which victimize small merchants, traders,
shopkeepers, milkmen, small-time peasant producers, etc., the culprits being
inspectors, officers, police agents, functionaries and other agents of the public
service.
52. Assurance of the lay Cuban tradition, which established separation of
Clergy and State since the inception of the Republic. The fullest religious freedom
shall be guaranteed, and the government shall defend the citizens' right to embrace
the religion of his or her preference or the right not to follow any religion.
MEASURES TO INSURE RACIAL EQUALITY
53. An Educational and Sanctions Law against racial discrimination and prac-
tical application to eradicate this evil, both within the economic and social (em-
ployment, standard of living, wages, housing, culture and developing areas), as
well as in the political: (the right to employment within the public service ad-
ministration, within the armed forces, within the diplomatic corps, etc.).
54. Guarantee of full equality to women and of their participation among all
political, social and economic fields on the same level as men. Protection of the
home,, of motherhood and of infants. Development of a system of child care
and nurseries so as to insure attention for children whose mothers may .work in
factories, offices, etc.
NATIONAL AND POPULAR EDUCATION
55. A General Reform Law for learning ba.sed on the tradition of liberty,
democracy, civics and progressiveness of our people. Assurance of freee, com-
pulsory primary education with the necessar\- increase of teachers and school
buildings throughout the country-. Development of technological and special-
ized learning with a popular character and aimed at meeting the needs of the
industrial and agricultural progress of the country. The state shall assure school
supplies in abundance to primary schools as well as books and tools for study work
at reduced prices to students of secondary, technical, and university levels. En-
rollment costs shall be substantialh- reduced, an ample fund for free enrollments
shall be organized and housing and dining facilities shall also be created for needy
student.^ or those of modest resources. The state shall provide employment to
those young graduates from secondary, technical and higher educational institu-
tions. Protection and promotion of the national culture, defense and extension
of its patriotic and progressive traditions while struggling against imperialist
influence and penetration. Encouragement to the development of Arts and
Sciences, by virtue of protecting scientists, intellectuals, artists; also aid to scien-
tific research, libraries, the theater, music, plastics, the cinema, television, radio
and other media of scientific and artistic expression with the purpose of elevating
their quality, to invigorate their national outlook, and in addition, to place them
at the service of the people and on behalf of the advancement of the motherland.
OTHER MEASURES TO BENEFIT THE POPULATION
56. Protection and encouragement of sports and the physical development of
the people. Construction of stadiums, sports centers, gymnasia, etc., at the serv-
ice of our yjung folks with the aim of providing sound sports rid of commercialism
and discrimmation, so as to contribute to their physical growth and to keep them
away from vice and corruption.
57. To carry out the necessary services towards the construction of sewerage,
aqueducts, etc., for the many towns that are in need of them. Development of an
ample network of hospitals, health resorts, dispensaries and shelter homes, with
114 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
adequate medical supplies, in order to serve the whole population of the country.
Creation of mobile sanitary units for fight against parasitic and other diseases in
the rural zones. The extension of state maternity benefits to assist and aid all
women who are not covered by the labor maternity social security, and toward
this objective the number of existing maternal hospitals shall be increased.
Mr. SouRwiNE. I have no further questions to ask this witness.
Senator Keating. Thank you very much, Mr. Kornfeder, and
allow me to express the gratitude of the committee to you, and other
former Communists, who are prepared to admit that they were fooled,
so candidly. You have been very helpful to us in our work here on the
subcommittee, and we are very appreciative and only wish that there
were more who were prepared to do the same thing and be cooperative
with us in the work that we are trying to do.
Mr. KoRNFEDER. Thank you, Senator.
(Whereupon, at 12:40 p.m., the subcommittee adjourned.)
APPENDIX
COMMUNIST ANTI-AMERICAN RIOTS— MOB VIOLENCE
AS AN INSTRUMENT OF RED DIPLOMACY ^
Introduction
Within the last 15 years, Communists have staged a series of anti-American
riots in Latin America. Since these actions have done serious injury to the
United States and to its relations with Latin American nations, and oince there
is every likelihood of the recurrence of these riots, the Senate Interiial Security
Subcommittee has deemed it advisable to direct a staff study of these demonstra-
tions with a view to determining the techniques employed and the purposes
sought. For the most part, reliance has been placed upon the press reports of
events as they occurred, analyzed and interpreted in the light of known Commu-
nist techniques and theory. The analysis deals with the following anti-Ameri-
can riots: April 10, 1948, in Bogotd, Colombia: March 13, 1958, in Caracas,
Venezuela ; and March 3, 1959, at La Paz, Bolivia.
The traditions of American diplomacy are predicated upon ijeaceful negotia-
tion with duly authorized representatives of other nations on the basis of solemn
agreements and treaties, in accord with international law and usage. Our inter-
national relations do not contemplate and seldom anticipate efforts to force the
hand of governments through mob action manipulated by trained Soviet agents.
It is with this new and serious feature of the present cold war, which must be
faced by the United States, that this study deals.
The first operation we propose to examine is the rioting which occurred on
April 9 and 10, 1948, in Bogota, Colombia.
The Plot To Torpedo the Inter-American Conference
PREPARING THE GROUND
The Ninth Inter-American Conference, including 21 American Republics, was
called for March 30, 1948, for the purpose of adopting a charter reaffirming the
solidarity of the American states, pledging the member nations to mutual defense
and resistance to the threat of international communism. The New York Times,
of January 10, 1948, first announced that Gen. George C. Marshall, then Secretary
of State, would attend this meeting. A draft of a basic agreement on inter-
American cooperation prepared by the Economic and Social Council of the Pan
American Union was released by the Department of State on February 25, 1948.
Almost immediately the combined forces of the Latin American Communist
apparatus went into high gear in opposition to the Conference. This was dis-
closed by testimony given by Adm. R. H. Hillenkoetter, then Chief of the Central
Intelligence Agency, before a House Subcommittee on Executive Expenditures,
to which he presented intercepts from Communist sources which he had included
in admonitoiT dispatches sent by him to the State Department well in advance
of the Conference.
"January 2, IMS. — At present there is no real opportunity for the Communist
Party to demonstrate against the imperialist program of the United States, but
a vigorous anti-imperialist campaign has been prepared for the Pan-American
Conference and will be launched shortly before the Conference convenes in
March." '
"January 23. — Mr. X, in charge of drafting the policy of the Communist Party
in Colombia, made the following comment : 'The Pan-American Conference will
be a capitalistic, imperialistic conference. Attempts should be made to block
1 This document, a staff study by the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, was ordered
Into the record at a subsequent subcommittee meeting.
» New York Times, Apr. 16, 1948, p. 6.
115
116 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
the progress of the Conference, but this should not be known as a Communist
activity. The party should refrain from open activity and avoid a situation
which would result in curtailment of the party's functions.' " ^
Admiral Hillenkoetter disclosed also the backing given by the Soviet Legation
to Dr. Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, popular Liberal Party leader of Colombia, whose
assassination set off the April 9-10 rioting. The dispatch declared :
"January 29. — Mr. G., the leading Colombian Communist, who has been given
the task of overthrowing the Perez (Conservative) government, boasts that he
can coimt on planes and artillery when necessary. In Bogota this group had
allegedly stored arms and explosives in 17 houses. Mr. G. is also reported the
Intermediary between the Soviet Legation personnel and Gaitan, to whom he
furnished money, supposedly for his Liberal movement." '
It is the practice of Communist organizations to .'jpend considerable effort in
preliminary organized preparations for proposed riots. Reliance is- not placed
upon spontaneity or accidental circumstances. Mass sentiment is whipped up.
Organizations and party members are carefully mobilized. Here is Admiral
Hillenkoetter's dispatch of February 2 by way of illustration :
"B^BEUARY 2. — The working plan of the Communist Party of Colombia for the
period February 15 to July 29 outlines the following tasks: Organization of
public mass meetings ; organization of 60 meetings of cells in outlying districts ;
recruiting new members for the party ; the organization of 15 syndicates in
unions; the organization of party cells in all syndicates (unions) not already
organized ; the distribution of 50,000 handbills ; the putting up of 3,000 posters
during the Pan-American Conference." ^
The above-described preparations necessitated the most careful supervision
by a duly appointed committee of the Colombian Communist Party, as described
in another dispatch :
"March 18. — :A Communist committee has been appointed to watch prepara-
tions for the Pan-American Conference." ^
According to preliminary reports received by the State Department prior to
the Inter-American Conference, there were indications of molestations against
Conference delegates, sabotage and efforts to destroy the prestige of the gathering
and its participants. A March 30 dispatch declared :
"The Colombian Communist Party has agreed upoi. a program of agitation
and molestation against the United States, Chilean, Brazilian, and Argentine dele-
gations to the Pan-American Conference * * * imperialist delegations must
carry away with them an impression of failure and loss of prestige." ^
A few days prior to the April 9-10 riot, the Communist-controlled Latin Ameri-
can Confederation of Labor (CTAL), headed by "Vicente Lombard© Toledano,
adopted resolutions in Mexico City, roundly condemning the Inter-American
Conference.*
It was also disclosed that as early as March 24, 1948, Dr. Gaitan had been
publicly warned by U.S. Ambassador to Bogotd, Willard L. Beaulac, that the
Communists would seek to break up the Conference and try to place the blame on
the Liberals."
Incidentally it should be noted that the Colombian Communist Party claimed
a strength of 10,000 out of a population of about 11 million. They control the
Colombian Federation of Labor, which is the dominant labor federation of the
country.*
WARNINGS UNHEEDED
The reaction of the representatives of the United States to these timely warn-
ings was typical of our oflScial disregard and contempt for the power of Com-
munist mass agitation. O. J. Libert, State Department aid in BogotA, and Am-
bassador Willard L. Beaulac were charged by Admiral Hillenkoetter with failure
to forward these messages to the State Department in Washington. Mr. Libert
vetoed sending the warning to Secretary Marshall's security oflBcers because
he thought Bogota police protection "adequate," and he did not wish to "alarm
the delegates unduly." ° Former Secretary of State George C. Marshall was
quoted by the State Department press officer, Lincoln White, as saying in the
course of some "salty remarks" that it was "quite ridiculous to suppose that the
21 American Republics should even consider being intimidated by the protesta-
tions of one kind or another from Communists, or anyone else."
Meanwhile the Communists simply waited for the most propitious moment
to strike.
2 New York Times, Apr. 16, 1948, p. 6.
s Ibid.
* U.S. News & World Report, Apr. 23, 1948, pp. 13, 14%
» New York Times, Apr. 16, 1948, p. 6.
COIVIMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 117
THE ASSASSINATION OF JORGE E. GAITAN
The subcommittee is in possession of a copy of a letter from Bernardo Ibanez,
Chilean president of the Inter-American Confederation of Workers, to Serafino
Romualdi, secretary of international relations of the same organization and
inter-American representative of the AFL-CIO. This letter describes in detail
the events of the fatal April 9. We quote from excerpts published in the Inter-
American Labor Nevps for May 1948. Mr. Ibanez had an appointment with
Jorge E. Gaitan, whom he pictured as "a young lawyer, only 47 years old, he
had been one of the candidates in the past presidential elections and was at
the time the first choice to succeed the Chief Executive" of Colombia.
Mr. Ibanez relates Gaitan's dealings with the Communists as follows :
"Notwithstanding the fact that the Communists surrounded him with friendli-
ness and flattery, Gaitan maintained an independent and firm r.ttitude with
them, as he stated publicly on the eve of the inauguration of the IX Pan-
American Conference. In those days there was talk in Bogota that disturbances
would occur and that the stage was being set to sabotage the Conference.
Gaitan hastened to determine who was responsible and denounced the planned
provocations as acts against democracy and the unity of the Americas. He stated
his repudiation of such acts."
Mr. Ibanez arranged an interview with Mr. Gaitan for Friday, April 9 at 5 p.m.
However, as Gaitan was leaving his office in the Nieto Building at 1 :05 p.m. of
the same day, he was hit by four bullets from a revolver fired by an unidentified
person who was immediately torn to pieces by an infuriatetl crowd, making
identification impossible. That was the spark which set off the ensuing confla-
gration. It was the moment for which the Communists had been waiting.
In commenting upon the assassination, Mr. Ibanez declared significantly :
"Both the personality of Dr. Gaitan and the circumstances surrounding his as-
sassination force me to think that the events that took place correspond pre-
cisely to the method of crime and provocation peculiar to the Russians. They
needed an appropriate victim who could prevent the holding of the Confer-
ence, and they selected the most prominent person. Dr. Gaitan."
Colombian President Ospina Perez in a communique declared that Dr. 'iaitan
had been "killed by a person apparently of Communist aflBliation." "
Congressman Donald J. Jackson of California was in Bogota at the time as an
observer for the American Government at the Ninth Conference of American
States. Here is his comment on the assassination :
"Whether or not the assassination of the liberal leader and idol, Jorge Gaitan,
was an act of the Communists, a disgruntled Liberal, or the Conservative ad-
ministration itself will probably never be known, so rapid was the action by
which the assassin was hauled through milling mobs and lynched within sight
of thousands * * * It is enough to know that the shots fired by his hand not
only gave the signal for one of the most violent uprisings in the history of the
Western Hemisphere, but, what is more important, gave the United States and
the other Republics of the continent a closeup view of what any country can
expect in the face of organized mob violence." ^
THE CONFLAGBATION BURSTS FORTH
We present the views of various trained observers on the scene regarding the
methods by which the Communists exploited the indignation of the people of
Bogota over the assassination of Gaitan, how they utilized the occasion to dis-
rupt the Inter-American Conference and whip up anti-American hysteria and
acts of violence against American property and individuals. This will give a broad
composite picture.
First we present Mr. Ibanez' story of how the Communists carried out their
well-laid plans :
"Fifteen minutes after the attack on Gaitan, all the radio broadcasting stations
in Bogota were taken over by the Communists through workers and students.
The radio stations were inciting the people to revolt against the Government,
against the Conference, against Yankee imperialism, etc. Precise instructions
were being issued to plunder arms deposits, hardware stoi-es and gunsmiths'
shops, the department stores, the Government buildings ; the police precincts, and
the army barracks. An hour later the crowd, instigated by the Communists, in-
vaded the capitol or Parliament Building, where the Pan-American Conference
was being held, destroying the luxurious equipment with which it had been
8 New York Times, Apr. 10, 1948. p. 1.
' Congressional Record, Apr. 15, 1948, p. 4559.
118
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
furnished. But the incident that attracted my attention most was the fact that
the rioters concentrated on the destruction of the offices of the Chilean and U.S.
delegations. In my opinion this was due to the firm anticommunistic attitude
of these two delegations. The Chilean and U.S. flags were trampled upon by the
crowd, while the documents, typewriters, file cabinets, etc., were being destroyed
or plundered."
Mr. Ibanez concludes with this estimate of the events which took place :
"The orders that were given to the people, the propaganda carried over
the radio broadcasts, the method of plundering to be put into practice, the
unusual activity shown by the Soviet Embassy during the first moments of the
events, etc., all prove that this assassination was a coldblooded and ferocious
international act of incitement conducted by the Russians on the weak democ-
racy of Colombia, against the interests of the people of the Americas. Some-
thing I was able to witness personally was the well-planned organized yell-
ing of the crowds against President Gonzalez Videla of my country. I heard
it from different groups of paraders led by Communists." *
Jimenez de Quesada, in the center of the city, where some of the worst fighting
of the revolt took place. Electric trolley wires were ripped down and private
passenger cars — including several vehicles owned by the American Embassy —
destroyed or stolen. At extreme left above is the Government Palace, which
mobs looted and set ablaze.
Life magazine, April 26, 1948, page 27.
Juan C. Lara, vice president of the Confederation of Workers, who resides in
Bogota, described the events following the assassination of Dr. Gaitan as follows :
"Then began the radio's imprecations against the Government. They cried
in the streets. Transportation was suspended. Since it was luncheon hour all
commercial establishments were closed, and normal activities suspended. No
* Inter-Am«rican Labor News, May 1948, p. 2,
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 119
one took care of order or requests. There were ears only for the calls for dis-
order and the fall of the Government, public disorder and civil war.
"In such a combustible general state, the Communists obtained charge of some
broadcasting stations giving orders to assault the hardware stores, places of
sale of armed ammunition, and all places where there were possibilities of
obtaining destructive weapons in order to organize the 'popular militia.' First
the Lit)eral students and with them some Communists took the National Radio
of Colombia and used it as the center of agitation against the National Govern-
ment, and then as a station for transmitting plainly Communist information.
It was possible to hear over the air the fight between the Communists and the
students for control of the station, but the armed Communists forced the students
to retire. Then the National Radio transmitted orders with names to persons
and places in the country. Among other orders there were those to assault,
in additions to weapons, living persons. Thus commenced the sacking of all
business places at about 4 in the afternoon.
"The burnings commenced during the first hours, more as a gesture of protest
than as an end in themselves. Nevertheless, there are grave indications, if one
studies which were the buildings burned. These were, in the afternoon of
Friday the 9th: The Ministry of National Education (in which I work), the
Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Palace of the Government
of Cundinamarca, the Palace of Justice, the apostolic headquarters, the Ministry
of the Government, the Episcopal Palace, the building of the newspaper El Siglo,
the detective headquarters, and the identification section for natives and
foreigners." *
Let us call as the next witness Congressman Donald J. Jackson as he relates
how the "organized Red leadership has bared its teeth in an expression of riot,
pillage, and slaughter" ;
"The proportion of Communists and Communist sympathizers in the maddened
throngs, which for 3 days looted and burned their own national institutions and
facilities in Colombia, probably did not exceed 5 percent of the population, but
under the prodding and harangues of the Red leaders they lost their sense of
direction and purpose, and turned from a possibly legitimate expression of
national dissatisfaction with the Conservative government to violence, bloodshed,
arson, and looting. Grief for the untimely death of Gaitan turned in a single
hour to unrestricted mob violence, which spared neither shop, church, public
utility, or institution of public service. Inflamed by initial success the mobs
milled in the streets, armed with whatever weapons they could obtain, smashing
windows and doors, overturning streetcars and buses, looting shops, markets,
and stores, and then setting the torch to the shambles remaining. What could
be carried was taken, what could not be lifted was smashed. Bolts of textiles
were carried into the streets to be hauled their entire lengths through the
gutters. Wanton and useless destruction was the order of the day.
*******
"On Friday last your observer, together with three other members of the U.S.
delegation, was having lunch in the fine restaurant located in the capitol base-
ment. Gaitan was murdered shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday and within minutes
the mobs were surging through the plaza. The unarmed police were powerless
to cope with the situation and were brushed aside by the rioters as they streamed
into the building. Red flags were In profusion and I personally saw hammer-and-
sickle flags. Using stones, bricks, machetes, and boards, the mob commenced
a methodical tour of destruction which was to render the first floor of the
capitol building a shambles within a matter of minutes. The police reorganized
and in a short while managed to eject the rioters from the building. ♦ * *
• Inter-American Labor News, May 1948, p. 3.
120
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Storming capitol, mob surges inside Inter-American Conference rooms. Records
were tossed out windows.
Life magazine, April 26, 1948. pns:t> 26.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 121
"In the meanwhile, the surging mobs turned their attention to automobiles,
streetcars, and buses in the plaza square, and within 2 hours after the initial
outbreak much of Bogota's transportation was in flames and the columns of
black smoke which were to characterize this city for the next 3 days were rolling
skyward. In every group there appeared to be a leader with a plan. Orators
harangued the mobs and the most frequently heard phrase was 'Abajo,' which
means 'down with.' After the first few senseless minutes of apparent confusion,
the movement gained added impetus and a new sense of organization. Looting
broke out and the first fires in the business district were started. Firing, which
was rare in the first several hours, became more general as night approached." "
The New York Times published a few dispatches from correspondents which
gave additional sidelights on what occurred :
"A revolution touched off by the assassination of a leftist liberal leader broke
up the Inter-American Conference today. Savage mobs, armed with guns and
machetes, wrecked the capitol, communications, and other buildings, after the
lynched body of the alleged assassin was dragged before the Presidential
Palace. * * * The rioting was furthered by broadcasts over a captured Govern-
ment radio station, with speakers urging widespread revolution.
"A small bomb exploded outside the U.S. Embassy and delegation buildings.
Only windows were broken.
"Looting of liquor and hardware stores was widespread. Trolley cars were
turned over and fires were raging."
Another dispatch described the wounding of John Powell, of Nashville, Tenn.,
a diplomatic courier of the State Department. He had been attacked outside
the American Embassy by rioters with machetes. His dispatch bag was cut.
Another dispatch disclosed the coordination of the Communist-controlled Con-
federation of Workers of Colombia with the efforts of those in charge of the
uprising. This organization, through its legal adviser, Carlos Henry Pareja,
called for a general strike and instructed its members to arm themselves in the
streets or in hardware stores. Diego Montana Cueller, Communist legal adviser
of the Federation of Petro Workers (CTC), announced that the people's revolu-
tion was triumphant, aided by elements of the police and the Army."
THE BED HAND OF THE COMMUNISTS
The fact that the Communists played a decisive part in the events of April
9 and 10 is corroborated by a number of authoritative sources. Rafael Azula
Barera, secretary general of the Colombian presidency, formally blamed the
Communists for sabotaging the Inter-American Conference. He charged that
Cuban, Costa Rican, and Honduran Communists had participated in the April 9
attacks on the Government radio stations.*^
Colombia's President, Ospina Perez, declared that Jorge Eliecer Gaitan had
been "killed by a person apparently of Communist affiliation." He further
alleged that the "trouble was a Communist maneuver." "
Then Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, was most outspoken in placing
the blame for the outbreak on the Communist Party of Colombia and the Soviet
Union. Before the Inter -American Conference he declared emphatically that
the revolt had been Communist-inspired and added :
"This situation must not be judged on a local basis, however tragic the im-
mediate results may be to the Colombian Government and the people. The
occurrence goes far beyond Colombia.
"It is of the same definite pattern as the occurrences which provoked the
strikes in France and Italy, and that are endeavoring to prejudice the situation
in Italy for the elections on April 18."
In this connection, it is interesting to note that the Colombian Government
announc-ed that 2 Russians and 13 other foreign agents who had been fighting
with the rebels had been captured. Secretary Marshall revealed that other
conference delegates held the Communists responsible for the Colombian revolt."
'0 Congressional Record, Apr. 15, 1948, pp. 4559, 4560.
" New York Times, Apr. 10, 1948, p. 3.
^ New York Times, Apr. 11, 1959, p. 3.
" New York Times, Apr. 10, 1959, pp. 1 and 3.
*« New York Timea, Apr. 13, 194.8, p. 1-
122 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
DAMAGE DONE BY THE REVOLT
In the absence of an overall and comprehensive estimate of the damage done
to the United States and the Inter-American Conference by the Communist use
of mob violence as a means of diplomatic pressure, we can only cite the following
specific facts.
Congressman Donald J. Jackson has given an illuminating picture of the
hazards encountered by American personnel :
"Friday night found the U.S. group isolated in three principal locations, al-
though some few others were elsewhere in the city. At the U.S. Embassy
approximately 65 persons under the d' ection of Assistant Secretary of State
Norman Armour, were completely isolated from the Ajnerican delegation head-
quarters group directly across the street in the Edificio Americano * * *
Secretary Marshall and others of the U.S. group were isolated in their residences
elsewhere in the city.
"Communications on Friday night, save for the radio in the Embassy building,
w^ere nonexistent. Fires almost completely circled the two buildings and a small
blaze in the basement of the Embassy building was taken under control before
it could seriously damage the structure. There was no food available for the
Americans in either building, although others of us at the delegation hotel were
more fortunate in this respect. During Friday night a crude bomb was thrown
Into the U.S. delegation headquarters, but no casualties resulted * * *
"Upon orders of Secretary of State Marshall, evacuations of all but vitally
needed personnel commenced on Saturday. Communications were still out
of order, but armed convoys were able to move from place to place under heavy
sniper fire. A high priority for evacuations was assigned to delegates from
all republics and many other men, women, and children of the Latin-American
coimtries were flown out of Bogotd by the 20th Troop Transport Command,
based in Panama. Incoming planes carried rations in case of food shortages, and
assurances were given all delegations that such rations would be made available
to them as needed." "
Bertram H. Hulen, reporting for the New York Times, stated on April 12
that "eight Argentines departed last night, including a major economic oflBcial.
In his absence it is difficult to see how detailed economic arrangements can be
concluded. Notwithstanding assurances on safety, many members of the United
States delegation were evacuated by planes today." "
Five days after the outbreak, after a temporary suspension, the Inter- American
Conference was reconvened in a school building in suburban Bogota."
The Communist estimate of what they had achieved by the Bogota riots is
summarized by Joseph Starobin, the Daily Worker's star reporter on foreign
affairs, in an article entitled "What Bogota Blow-Up ReveaLs." He stated that
"Interruption of the Foreign Ministers parley is a sock in the jaw to the big
business men of the State Department * * • the world has suddenly seen
America's feet of clay." "
" Conjrre.'^.sional Record, Apr. 15, 1948, p. 4560
^New York Times, Apr. 13, 1948, p. 1.
" Life magazine, Apr. 26, 1948, p. 2a.
M Daily Worker, Apr. 12, 1948, p. 3.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
123
Conference reconvenes on April 14 in a school 3 miles from Bogotd. Here the
steering committee (Secretary' Marshall sits at left center) discusses agenda for
remainder of conference.
Life magazine, April 26, 1948, page 28.
Starobin continued his estimate a few days later, admitting the role of the
Colombian Communists, as follows :
"The Conference of Foreign Ministers, where Secretary of State George C.
Marshall was trying to dovetail Latin America into the Marshall plan, was
rudely interrupted.
"All that Marshall could say to explain this sudden disclosure of the real con-
ditions in Latin America was to blame it on 'international communism'. * * *
"I don't mean to say that Colombia's Communists stood aside from the revolu-
tionary movement. That would do an injustice to the Communist Party, which
* * * polled 7,000 votes in the municipal elections last fall, played an important
part in the Colombian Confederation of Labor and sought to cooperate with the
leftwing Liberals.
"Communist leaders, like 36-year-old Gilberto Vieria, or former Senator
Jorge Regueros Peralta, or the CTC secretary, Pedro Abella, certainly sided with
the people in their anger over Gaitan's murder." ^*
It should be noted that the Communist Party of Colombia was oflScially repre-
sented at the 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union held in
Moscow in January 1959 by its secretary-general, Gilberto Viera White, and
" Dally Worker, Apr. 18, 1948, p. 12.
124 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Joaquin Moreno and that the party was also represented at the meeting of the
Communist and Workers Parties held in Moscow, November 14 to 16, 1957, at
which a sj)ecial commission was appointed to deal with Latin American questions.
Demonstration Against Vice President Nixon
preparing the ground
Vice President Richard M. Nixon was expected to arrive at Caracas, Venezuela,
on May 13, 1958. Well before that time Radio Moscow broadcast its incendiary
propaganda to South America in Spanish. On April 27, commentator Serveyev
remarked :
"U.S. Vice President Nixon is once again getting ready to tour Latin Ameri-
ica * * * Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Mexico are not hiding their discontent
over the harm done to them by the recession in the United States * * *. As is
clear from the U.S. press, recent events in Latin America have shown how un-
popular and odious U.S. policy is. That is why, as the New York papers point
out, Nixon will hear grave complaints * * ♦".
The Moscow radio beamed to Brazil in Portuguese, continued to whip up Latin
American sentiment against Mr. Nixon in a broadcast by Borisev on April 30,
1958:
"U.S. Vice President Nixon arrived in Montevideo on April 29 to pay an official
visit * * *. Some startling events took place in Latin America on the eve
of Nixon's tour. An anti-American mass demonstration took place in Bolivia.
President Ibanez of Chile refused to carry out an official visit to the United
States in protest against U.S. tariff jwlicy. In Peru, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela,
and several other countries there is a powerful upsurge of the strike movement
and this has an open anti-imperialist character * * *. He [Nixon] was forced
to cancel a meeting with the Montevideo students federation * * *. His meet-
ing with trade union leaders was put off. Some groups of Paraguayan emigres
sent him a telegram protesting agaiivst his intended visit to Paraguay."
It is significant to note with what attention Moscow through its Latin Ameri-
can agents, apparently followed the course of the Nixon tour.
Regarding Nixon's reception at San Marcos University in Peru, Radio Moscow
broadcast on May 10 in Spanish to Latin America by Andrianov declared that
Nixon received a hostile reception and that "a similar reception was accorded
to him by Peruvians in other parts of the country, to the point where the visit
became a veritable scandal." Moscow broadcasts as early as April 26 ridiculed
Pan American Week and declared that Nixon was assigned the almost impossible
mission of trying to assuage mounting Latin American discontent. Sixteen anti-
American commentaries were broadcast to Latin America from April 26 through
May 13. Thus tlie Moscow radio did its share to fan the flames of anti- Ameri-
can hysteria preliminary to Caracas.
SAN MARCOS UNIVERSITY OUTBREAK
In a sense, events at San Marcos University in Peru constituted a dress re-
hearsal and springboard for the subsequent rioting at Caracas. Vice President
Nixon was scheduled to appear at the university on May 8. Before that day Mr.
Nixon had received a number of warnings of a Communist-directed demonstra-
tion against him, including one from Theodore C. Achilles, American Ambassador
at Lima, Peru.^
The New York Times of May 11, 1958, announced that "Rumors had cir-
culated that Peru's small but vocal Communist Party planned a violent demon-
stration if Mr. Nixon made a scheduled visit to San Marcos University."
Lee de Vore, a Montana journalism student at San Marcos, described the
background at the university as follows in the Montana Kaimin, newspaper of
the University of Montana :
"It is common knowledge that several of the professors are top men in various
leftwing parties." ^
She also describes the elaborate preparations made by the Communist-led
students federation :
"For several days before Nixon's proposed visit and informal talk at San
Marcos, handbills and pamphlets had been passed among the students — in effect,
'Go home, Nixon — we don't want the monopolistic imperialists — what about the
proposed mineral tariffs — what about the tightened import quotas — go away
» Congressional Record, May 26, 1958, p. 9429.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 125
Gringos — all imperialists, etc' These warnings began to appear in red on the
walls inside the university as well." '°-
Thus the Communists did not hesitate to employ in their agitation both eco-
nomic and racial appeals based upon their Marxist-Leninist philosophy.
Miss de Vore was an eyewitness of the ensuing turmoil provoked by the Com-
munists, which she described :
"Politics waxed hot on all sides, and at 10 a Communist-inspired demonstra-
tion began outside. This ignited a counterdemonstration inside — inspired by
several rabble-rousing leaders of the strongest party in the country, the Apristas.
"During the commotion Nixon arrived, had been insulted and repulsed by the
Communists and sympathizers outside. * * * Blood-red signs of 'Go Home,
Nixon,' 'Shark,' and 'Get Out' began to appear below me and the atmosphere
changed. * ♦ *
"Then the call was 'to the streets,' and 'to the Plaza of San Martin.' The
plaza, modem center of Lima, is faced by the Hotel Bolivar where Nixon stayed,
the American Embassy, and other important Government buildings. So like
a stream of ants, the 2,000-odd students and spectators vacated the university
and ran down the center of the busy streets to the plaza. * * *
"The mob's tirst act was to tear the American flag from the center of a floral
wreath placed earlier by Nixon at the foot of the statue of San Martin. The
demonstration continued at the frantic gestures of the party leaders. * * *
"I gained a sixth-story window at the Hotel Bolivar * * * in time to see
Nixon's car coming up the street. The crowd saw him, too, and converged upon
him, barring the car's path and forcing him and his party to walk the last
block to the hotel. * * * Nixon, walking as rapidly as he dared, approached the
hotel with a wave and smile in the face of insults and missiles."
On-the-scene observer Tad Szulc, New York Times correspondent, summarized
the events as follows :
"Vice President Richard M. Nixon was spat upon, grazed on the neck by a
stone, shoved and booed as he marched twice today into mobs of Oommunist-led
demonstrators demanding his ouster from the country.
"In the course of anti-U.S. riots set off by Mr. Nixon's presence, the Com-
munists also desecrated the U.S. flag. They ripped out flowers that formed it
in a wreath laid by Mr. Nixon at the foot of the statue of Jose de San Martin,
a leader of South America's fight for independence from Spain.
"The Vice President became the target of a Communist barrage of invective
and stones, bottles, eggs, and oranges when, in a dramatic last-minute gesture,
he decided to defy the demonstrators who had massed in front of Lima's Unl-
varsity of San Marcos," **
" Ibid.
« New York Times, May 9, 1958, p. 1.
66492 O -61
126
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
Screaming at Nixon, rioters wave signs telling Nixon to get out, asking fi-eedom
for Puerto Riean who inspired 1950 Truman assassination try.
Life magazine, May 19, 195S, p. 22.
VENEZUELAN COMMUNIST PAKTY PREPARES
The Venezuelan Communist newspaper, Tribuna Popular, on May 3 sounded the
incendiary keynote. "Nixon No" the publication screamed in inch-high red type.
May 1 demonstrations backed by the Communist Party and its controlled labor
unions and front organizations called for proletarian unity against American
imperialism. Much was made of the fact tliat Mr. Nixon was scheduled to arrive
in Caracas on May 13, the traditional Latin American bad-luck day.
The Communist weekly devoted almost all of its 24 pages to a denunciation
of Mr. Nixon, the United States and pro-American individuals in Venezuela. On
the front page of the May 10 issue appeared a hate-inspiring cartoon of Vice
President Nixon with fanglike teeth giving him the appearance of a wild beast.
Page 1 of the May 10 issue was devoted to eight questions around which the
Communists were concentrating their agitation including : alleged U.S. relations
with dictators ; petroleum restrictions ; Yankee imperialism ; Little Rock ; denials
of visas to intellectuals ; atomic testing ; intervention of American business ;
equal pay for equal work in United States and Venezuelan oilfields.
The caption "Tricky Dick," which appeared in connection with pictures of
Mr. Nixon in Tribuna Popular, turned up later on signs with which the crowd
greeted him on his arrival. This appellation appeared originally in the Com-
munist Daily Worker in the United States. There were also pointed references
to "piedras" — rocks. It was not uncommon to find the name of a leading Com-
munist signed to an important editorial in a non-Communist paper. No channel
for Communist agitation was overlooked. The Communist press set the pace
for the entire leftwing press.
The spearhead of the agitation was the excitable, Communist-controlled and
penetrated student organizations including Accion Democratica and the Union
Republicana Democratica, which held many preliminary meetings prior to the
fateful May 13. Scripps-Howard staff writer, Charles Lucey, who addressed a
seminar at the Central University of Caracas on May 21, declared that "effective
spreading of the Communist line and doctrine was widely apparent" among the
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
127
128 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
students.^ They set the pace for other non-Communist but leftist student
organlajatlons.
SeraHno Romualdi, inter-American representative of the AFL-CIO, has called
attention to active Communist penetration of Intellectual and student circles in
Latin America : He declared :
"There is reason for real concern over the penetration that Communists
have made in certain Latin American intellectual circles and, particularly, in
student bodies ♦ ♦ *. The intellectual field, in all its many ramifications, still
represents, in my opinion, the main immediate goal of the Communists south
of the Rio Grande * ♦ *. The Communists (in Venezuela) were able to build
upon the students' strong resentment over the fact that Perez Jimenez and Chief
of Police Pedro Estrada were granted visas to enter the United States.
"Under their reign, the University of Caracas had been closed for many
months, while hundreds of students were arrested and tortured by the secret
police."
Mr. Romualdi called atteutiou to another incident which was highly capitalized
by the Communists, through their publication :
"Additional fuel was added to the smoldering resentment with the publica-
tion in the Communist daily newspaper of Caracas of a photostatic copy of a
congratulatory letter which Fletcher Warren, former U.S. Ambassador to Vene-
zuela * * * wrote to Estrade, after he had suppressed the first large-scale re-
volt against the Perez Jimenez dictatorship on last New Year's Day. This ♦ * *
was fully exploited by the Communists to whip up an anti-American emotional
climate." '*
Communists are prominent in the field of journalism and a Communist is a
vice president of the Caracas University student federation. They are also
prominent in the school's journalism school and in the science faculty.''
The agility of the student youth was pat to active use. Red letters 2 feet
high appeared on walls, parapets, and underpasses, calling upon Mr. Nixon to
go home, drop dead, ttike his "imperialist Yankee thieves and murderers" home
with him and asking questions about Little Rock. During the weekend preceding
Mr. Nixon's visit signs reading "Fuera Nixon" — "Nixon Go Home" — ^were
transformed to read "Muera Nixon" — "Nixon Drop Dead." In the vilest and
most xintranslatable terms, Nixon's name was used to carry the message that
"Good neighbors are neither good nor neighbors." ''
In order to further aggravate American-Venezuelan relations, the Communist
Tribuna Popular of May 10 published the following statement ascribed to
Simon Bolivar, Venezuelan Liberator :
"The Uniteti States seems destined by Providence to bring misery to the
Americans in the name of liberty."
This quotation was auspiciously requoted by Serbando Garcia Ponce, a Com-
Jiiuuist editorial writer, prior to the events of May 13."
William Key, administrative assistant to Vice President Nixon, confirmed a
report from E.E, Baughmau, Chief of the U.S. Secret Service, that the Commu-
nist had hired a Venezuelan student as a triggerman in an attempt on Nixon's
life.^
The U.S. Informatitm Agency has reviewed the issues of the weekly Commu-
nist paper, Tribuna Popular, prior to the May 13 demonstration. On May
?>. for example, the issue predicted that anti-Nixon demonstrations would occur
ill other parts of Latin America. The issue of May 10 carried inch-high black
lioadlines reading "Fuera Nixon." An exact translation of some of the provoca-
tive features follows :
"Caption beneath picture :
" 'Tricky Dick' on Leaving Lima.
"Mr. Richard Nixon, Vice President of the United States, will arrive next
Tuesday the 13th at Maiquetia (Airport), coming from Ecuador to wind up in
Caracas his turbulent journey to the peoples of the south. No other tourist has
aroused such strong feelings : boos in Montevideo, hisses in La Paz, rocks in
Lima. Throughout America ( i.e.. South America ) the citizens have said : "Go
home, Mr. Nixon.' "
«» Washington Daily News, May 21, 1958, p. 2.
« AFL-CIO News, May 24, 1958.
» Washington Dally News, May 21, 1957, p. 7.
«• William Hlne6, Washington Evening Star, May 26, 1958, pp. Al and A4.
^ William Hines, Washington Evening Star. May 27. 1968. p. A13.
^ Robert T. Hartmann, Los Angeles Times, May 13, 1958, pp. 1, 4.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
129
130 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
'On iMige 6 of the same issue appeared a woodblock" cartoon 'Nixon's Itin-
erary' api^ears tlie following list of incidents alleged to have occurred during
Mr. Nixon's trip :
"In Uruguay he was booed by the students,
"The Argentine Congress greets him with whistling.
"The Paraguayans, in spite of Stroessner, hiss him in the street.
" 'Go back to Miami,' the placards of the Bolivians say.
"They receive him in Lima with the utmost coldness.
"And nothing better remains for him to say but 'I have met a regrettable
lack of understanding in Latin America.'
"And he has not yet got to Caracas." "
UIOT AT THE MAIQUETIA AIKPOKT
Mr. Nixon's plane from Bogota arrived at 10 :58 a.m. at the Maiquetia Air-
port. Waiting to receive him was a group of high school students carrying
banners with the identical slogans previously blazoned by the Communist
weekly, Tribuna Popular, such as: "Fuera Nixon" — "Nixon Go Home" —
"Yanqui Imperialismo No" ; "Tricky Dick, go home." The group seemed to be
under the control of an adult.
Writing in the Washington Evening Star of May 25, 1958, William Hines,
who conducted an intensive investigation in Caracas, described what occurred
at the airport :
"A stairway was pushed to the plane's side, the door opened, and Mr. and
Mrs. Nixon emerged.
"The crowd began to whistle — a noise of derision in Venezuela. Some of the
demonstrators blew on wood-and-rubber razzberries * * *
"The roar of the crowd, the whistling, the hooting, and the razzberries con-
tinued through both the Star Spangle^ Banner and the Venezuelan hymn * * *
"The howls of the crowd became deafening. Someone threw his razzberry at
the Vice President. Others did the same. Then the spitting began.
" 'It was the damnedest thing I ever saw in my life,' one witness recalled.
'There was a regular rain of spit coming down on us.' "
BED STORM OVER CARACAS
The Nixon motorcade proceeded to the outskirts of the Caracas working-
class district to the Avenida Sucre. There it was, for some unexplained rea-
son, stalled in a noon-hour traffic Jam composed of buses whose drivers are
affiliated to a Communist-dominated union. Riding a stake truck ahead of the
motorcade, Robert T. Hartmann, Washington bureau chief of the Los Angeles
Times, observed the following :
"Wild with anti-American fury a mob of several hundred youths led by older
men charged the closed Cadillac limousine and shattered all but two windows,
dented the body, and tried to open the door and pull Nixon out * * *.
"The rioters bombarded the Nixon car with heavy rocks, jagged cans, eggs
and tomatoes, and beat the windows to smithereens with clubs." ^°
It was clearly evident that the traffic jam was not accidental but premedi-
tated. "It was no accident," later declared the Vice President. "There were
two trucks. They collided and the drivers just walked away." The mob had
been organized well in advance.
According to the findings of William Hines :
"This time the mob went wild. Screaming, beating on the halted lead car
with sticks, pieces of scrap iron, and brickbats, howling * * * foul imprecations,
spittjng, throwing rocks, the bravos tried to get into the Nixon car." ^
Tte next scheduled stop was the Panteon, the resting place of the Venezuelan
liberator Simon Bolivar. Again the organized crowd of demonstrators was pre-
pared. The street was packed with banner-carrying youngsters of from 13 to 23
years of age, looking for trouble. The Vice President decided to abandon the
Panteon appearance. When his military aids arrived there, however, not know-
ing of the change of plans, this is what they found according to Mr, Hines :
"The place was a shambles. The supposed patriots — guarding the sacred
tomb from the "yanqui" enemy — had run wild. They had hoisted a black flag of
^ "A Review of tbe Relations of the United States and Other American Republics,"
hearings before the House Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs. June-Julv 1958. D. 132.
2» I.os Angeles Times, May 14, 1958, p. 1.
«> Washington Star, May 25, 1958.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
131
132 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
mourning. They had draped anti-American slogans across its frout They had
befouled its steps with garbage.""
The picture is amplified by Robert T. Hartmann, of the Los Angeles Times :
"Meanwhile, at the Panteon, agitators had worked the crowd to fever pitch.
Waiting Nixon, they began abusing the soldiers stationed there, peppering them
with stones and sticks. Assistant U.S. Naval Attach^ Louis Scleris was pum-
meled and kicked when he brought the wreath Nixon was to lay, and had to be
escorted from the square between bayoneted ranks of soldiers. The mob tore
the wreath to shreds.
" 'If he [Nixon] had gone in there, he'd never have come out alive,' an Ameri-
can eyewitness asserted." ^
THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF VENEZUELA
The basic policy of the Communist Party of Venezuela is primarily that of
latching itself on to nationalist movements, penetrating and manipulating them
to its own advantage, in line with the current international policy of Moscow.
Tribuna Popular has declared that "without the Communist Party there can be
no united front." The party claims 12,000 members and 14,000 student
auxiliaries. Through a powerful underground organization, through its inner
discipline and cunning, this tiny minority operating in a highly explosive
atmoisphere is in a position to mobilize forces far beyond its numerical strength.
The Communist Party, U.S.A., is the senior party in the Western Hemisphere,
maintaining supervisory authority over other Communist Parties of the area. It
is significant that the Worker of February 24, 1952, official organ of the CPUSA,
has devoted considerable attention to the Communist Party of Venezuela. Re-
garding its united front with other groups, the Worker declared :
"In the political field the trend toward unity between the Communist Party
and the country's largest political party, Democratic Action * * * has been
greatly accelerated. * * * The influence of the wing that favors a united front
with the Communists is growing. * * * This wing includes Andres Eloy Blanco,
former Foreign Minister and Venezuela's leading poet."
The Worker described the strength of the Communist press in Venezuela :
"When the party was legal it had one daily paper, Tribuna Popular, with a
circulation of about 12,000. Today the party publishes illegally 4 printed
weeklies and about 25 mimeographed papers in various parts of the country.
Tribuna Popular has a circulation of 12,000-15,000 copies. Since each copy is
passed around, the actual number of readers is much larger."
The Worker paints a glowing eulogy of Eduardo and Gustavo Machado, the
two outstanding leaders of the CPV, from the time they were students :
After a visit to the Soviet Union, Gustavo went to live in Mexico ♦ ♦ *.
Meanwhile, Eduardo had gone to the United States to work with the Anti-
Imperialist League." He was twice deported, but managed to spend several
years in the United States. There he married Gertrude Allison, daughter of
Alfred Wagenknecht, one of the founders of the U.S. Communist Party.
"After being deported for the second time, Eduardo and his wife went to the
Soviet Union, where he worked and studied for several years, specializing in
political economy."
It would seem from the Worker account that Gustavo Machado had consider-
able military experience, after his return from the Soviet Union :
"♦ * * the elder [Gustavo] joined the Sandino forces in the jungles of Nica-
ragua * * *. In 1929 he became a member of a group of 250 men off the
northern coast of Venezuela, invaded Venezuela in an effort to overthrow the
Gomez dictatorship.
"For 4 months they waged guerrilla warfare against superior forces. After
their defeat Gustavo went to Colombia, from where he helped organize the Com-
munist Party of Venezuela ♦ * *. In 1937 he was expelled [from Venezuela]
for activity in connection with the oil strike. He returned to Colombia, where
Eduardo also had gone."
Washington Star reporter, William Hines, interviewed Gustavo Machado on
May 19, 1958, with reference to proposed changes in the Venezuelan Cabinet
subsequent to the resignation of two juntists who withdrew in protest against
the Government inefficiency displayed in the Nixon affair. Mr. Machado demon-
»Ibld.
«*Lo9 Angeles Times, May 26, 1958.
•» Cited as subversive by Attorney General Francis Blddle In "R« Harry Bridges," May 28,
1042, p. 10.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
133
66492 O -61 - 8
134 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
strated tlie degree to which his party had penetrated and intervened in the
affairs of the ruling junta. He told Mr. Hines that his personal choices for
the junta were Rene de Sola, Minister of Justice ; Julio de Armas, Minister of
Education ; and Numa Quevedo, Minister of the Interior and head of the Vene-
zuela police organization. Mr. Hines added the following comment : "The left-
wing nature of these men's views and the jobs they held made them fit nicely
with Communist plans for further confusion." ^'
Despite the fact that the Communists publicly and consistently disclaimed
responsibility for the violent outrages which occurred, the Tribuna Popular
declared : "At 12 :30 it was announced that the demonstrators had won a victory :
the footsteps of Nixon would not defile the sacred precincts where repose the
ashes of the liberator."
COMMUNISTS CAPITAXIZE ON BIOTS
In its manipulation and exploitation of mobs, the Communist Party of
Venezuela kept keenly in mind certain central aims which it sought to realize.
On May 17, Tribuna Popular published a chronological list of 152 years of al-
leged crimes of American imperialism.
The political bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
Venezuela, with customary guile and in the face of the facts, categorically con-
demned "the fib sent from Washington both with regard to a possible attempt
against the life of Mr. Nixon, as well as the use of violence against him per-
sonally and his party." It considered the statements made by Mr. Nixon to the
press "accusing the Venezuelan Communist Party, as an open interference in
our internal affairs."
Although disclaiming responsibility for the Caracas outrage, the Politbureau
hailed the spectacle at Maiquetia Airport and in Caracas proper, claiming that
"the student masses and the people in general were expressing their just objec-
tion."
The Politbureau further branded Mr. Nixon's trip to Venezuela as "a decided
provocation against the patriotic sentiment of the Venezuelan people." The paper
held the demonstration to have been "a legitimate expression of the national
feeling of repudiation of the voracious North American foreign policy."
The paper further condoned the rioting by declaring:
"By means of the press and radio and through the intellectuals, political par-
ties, student organizations, etc., all Venezuela made obvious for several consecu-
tive days her displeasure at Mr. Nixon's visit * * * We do not hesitate in af-
filiating ourselves with that great march of the students and people * * *."
The Communists employed the timeworn device of blaming the other fellow
when the Tribuna Popular ascribed responsibility to the reactionaries "so that
they can later blame the Communists and adherents of other ideologies." ^
After the Caracas riots, there were 12 broadcasts from Peking in Communist
China. Five commentaries in Spanish were beamed to South America. There
were three in the Chinese home service, four to southeast Asia, three to North
Ajnerica, and one to the Middle East.
It should be noted that the Communist Party of Venezuela was officially rep-
resented at the 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union held
in Moscow in January 1959 by the following leading members : Jesus Faria,
Pompeyo Marquez, Pedro Ortega Diaz, Alonso Ojeda Oleachea, and Guillermo
Guardin and was also represented by Alvaro Vasquez del Real at the meeting of
the Communist and Workers Parties held in Moscow, November 14 to 16, 1957,
at which a special commission was appointed to deal with Latin American ques-
tions. It was also represented at the Sixth Congress of the Communist Interna-
tional held in Moscow in the summer of 1928. The Communist Party of Vene-
zuela polled 160,719 votes, or 6.2 percent of the total in December 1958.
TURMOIL IN BOLIVIA
On December 27, 1952, the secretariat of the Central Committee of the Com-
munist Party of Bolivia made known its objectives and plans, which were pub-
lished in LaN&cion, organ of the Bolivian Government. It hailed the military
coup of April 9, 1953, as "a genuine people's uprising" aimed "to stop Bolivia
from being a tool of the Yankee warmongers." "The taking up of arms by the
people and their victory over the armed forces of the proimperialist Rosea (group
dominating the tin industry)" the party declared, "are of undeniable historic sig-
» Washington Star, May 29, 1&58.
« Tribuna Popular, May 17, lSi58.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 135
nificance." It demanded recognition of "the urgent need of giving more arms
to the workers and peasants." The document recommended the "organization
of a people's militia controlled and led by the workers' and peasants' trade
unions." The Bolivian Federation of Labor is an affiliate of the Communist-
controlletl World Federation of Trade Unions. Significantly, the secretariat de-
clared that the Communist Party "took an active and outstanding part" in "the
victorious uprising of April 9" together with the active members of the National
Revolutionary Movement. It held out the hope that "if the Bolivian Revolu-
tion fulfills the people's aspirations for peace, liberty, and well-being, it will oc-
cupy an honorable place alongside the Chinese Revolution, and the revolutions
in the People's Democracies." It called for the "denunciation and abrogation
of * * * the war treaties imposed by North American imperialism at the Con-
ferences of Bogota, Rio de Janeiro, and Washington; expulsion of the U.S.
military mission." In addition to demanding the "establishment of diplomatic
and trade relations with the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and
the People's Democracies," the document called for "taking Bolivia out of the
war camp and into the camp of peace," which is the Communist way of advocat-
ing the severance of any alliance with the United States and the establishment
of a military rapprochement with the Soviet Union.**
In its March 2, 1959, Latin American issue of Time magazine, an unidenti-
fied member of the American Embassy at La Paz was quoted as saying that "The
only solution to the Bolivian problem is to abolish Bolivia and let the neighbors
divide the country and solve the problem." Although this stupid and tactless
remark was immediately repudiated by the U.S. State Department, it was eagerly
seized upon to light the spark for 3 days of anti-American violence.
The day after the 670 copies of Time arrived in La Paz and were placed in the
hands of its local agent, he was waylaid by members of the Communist-supported.
National Revolutionary Movement Youth, and all copies were stolen. Two days
later all La Paz papers featured the story including La Nacion, oflScial Govern-
ment newspaper, with the headline "Time, the Fingernail of Imperialism's Vile
Claw, Offends Bolivia." The incendiary note was unmistakable.
La Paz teenagers and "May the Yankees Die" sign. When the President called,
they answered.
Time magazine, March 16, 1959.
On the morning of March 2, 2,000 high-school students appeared out of no-
where, fully organized and equipped with banners such as: "May the Yankees
Die." Identified among them were Trotskyites and Communists. They shouted,
"Down with American imperialism" and "We don't want to be colonized by the
Yankees." A large banner demanded the establishment of diplomatic relations
» "What Must Be Done in Bolivia," by the secretariat, Central Committee, Communist
Party of Bolivia, in Political Affairs, August 1953, pp. 29-36.
136 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
with the U.S.S.R. Another poster legended "Bolivians, Careful !," depicted
Uncle Sam about to carve up the country.
Some of the young men belonging to the youth section of the National Revolu-
tionary Movement were armed with rifles, and shots were fired into the air. They
broke through police lines guarding the American Embassy. A 15-year-old stu-
dent, Julio Mendoza, was shot to death. This added fuel to the raging flames.
The crowd burned the American flag and stoned the U.S. Embassy and the
U.S. Information OflSce. They tore the U.S. coat of arms from the building,
spat upon it, and kicked it along the street. They broke large windows and forced
their way into the library, destroying books and magazines. A jeep parked in
front was overturned and the mob tried to burn it.
After the shooting of Student Julio Mendoza, Bolivian President Hernan Siles
Zuazo crossed police lines to the headquarters of the National Revolutionary
Movemient, accompanied by Vice President Federico Alvarez and other oflScials.
He addressed the throng from a balcony, urging: "Don't make the situation
more acute with acts of violence. Shouts do not solve anything." But rioters
ignored his words and followed their leaders to stone the point 4 office and smash
25 heavy trucks and pickups of the United States-Bolivian Roads Service.
On March 3, the staff of the U.S. Embassy was moved to the outskirts of La
Paz for better protection from Bolivian military and police forces and for evacu-
ation by plane. Again President Siles addressed the crowd of 25,000 from his
palace balcony. Again his plea for calm was disobeyed. Led by Trotskyite
Leader Victor Villegas, 200 demonstrators stormed police guarding the American
Embassy. At Cochabamba, the USIS Library was gutted.
The incitement of mob violence against the United States is all the more
inexcusable in the light of the $129 million in U.S. grants in the past 6 years,
the U.S. food shipments which prevented grave distress, and the stabilization
program which strengthened Bolivian currency and economy. On the other
hand, the Bolivian Government protested in October 1958 against Soviet dumping
of huge tin reserves on the world market, thus depressing prices and deepening
Bolivia's economic problems."
In a note addres.sed thereafter to U.S. Charge d'Affaires at La Paz, Mr.
Wymbeiiey DeR. Coerr, Foreign Minister of Bolivia, by Victor Andrade, the
latter stated that the acts of violence which followed the publication of the Time
article were the result of agitation by a small minority of extremists influenced
by international communism carried out with the intent of damaging the tradi-
tional friendship between the peoples and Governments of Bolivia and the
United States.^'
The international Communist apparatus was quick to capitalize upon the La
Paz events. Typical was the broadcast of March 5 from Communist China,
which hailed "The big anti-U.S. demonstration in the Bolivian capital of La
Paz" as showing that "the Latin American people are not to be insulted."
Commenting upon the "mass anti-American demonstration in La Paz," the
Moscow Pravda of March 6, 1959, page 6, described "the true meaning of the
American colonial policy toward Bolivia" as "a policy for the further enslave-
ment of the Bolivian people and the destruction of the freedoms that they have
won."
It should be noted that the Communist Party of Bolivia was oflBcially repre-
sented at the 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union held
in Moscow in January 1959 by its secretary-general, Luis Angel Telleria and
Humberto Ramirez Cardenas, and was also represented at the meeting of the
Communist and Workers Parties held in Moscow, November 14 to 16, 1957, at
which a special commission was appointed to deal with Latin American questions.
The Communist Party of Bolivia polled 6,913 votes or 1.4 percent of the total in
July 1958.
Riot Instbuctions
We have shown above that the Communist Parties of Colombia, Venezuela, and
Bolivia have been in intimate contact with their mentors in Moscow. Former
Communist leaders of various countries have testified regarding Soviet instruc-
tion to representatives of international Communist Parties, notably Eudocio
Ravines of the Communist Party of Chile in his book "The Yenan Way"
(Scribners), Valentin Gonzales (El Campesino) together with Julian Gorkin of
the Communist Party of Spain, in "Life and Death in Soviet Russia" (Putnam),
and Wolfgang Leonhard of the Communist Party of Germany in his "Child of
" Time, Mar. 16, 1959, pp. 40, 42 ; Newsweek, Mar. 16, 1959, pp. 48, 53^ ; New York Times,
Mar. 3, lft59, p. 8. Also. Christian Science Monitor, Mar. 3. 1959, p. 5.
as U.S. Department of State Bulletin, Mar. 30, 1959i, p. 4^6.
COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 137
the Revolution" (Regnery) and Benjamin Gitlow, former member of the political
committee of the Communist Party, USA, and its candidate for Vice President,
who testified before the Special House Committee on Un-American Activities on
September 8, 1939, as follows :
"In addition to that, the Communist International has established a number
of colleges for the purpose of training professional revolutionists. In other
words, the Communist International is very much interested in developing
professional revolutionists, people who would devote all their time to the Com-
munist cause and to the Communist organization, and for that purpose they
created in Moscow a number of schools and universities and to these schools
and universities we sent students. The American party sends these students
over to Moscow, to the highest schools, and the schools to which only the most
promising members of the party were sent, and the school to which even
leaders of the party were sent is known as the Lenin Institute, and the allot-
ment to the Lenin Institute in recent years, when I was the top leader of the
party we sent around 20 students to the Lenin Institute, and they took up a
3-year course in the Lenin Institute on all matters of Communist strategy and
policy and everything required of a Communist leader.
• •****•
"Then they had a Far Eastern University. The Far Eastern University was
the university of which Joseph Stalin was particularly proud, and to that uni-
versity the Communist Parties were supposed to send those members who were
interested in becoming active in the Far East and among the colonial people
of the world, and we sent about 30 to the Far Eastern University, and among
them was a large percentage, I would say more than half, Negroes, members of
the party. So we could train them or they could be trained to be active in the
colonial uprisings if they would take place in Africa and in other places.
• *••**•
"Mr. Whitlet. I believe that in the past the statement or the allegation has
been made that they taught such courses as street fighting, and how to stir up
political strife and disorders, and also gave the students at the institute mili-
tary training under the oflBcial trainers of the Red army. Do you know whether
that is correct or not?
"Mr. GiTLOW. They got a course in military training. They formed a special
section of the military in Moscow. They paraded during May Day, carrying the
rifles that they practiced with ; that is true." **
From within the Communist Party, U.S.A., various former graduates of the
Lenin School have testified as to its curriculum, notably Joseph Kornfeder,
Charles White, Leonard Patterson, supporting and corroborating the testimony
of William Odell Nowell, a former member of the Detroit district committee
of the CPUSA, and a delegate to its seventh national convention. He testi-
fied to the Special Committee on Un-American Activities on November 30, 1939
with regard to instructions he had received at the Lenin School in 1931 with
special reference to the manipulation of mobs and riot techniques :
"Mr. Whitlet. Were you sent to Russia during 1931, Mr. Nowell?
"Mr. Nowell. I was.
"Mr. Whitley. For what purpose?
"Mr. Nowell. I was sent as a student to the International Lenin Uni-
versity.
"Mr. Whitley. Where is that located?
"Mr. Nowell. It is located in Moscow.
"Mr. Whitley. Who sent you there?
"Mr. Nowell. The Central Committee of the Communist Party.
"Mr. Whitley, Of the United States?
"Mr. Nowell. Of the United States.
"Mr. Whitley. For how long did you remain there?
"Mr. Nowell. I remained there from September 1931 up to December 1932.
"Mr. W^hitley. Approximately 2 years?
"Mr. Nowell. Approximately 2 years ; at least 18 months.
"Mr. Whitley. And who paid your expenses, both your traveling expenses
and your living expenses, while you were in Moscow ?
"Mr. Nowell. My traveling expenses were paid by the Central Committee
of the Communist Party ; my living expenses were paid by the Communist
International and the Russian Government, while there in school.
»» Hearings, Special Committee on Un-American Activities, vol. 7, September 1830, pp.
4593, 4594.
138 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
"Mr. Whitley. Were there other American students in the Lenin School or
University in Moscow with youV
"Mr. NowELL. There were ; approximately 30.
"Mr. Whitley. What was the nature of the studies or instruction that you
received in the Lenin University?
"Mr. NowELL. Our theoretical studies consisted of Marxian economics ; Len-
inism, which is called philosophy there ; trade unionism, that is, trade-union
strike strategy ; labor history ; the history of tlie two internationals ; the history
of the Communist Party of the So\iet Union. Our other studies were military
science. We studied how to dismantle the weapons of the leading countries,
that is, their main weapons, such as rifles or machinegtms and so on. I also
studied secret service, codes. We studied strategy, beginning with the organiza-
tion of a fraction — a shop fraction — clear up to the control of a trade union, or
mass organization, and developed the political parallel along with it. That is,
the ideological development of the people under the influence of these fractions,
and when a certain strategy applies at a certain time, and how to change that
consequent upon the development of the political understanding of a person and
lead him up to the higher stage, and eventually using all of these developments
that we were going to consciously carry out, to make a revolution. So hence we
studied the details of how to develop street fights. I mean, how to do barricade
fighting, how to seize control of a city, the most strategic, economically, and
technically strategic points, and so on.
****** ^
"Mr. NowELL * * * We studied the strategy of what we called the proletarian
uprising. In other words, the science of civil warfare was developed down to
its fine points. And a number of people were sent to the Red army to secure
further training in this respect.
"Mr. Whitley. A number of American students?
"Mr. No WELL. Yes. In fact, I spent some time in the Red army myself, but
I was just making a practical study of the army, and doing international propa-
ganda work ; that is, lecturing and so on.
"I was sent there for a while to make a practical study of the organization
of the army, the tactics, the methods, and so on, corresponding to the instruc-
tions we had been given. These studies we had been given by a Red army
commander who was an attach^ from the Red army of the Lenin University.
*******
"Mr. VooRHis. Do you know what happened to any of the other people that
were there when you were there? Do you know where any of them went, what
they have done?
"Mr. NowELL. Morris Childs,"" who went under the alias of Summers there,
I last heard of him, and according to newspaper reports, he is the district sec-
retary of the Communist Party of Chicago; * * *
*******
"Mr. Starnes. In the school you attended, you stated, they taught you revo-
lutionary methods, and that some of you were trained in the Russian Army.
Will you get down to detail as to what type of training was given you? Was it
strictly military training or specialized training of some sort in the use of
certain weapons and certain tactics?
"Mr. NowELL. We were given regular military training. That is, we studied
military science, strategy, such as is general in almost all countries. The
strategy is pretty much the same, except in countries of difl'erent geographical
situations, and so on. We had target practice and all that. Then we were
taught what is called partisan warfare, the science of civil warfare, revolu-
tionary uprising. It is not done legitimately and openly. You don't march in
brigades and fight like armies that are meeting each other
"Mr. Starnes. I want you to bring out that factor.
"Mr. NowEiX. The conspiratory type of warfare. It is related to the boring-
in process, street fighting, and how to mobile in blocks, in a city, the workers in
a plant: how to develop a general strike out of a local strike; how to develop
a general strike into a city uprising, a dty uprising into a national uprising,
coordinating all these different uprisings. Then how to lead this thing, once it
is raised, once these men are on the warpath, how to direct them. Then we
come to something like open warfare. We break these people down into groups ;
*> Miorris Childs attended the 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unioa
In January 1959. In recent years he has been active in Latin America.
COJVIMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN 139
we make armies on the basis of the immediate emergency of the moment, or
whatever the situation may be. We were given to know that in a revolutionary
situation you cannot follow out mechanically any particular plan, only your
objective. It is a tense situation. Therefore a party having an organization,
with its fingers on everything — e\'ery portion of the city and its population, that
it can depend on — is prepared to direct all its forces in the way they should be.
"Mr. Starnes. Were you taught to concentrate particularly on utilities, and
munitions plants, or anything to that effect?
"Mr. NowELL. The food supply, the warehouses, the utilities, that is water
and lights, gas, and all those things ; the communications, that is the railways
entering the city, the streetcar service, telephone service, and telegraph ; and all
those things.
"Mr. Starnes. In other words, that is communications. You were talking
figuratively a few moments ago when you mentioned 'utilities.'
"Mr. NowELL. Yes.
"Mr. Starnes. Were you given any instructions in sabotage?
"Mr. Nowell. Sabotage; how to wreck trains, at this point closing down
factories, facilitating discontent to raise the mob spirit in order to get the
men on the go, and various other acts of sabotage, which, of course, could be
attempted on a moment's notice. Also, the general method of derailing a train
and destroying its cargo. I mean, if it is going to be available for the enemy,
just put it full speed ahead when you know there is another train coming head-on,
and just step aside." "
Conclusions
1. In some Latin American countries. Communist Parties controlling an insig-
nificant minority of the total votes cast, have resorted to the policy of manipu-
lating and inciting mobs to accomplish political and diplomatic objectives in the
interest of Soviet foreign policy.
2. These operations are directed primarily against the American Government,
to defeat its objectives and humiliate its spokesmen and representatives.
3. Latin American Communists succeeded in seriously interfering with the
BogotJi Inter-Amercian Conference. They subjected Vice President Richard M.
Nixon and his wife to a most humiliating experience.
4. Attacks are concentrated upon American property and personnel.
5. The American Government has not in the past successfully been properly
prepared for and prevented such occurrences.
6. The resort to international financial aid, no matter how generous, has not
of itself furnished an adequate preventive against anti-American, Communist-
inspired mob violence.
7. Despite the numerous examples of worldwide Communist imperialism
and brutality, there have been few cases of mob violence against Communist
embassies or agencies.
8. For the most part the Communists operate behind the scenes making use of
uninformed and excitable teenagers, students, and illiterates.
9. As a rule the Communists wait for a suitable issue to arise on the basis
of which they can successfully provoke mob excitement and violence. If the issue
does not exist, they create one.
10. In large measure the Communists exploit economic difficulties and national-
ist emotions.
11. The Communists' standard practice is to employ nonmilitary weapons,
easily accessible to the mob, such as stones, i>oster sticks, clubs, gasoline, kero-
sene, homemade bombs, etc. These have been supplemented by the looting of
guns and ammunition from hardware stores.
12. The techniques followed by the Communists parallel those taught in special
schools for international Communist agents in the Soviet Union.
13. By allying themselves with political groups in power, the Communists have
succeeded in minimizing police action and interference against the mobs they
have incited.
14. Communists make adequate preparations far in advance for their inspired
riots, through provocative mass meetings, leaflets, broadcasts, cartoons, news-
paper articles, and even assassinations.
15. The Communist Party does not deplore bloodshed in connection with anti-
American riots in the belief that such occurrences tend to excite the mob to
greater violence.
"Hearings, Special Committee on Un-American Activities, vol. 11, October, November,
December, 1939, pp. 7020, 7021, 7022, 7023, 7025.
140 COMMUNIST THREAT THROUGH THE CARIBBEAN
16. The Communists have utilized their control of labor unions, to augment
the mobs operating under their direction.
17. Communist-controlled mobs have concentrated upon strategic targets such
as police stations, radio stations, the American Embassy and other American
agencies, in accordance with Soviet-inspired strategy.
18. As a rule the Communists and their Moscow mentors have disclaimed all
responsibility for mob violence in the face of clear evidence to the contrary.
19. Leaders of the Communist Parties of Colombia, Venezuela, and Bolivia
have been in Moscow where they have received instruction and directives, in-
cluding the handling of mobs and military techniques.
20. The success achieved by the Communists in manipulating mobs for anti-
American incitement will encourage them to further efforts of this kind on a
larger scale.
INDEX
Note. — The Senate Internal Security Subcommittee attaches no significance
to the mere fact of the appearance of the name of an individual or an organization
in this index.
A
Page
Abella, Pedro 123
Accion Democratica (student organization) 126
ACFTU Message Backs Cuban Land Reform (English Morse to
Pyongyang, August 4, 1959) 72
Achilles, Theodore C._ 124
Acosta, Maria 61
Acosta, Raou 69
AFI^CIO 117, 128
Agrarian reform 51
Agrarian Reform Law of Cuba 77-88
Aguirre, Comrade Severa (People's Socialist Party of Cuba) 70
Alberdi, Paulino Gonzales 62, 63
Aleixe V, Minev 61
Alexander, Robert (author) 40
Allen, James S 41
Allison, Gertrude (Mrs. Gustavo Machado) 132
Alvarez, Federico (Bolivian Vice President) 136
Andes 45
Andrade, Victor 136
Andriano V 124
Anti-Imperialist League 132
Apristas Party 125
Aptheker, Herbert 41, 42
Argentine/a 36, 68
Arismendi, Rodney 58
Armour, Norman 122
Asia 74
Auerbach 42
B
Bachrach, Marion 41, 42
Balino, Carlo 101
Barera, Rafael Azula 121
Bassett, Theodore 41
Batista, Gen. Fulgencio, (ex-President, Cuba) 90, 93, 95, 99, 108
Baughman, E. E 128
Beals, Carleton 98, 99
Beaulac, Ambassador Willard L 116
Bequer, Conrado (secretary general, Federation of Sugar Workers, Cuba) _ _ 92
Bert, Eric 41
Betancourt, President Romulo 43, 61, 62
Bezrodnik, Felipe (Communist Party, Argentina) 69
Bittelman, Alexander 37, 38, 40-42
Blanco, Andres Elloy 132
Blest, Clotanio 61
Bogota, Colombia 115-118, 122
Bolivar, Simon 128
Bolivia 68, 124, 134-136, 140
Bolivian Federation of Labor 135
BoHvian Revolution 135
Borisev___ 124
I
n INDEX
Page
Browder, Earl 40, 106-
"Browder and Latin America" . 40'
"Browder on Latin America" 40
"Browder and Mexico" 40
Buck, Tim 41
C
Caracas. Venezuela 115, 124, 126, 130, 134
Cardenas, Humberto Ramirez 136
Caribbean Bureau 36, 37, 40, 41, 46, 50
Castro, Dr. Fidel (Cuba's Premier) __ 61, 71, 75, 76, 90-93, 95-98, 100, 103, 104
Castro regime 74
Central Intelligence Agency 115
Central University of Caracas 126
Chaves, Frederico (President, Paraguay) 99
Chiao Wen-fu___- 70
"Child of the Revolution" (by Wolfgang Leonhard) 130, 137
Childs, Morris 138
Chile 68, 104, 124
Chilean Red Asks Ties With Castro (article. New York Times, May 11,
1959) 103
China 35,51
China (Communist) 136
Clagett, Mrs. Helen L. (Library of Congress) 88
Codovilla, Victorio 40-42, 65
Coerr, Wymberley DeR 136
Colombia 44, 45, 116, 118, 119, 121, 123, 132, 136, 140
Colombian Federation of Labor 116
(Confederation) 1 123
Colon, J 41
Comintern 40
"Communism in Latin America" 40
Communist, the (a.k.a. Political Affairs) 40
Communist international 36, 137
(Sixth congress of the) 134
Communist Party 88
Of Bolivia 136
Of Brazil 51, 52
Of Chile 103, 107, 136
Of Colombia 34, 39, 116, 121, 123, 136
Of Cuba 73
Of Ecuador 107
Of Germanv 130
Of Soviet Union 34
Of Spain 136
Of United States 34, 40, 42, 98, 132, 136
Of Venezuela 34,39, 132, 136
Central committee of the, of Venezuela 134
Central committee of the, of Bolivia 134
In South America (20 parties) 50, 51
Mexican 40
21st congress of the, of the Soviet Union 123, 134
Communist press 48
Communists in Cuba Pose a Big Problem (article) 92
Communists and workers parties of the world 58
"A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents" (Richard-
son's) 50
Confederation of Workers of Colombia , 121
Contreras, Carlos 40
Corvalan, Glen 104
Corvalan, Luis (secretary-general, Communist Party, Chile) 69, 103
CPUSA Urges Defense of Free Cuba (article) 94
Cuba 51, 52, 74-77, 89-114
Cuba Has a One-Man Rule and Is Held To Be Non-Red (article) 95
Cuban Communist Leader Answers the Question: What Is the Nature of
Cuba's Revolution? (article) 89
Cuban land reform 76
INDEX m
Pag©
Cuban People and the Batista Tyranny, the (article) 103
Cuban PSP Leader Hails CPR's 'Progress (Peking radioteletype) 72
"Cuban Revolution and the Tasks of the Communist Party, U.S.A., The"
(document) 98-103
"Cuba's Revolution: I Saw the People's Victory" 103
Cuba Today (article) 91
Cueller, Diego Montana 121
D
Daily Worker (see also Worker) 48, 122, 126, 132
De Armas, Julio 134
Delgado, Francisco 39
DelFrado, Jorge (CP, Peru) 69
Del Real, Alvaro Vasquez 134
Dennis, Eugene (national secretary, CPUSA) 94, 106
De Sola, Rene 134
De Vore, Lee - 124, 125
Diaz, Galo Gonzales (general secretary. Communist Party, Chile) 104
Diaz, Pedro Ortega 134
Diaz Lanz, Maj. Pedro Luis (former head, Cuban Air Force) 95
Dimitrov, G 66
Directive of CPUSA re Cuba 98
Dorf man, Carl 41
Draft program 52
"Draft Program of Communist Party of Brazil" 52-54
Dulles, John Foster 73
Dunn, Robert W 41
Duvaller, Francois (President, Haiti) 99
E
Ecuadoran Communist Party 107
Eduardo 132
Eisenhower- Lopez Mateos interview in Acapulco 61
Eisler, Gerhart 40
Encina, Dionisio 41, 42
Enriquez, President Camilo Ponce (Ecuador) 107, 108
Eremev, Timofei 61
Estrada, Pedro (chief of police, Caracas) 128
Estrade 128
Europe 50, 74
Ewert, Arthur 40
F
Far Eastern University 137
Faria, Jesus 134
Federation of Petro Workers (CTC) 121
Figueres, Col. Jose 93
Foner, Philip S 41
"For a Lasting Peace for a People's Democracy" (Communist periodical) _ . 52
Foster, William Z 41, 102-106
Foster and Latin America (article) 104
Front of People's Action (of Chile) 57
Fuenmayor, Juan (secretary, Communist Party of Venezuela) 39
G
Gaitan, Dr. Jorge Eliecer 116, 118, 119, 121, 123
Assassination of 117
Germany 35
Ghioldi, Rodolfo (Communist Party, Argentina) 63
Gitlow, Benj amin 137
Gomez dictatorship 132
Gomez, Juan Vincente 44-46
Gonzales, Valentin (El Campesino) 136
Gorkin, Julian 136
Gorokhoff, Boris I. (Library of Congress) 72
Green, Gilbert 41
Guralski 37
IV INDEX
Page
Guardin, Guillermo (Communist Party, Venezuela) 69, 134
G uerrilla warfare 75
H
Hallet, Robt. M 100
"Hands off Cuba! Solidarity With Free Cuba!" (statement) 94
Hartmann, Robt. T 130, 132
Hillenkoetter, Adm. R. H 115, 116
Hines, Wm 130, 132, 134
History of the CPUSA 102, 103
"Hov" (Cuban newspaper) 92, 93
Hulen, Bertram H 122
Hutchins, Grace 41
I
"I Accuse" (statement by Alfonso Sanzhez Madariaga) 60
Ibanez, Bernardo (President of Chile) 117, 118, 124
Ibarrola (expelled Paraguayan Communist Party leader) 65
Iglesias, Cesar Andreu 41, 42
' ' Imperialisimo Yanqui" 67
Information Bureau of Communist and Workers Parties 52
Inter- American Confederation of Workers 117, 118
Inter-American Conference 116, 121, 122
Ninth 115
Inter- American Labor Bulletin 60
Inter-American Labor News 117
"International Communist Movement in Its New State" (article, October
1958) _• 55-58
International Monetary Fund 67
J
Jackson, Congressman Donald J 117, 121, 122
Jimenez 57
Jiminez, Marcos Perez (Venezuela) 99, 128
K
Kass, John (a.k.a. Antonio Mendez, Joseph Kornfeder) 67, 68
Keating, Senator Kenneth B 33
Key, Wm..._ 128
Khrushchev 48, 68
Komraunist (periodical) 55
Kornfeder, Joseph Zack 137
Testimony of 33-1 1 4
3210 Book Tower, Detroit, Mich 68
Born : Austria-Hungary 33
Member, CPUSA; member Communist Party of Soviet Union for
3 years 34
One of principal founders of Communist Parties of Colombia and
Venezuela 34
Broke with Communist Party in 1934 35
Spent 3 years in Lenin College in Moscow 35
Kremlin 50
Kubitschek, President 61
L
Laflferte, Elias (chairman, Communist Party, Chile) 63
La Nacion (organ of the Bolivian Government) 134, 135
Land distribution 75
La Paz, BoHvia 115, 135, 136
Lara, Juan C 118
La Rotunda 45
Latin America 34
Latin American Confederation of Labor (CTAL) 116
"Latin America Demands Browder's Freedom" 40
Latin American Bureau 36
INDEX V
Page
Latin American Secretariat in Moscow 37, 48
Lenin 48, 51, 63
Lenin College 35
Institute 137, 138
School 36, 44, 51, 67, 68
Leonhard, Wolfgang 136
Lewis, John L 77
Liberation Movement in Latin America (article) 103
Libert, O. J 116
Library of Congress 72, 77, 88
Li Li 70
"Life and Death in Soviet Russia" 136
Little Rock, Ark 128
Liu Ning-i 72
"Look Southward, Uncle" 34
Los Angeles Times 132
Lucey, Charles 126
M
Machado 101, 108
Machado, Gustavo 132
Madariaga, Alfonso Sanchez 60, 62
Magliore, Paul G. (Haiti) 99
Maiquetta Airport 130
Mandel, Benjamin 33
Manuilsky, Dmitri 40, 51
Mao Tse-tung (Chinese Communist leader) 68, 69, 104
Mao Meets Latin American Party Leaders (telecast) 69
Maracaibo 46
Mariatequi, Jose Carlos 63
Marinello, Juan (Cuban People's Socialist Party) 71, 73, 101
Marquez, Pompeyo 69, 134
Marshall, Gen. George C 115, 116, 121-123
Marti, Jose (Cuban liberator) 101
Mateos, President Lopez 61
Matthews, Herbert L 95, 100
May Day 137
Mella, Julio Antonio (Communist Party, Cuba) 63, 101
Mendez, Antonio (a.k.a. John Kass) 68
Mexico 68
Mil Diez (radio station, Cuba) 93
Monroe Doctrine 48, 49
Monroe, James 49
Montana Kaimin (newspaper) 124
Montevideo 36, 37
Morena, Antonio Garcia 61
Moreno, Joaquin (Communist Party, Colombia) 69, 124
Moscow 35-38, 40, 43, 47, 51, 54, 55, 68, 123, 124, 132, 134, 136-138, 140
Moscow Communists 91
Munoz, Elias (Communist Party, Ecuador) 69
N
National Institute of Agrarian Reform 77
National Radio of Colombia 120
National Revolutionary Movement Youth 135, 136
N.C., Popular Socialist Party 108
New York 36, 42, 43, 46
New York Times 115, 121, 122, 124, 125
New York Times:
May 11, 1959 103
Mav 15, 1959 107
May 31, 1959 92
July 16, 1959 95
Nixon, Vice President 67, 124-132, 134
Nixon's tour 47
North, Joseph 102, 103
Nowell, William Odell 137
VI INDEX
O ■ Page
Obrera, Verdad __ 39
Official Gazette of Havana 77
Ojeda, Alonso 69
Oleachea, Alonso Ojeda 134
On the Role of the National Bourgeoisie in the Anti-Imperialist Struggle
(article) 58-60
Operation Colombia 68
Ortega, Pedro 69
Outline History of the Americas 103, 105, 106
"Outline of Political History of the Americas" 41
P
Panama 43
Panama Canal 36
Pan-America,n Conference (in Havana) 40
Pan American Conference. {See Inter-American Conference.)
Pan American Union, Economic and Social Council of the 115
Pan American Week 124
Panteon, The 130, 132
Pareja, Carlos Henry 121
"Partido Socialista Revolucionario" 44
"Patriotic Junta" 57
Patterson, Leonard 137
Peace Manifesto 55
Peiping 68
Peking 134
Pena, lazar 101
Pena, Lazaro , 93, 103
People's Front (Brazil) 57
"The People's Front" (by Earl Browder) 40
People's Socialist Party of Cuba 73
Peralta, Jorge Regueros 123
Perez (Conservative) government 116
Perez, Ospina (Colombian President) 117
Peron, Gen. Juan Domingo (Argentina President) 99
Peru 68, 124
Phillips, R. Hart 92
Pietroria, Rosario 61
Pinilla, Gustavo Rojas (Colombia) 55, 99
Plantation system 77
Politbureau 134
Political Affairs (periodical) 103, 104, 108
March 1956 104
June 1959 108
Ponce, Serbando Garcia ■ 128
Ponomarev, B 55
Popular Socialist Party 108, 109
Popular Socialist Party, Cuba 89
Pravda 70, 136
Pre-Communist China 73
Prostes, Luiz Carlos 67
Program for Cuba, A (article) 108
Purge 48
Pyongyang 68
Q
Quevado, Numa 134
R
Radio Moscow 124
Ravines, Eudocio 136
Red China 68
Reds in Ecuador Accused of Plot (article) 107
Revival of the Communist International and Its Significance for the
United States (article) 54
Reyes, P 103
INDEX vn
Eiots: Page
In Bogota, Colombia 115
In Caracas, Venezuela 115, 124
In La Paz, Bolivia 115, 134
At Maiquetta Airport 130
At San Marcos University 124
Roca, Bias (general secretary, Popular Socialist Party of Cuba) 41,
42, 70, 88, 89, 93, 101
Article by 88
Rodriguez, Dr. Carlos Rafael (editor, "Hoy") 41, 42, 92, 93
Rodriguez, Guadalupe (Mexican Communist Party) 63
Roniualdi, Serafino 117, 128
Roosevelt, President 40, 51
Rosenberg, Ethel and Julius 106
Russia 47
Ryerson, Stanley B 41
Salvador, David (secretary, Confederation of Cuban Workers) 93
Sandino, August Cesar 102
San Marcos University in Peru 124
Schroeder, Frank W 33
Solaris, Louis 132
■"The Second Imperialist War" (by Earl Browder) 40
.Senate Foreign Relations Committee 73
Serve vev 124
Smith, Ambassador E. T 99, 100
Socialist 50
Socialist Party of the United States 48
Socialist Revolutionary Party 44
Somoza, Luis (President, Nicaragua) 99
Sour wine, J. G 33
Soviet Embassy 118
Soyiet Federation 50
Soviet Legation 116
Stalin, Joseph 48, 137
Starnes, Mr 138
Starobin, Joseph 41, 42, 122, 123
State Department 46, 115, 116, 121, 122, 135
Strack, Celeste _- 41
Stroessner, Alfredo (dictator, Paraguay) 99
Szulc, Tad :. 103, 107, 108, 125
T
"Teheran" (by Earl Browder) 40
Telleria, Luis Angel : - 136
Teng, Hsiao-ping, Chinese Communist Party _' 69
Thirtieth Anniversary of the First Conference of the Communist Parties
of Latin America (art icle) 63
Thompson, Robert (executive secretary, CPUSA) 41, 94
Time Magazine 135
Togliatti, Palmiro (secretary, Latin American Secretariat in Moscow) 37, 48
Toledano, Mr. Lombardo 62
Toledano, Vicente Lombardo 40, 116
Tomlinson, Edward 34
Tribuna Popular (Venezuelan newspaper) 126, 128, 130, 132, 134
Trot sky , Leon - 40
Trotsky ites - 48
Trujillo Molina, Trujillo y Medina, Generalissimo Rafael Leonidas
(Dominican Republic) 98, 99
U
Union Republic na Democratica (student organization) 126
University of Bogota 39, 44
University of Caracas 39, 45, 1 28
University of Montana 124
Vm INDEX
Page
University of San Marcos in Lima 125
U.S. Embassy 121, 122, 125, 136
U.S. Information Agency 128, 136
U.S. Secret Service " 12&
"U.S. over Latin America" 103
V
Vargas government 5$
Velazquez, Wilfredo (Communist Party, Cuba) 69
Venezuela 44-46, 132, 134, 136, 140
"Victory and After" (by Earl Browder) 40
Videla, President Gonzalez 118
Viera, Gilberto (secretary, Communist Party of Colombia) 39, 44, 69, 123
Villegas, Victor (Trotskyite leader) 136
Visits to Peking, Shanghai (radiocast) 70
Voorhis, Mr 138
W
Wagenknecht, Alfred 132
Wang Chia-hsiang (Central Committee, Chinese Communist Party) 69
Wang Li-chih 70
Warren, Fletcher 128
Washington Evening Star 130
The Way Out (statement by Earl Browder) 40
What Bogota Blowup Reveals (article) 122
What Latin America Means to Us (excerpt from book, "Look Southward,
Uncle") 34, 35
"What Is the Nature of Cuba's Revolution?" (article) 88
White, Charles - 137
White, Gilberto Viera 123
White, Lincoln 116
Whitney, Mr 137
Worker {see also Daily Worker) 88
February 8, 1959 94
May 31, 1959 89
World Economic Conference of Free Trade Unions 60
World Federation of Trade Unions 135
World Marxist Review 58, 62, 103
April 1959 91
July 1959 63
World War II 36
Wu Chih-pu, Chinese Communist Party, Honan 70
Y
Yankee Imperialism 51, 67
"Yenan Way, The" 136
Z
Zuazo, Hernan Siles (Bolivian President) 136
o
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 9999 05445 3350
^ V
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11