LBJ Library, NSF, box 21, Country, Latin America, , Chronology

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Research and Reference Service

CHRONOLOGY OF CUBAN EVENTS, 1963

R-167-64

October 23, 1964

This is a research report, not a statement of Agency policy

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. - . .- COPY LBJ UBRARY CHRONOLOGY OF CUBAN EVENTS, 1963

The following were selected as the more significant developments in Cuban affairs during 1963.

January

1 The Soviet news agency Novosti established an office in Havana.

In a speech on the fourth anniversary of the Revolution, reiterated the D-t Cuban ~olicvthat holds UD the revolution as a model for the Hemisphere. "We ape examples for the brother peoples of Latin America.... If the workers and people of Latin America had weapons as our people do, we would see what would happen.... We have the great historic task of bringfng this revolution forward, of serving as an example for the revolutionaries of Latin America- and within the socialist camp, which is and always will be our family."

7 The first TU-114 (~eroflot)turboprop aircraft on the new Moscow-Havana schedule arrived in Havana.

8 The Castro Government, r;-k~;..~:L;cd 62 local medical insurance clinics, assigning them to the Ministry of Public Health and closed 38 others for "lack of adequatet1 facilities.

8 A top-level Soviet military mission departed after spending several days in Cuba. Prensa Latina reported that the mission inspected a number of Soviet installations and conferred with Russian military leaders sta- tioned on the island.

11 The Congress of Women of the Americas was inaugurated in Havana with approximately 500 participants from most Latin American countries and observers from ~o&unistbloc countries.

12 Cuba f or mall^ recomized East Germany, and the two countries raised their trade missions to the ambassadorial level.

14 Best Germsevered di~lomaticrelations with Cuba.

15 Fidel Castro urged Latin Americans to revolt against what he calleq "Western Hemisphere imperialism. l1 Addressing the closing session of the Congress of the Women of the Americas in Havana, he said: "It is the duty of revolutionarv leaders and oraanizations to make the masses march, to hurl the masses into battle. l1

16 CubanSoviet trade for 1962 totaled approximately 500 million rubles ($US 550 mfllion), Soviet First Deputy Foreign Trade Minister Sergei A. Borisov reported in an interview published in Vodny Trans~ort,a Soviet merchult marine newspaper. The 1962 Cuban-Soviet t~adegoal, according to official Soviet publications, had been $US 750 mi'llion. In 1961, Cuban-Soviet trade had totaled $US 580 million.

L8, LIBRARY 16 A low term loan with "favorable terms was granted by the Government of the Soviet Unicn to the Cuban 5overriment." Ucder the terms of the agreement the agreed to supply Cuba with basic technical and construction materials. "It would send Cuba the required number of technicians....moreover, the Soviet Union would render assistance to the Republic of Cuba in the task of training national cadres in the drainage and reclamation of lands.

19 Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Vasily Kuznetsov departed Cuba. 25 A total of 1,170 Cuban refugees arrived in Port Everglades, Florida aboard the US freighter Shirley L~kes.

28 In a speech, Industries Minister Ernesto (che) Guevara criticized Cuban youth for not demonstrating zeal in attaining ~roduction~oals. "The young people, who were always ready for the greatest sacrifice and heroism -- to maintain our revolution, to defend it with arms -- have in many cases not yet been able to rise to the same heights in daily work."

February

An article written by Industries Minister Guevara in Cuba Socialists, the Communist monthly theoretical journal, entitled "Against Bureaucracy" described the origin of this malignant administrative disease and its gprezd throuahout the ~overnment. He found three fundamental reasons for "the malignant development of the bureaucratic forcett: (1) lack of Itinternal motivation in individuals; (2) lack of organization and; (3) the lack of technical abilities and the kzowledge to make quick and proper decisions. " 8 Representatives of the Soviet and Cuban governments signed a new protocol for the exchange or" goods between the two cou~tries.

9 US press charges of aggressive Soviet military activity in Cuba were re.iected bv Khrushchev &ring a 2 1/2 hour interview in the Kremlin with Roy E. Thompson, Ezitisk newspaper publisher.

12 It was officially annourced in Havana that the first Iberia (spain) Airlines plane in almost four months had arrived at Rancho Boyeros Airport, resuming the regular weekly Madrid-I-.avana schedule which had been halted by the October crisis l~styepx.

13 The Cuben C-~vermentpronulgated Revolutioniw Law No. 1090 which provides that am state organization in Cuba may o~derthe com~ulsorvexpropriation of anv orivate business in the event its owner refuses to give it up voimtariiy or snare it with the government.

18 Tne USSd inforined the US Government that "several thcusand1I of the Soviet Union's estimated 1'7,000 trooss in Cuba would be wi-chdrawn. A Soviet message delivered tc P;.ssident Kennedy by Soviet am bass ad?^ Dobrynin set March 15, 1963 as the deadline for the departure of the Soviet soldiers.

,. .- - COPY LBJ UBRARY 20 The US Defense Department reported that two Cuban-based Mias attacked the US shrimp boat with rockets in international waters 60 miles north of Cuba.

22 A Cuban Armed Forces communique "rejected and denied categorically" the US Government charge that Cuban planes had attacked the &. 22 An inter-American effort to combat subversion in the Western Hemisphere by isolating Cuba was recommended in a report by a special security committee of the Organization of American States.

22 Francisco Juliao, leader of the Peasant Leagues in northeast Brazil, arrived in Havana on an official visit and departed for Brazil on March 8,

23 In a speech celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Soviet Army, Defense Minister Raul Castro, after repeating Marshal Malinovskyts warning that a US attack on Cuba would trigger a nuclear war, warmly praised "the love with which the Soviet armed forces.and their officers are prepariw to . defend our country as if it were their own."

25 Brazilian Communist leader Luiz Carlos Prestes en route to Brazil from the USSR arrived in Havana, and departed for Rio de Janeiro on March 6.

26 The signing of a 1963-64 Cuban-Chinese Communist trade ameement was announced. T:; provided for the exchange of a wide range of goods and the granting t~,Cuba of a Chinese long-term interest loan.

-March 8 The regime admitted that ghortanes of electric Power were being exper- ienced throughout Greater Havana and in areas of Havana and Camaguey Provinces. 13 Speaking at the , Fidel Castro launched an attack on "anti-socialt1 elements in Cuba, In discussing the internal opposition, Castro turned to a group which, thus far, had been a showpiece of his regiine's attitude of religious tolerance: Protestant missionam sects. He singled out schools and missions of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Gideon Evangelists and the Pentecostal Church, charging that they were ttdirected not from Rome but by the CIA and the State Departmentft and that they used Itsubtle methodsv to work on superstitions of the gua.iiros (farmers). xt the same time Castro claimed that the revolution had no quarrel with the Roman Catholic Church and that the regime respected its right to religious beliefs and practices, lL+ Four a~ti-CastroCubans unsuccessfully sou~htrefuge in the Urwuavan hbassr in Havana by trying to drive a stolen army jeep through a wire fence surrounding the Embassy. CubanmXlitiamen o~enedfire, killed one of the men, wounded another and captured the other two.

COPY LBJ UBRARY 17 Anti-Castro organizations, Alpha 66 and the Second Front of the Escambray, carried out a hit-and-run attack on Cuba's north coast, firing on the Soviet ship docked at Isabela de Sauga, Las Villas Province. 20 Manuel Cardinal Arteaga, Primate of the Catholic Church in Cuba, -died in Havana after a long illness.

21-22 Fidel Castro criticized Soviet Premier Khrushchevls stand in the Cuban missile crisis in a two-part fnterview published in the Paris newspaper Le Monde.

22 .Fidel Castro denied that he had given Le Monde an exclusive interview. But he acknowledged that he had held "informal talksu in Havana in January 1963 with Claude Julien, assistant foreign editor of Le Monde.

25 Manuel Urrutia Lleo, Cuba's first president after the Castro revolution, was allowed to depart Cuba for Mexico. He had been a political refugee in the Mexican Embassy in Havana since November 1961.

Avr il

1 The Cuban regime inaumated the system of flSocialist emulation:' a self- criticism and comvetition .oromam designed to increase production.

3 The Cuban Government published an official avolo- for the incident which occurred when the US freighter Floridian was molested by two Cuban Mig jets. The communique stated that the strafing was "the result of con- fusion and not done intentionally."

4 Cuba's new "General Law of Pricesu went into effect. The law (No. 1099) "regulates the establishment and approval of all prices in Cuba." It controls not only the prices of products sold but also establishes *price and profit margin control in all buying and selling and in the delivery of merchandise.

9 Dr. Jose Mir6 Cardona resi~nedin Mia@ as President of the anti4astro Cuban Revolutionary Movement.

16 Havana radio stations and the Cuban press announced that, "invited by the Soviet Government, the Prime Minister of the Revolutionary Governnent, Commandant Fidel Castro. will visit the Soviet Union this year."

22 Twenty-seven Americans imprisoned in Cuba for the last 2-3 1/2 years were released following negotiations in Havana by New York attorney James B. Donovan with Fidel Castro.

23 The Org~nLzationof American States approved by 13-1 vote (6 abstentions) a US proposal empowering the OAS Council to investi~atepossible Cuban subversion in the Western Hemisphere wi~h~utnecessarily seeking the pricr pi-xlsaion of the member governments. The Cuban Armed Forces Ministry, headed by Major Raul Castro, was reor- panized under a presidential decree. Among the changes, which involved the appointment of sev~ralnew vice-ministers were the following: Major Juan Almeida, ex-army chief, was named armed forces vice-minister under Raul Castro; Commander Epifanio heijeiras, ex-national police chief and general staff member, was appointed vice-minister in charge of the armed forces ministry on special matters; and Commander Sergio del Valle, ex-air force chief, became head of the general staff of the armed forces.

25 An attack by a Cuban exile plane on an oil refinery in the Havana area was announced in Miami by leaders of the anti-Castro Cuban Freedom Fighters

27 Without prior publicity in Cuba, Fidel Castro arrived in Moscow for a month-long state visit at the invitation of Premier Khrushchev. Although- Castrots visit had been previously announced, it was widely assumed in Cuba that it would be after May 1 and before July 26.

28 The first three men were executed under Cuba's new law providing the death ~enaltyfor bur~1a-y. Six others were given sentences of from 20 to 30 years in prison.

29 The US freighter American Surve~orarrived in Port Everglades, Florida with 675 refugees from Cuba, about one-half of them Cuban-born US citizens. Other ships that had brought Cuban refugees to the US since January 1, 1963 are: the African Pilot, 922 passengers; the Shirley L~kes, 1,170; and the Santa Cerro, 746. Several hundred additional Cuban refugees had been flown to the US during this period aboard planes that had brought food and medicines to Cuba.

16 The Havana newspaper &, organ of the Cuban Commdst Party, celebrated its 25th anniversary.

23 A joint Soviet-Cuban communiaue issued in Moscow summed up the results of ,Fi.del Castrots visit to the Soviet ,Union, In it the Soviet Union took the initiative in raising its payment for Cuban sugar to the existing world price. In addition, the .USSR made general references to supporting Cuba in case of attack.

26 The Cuban cabinet approved a law tightening the reaimets control of university and student affairs by making the Education Ministry responsible for the "guidance, orientation and supervision of higher education." -June 1 RaEio Havana increased its broadcastillg time to Latin America by thee and one-half hours. The increase raised Radio Havana's daily broad- casting time from 15.5 to 19 hours to Latin America, 3 Fidel Castro returned to Havana unexpecJ~edlyby plane from the USSR. His arrival ended a visit to the Soviet Union that stated on April 27.

5 A report, prepared by the Special Consu.ltative Committee on Security (sCCS: of the ~r~anizatiznof American States. charged that Cuba was servin~as a base TOP the spread of Communist subversion throughout Latin America.

1 Fifty-nine .US students arrived in Cuba via Prague in violation of US laws.

3 The Council of the Organization of American States (COAS) approved by a 14-1 vote the June 5 recommendations of ths SCCS to conbat ~astro- Communist subversion throughout Latin America. Chile cast the only dissenting vote; and four nations abstaineo'; Brazil, Haiti, Kexico and Venezuela. 3 The United States-Cuban arrangeaent to exchange Cuban refu~eesand Playa Girdn prisoners for $53 million worth of US foods and medicines ended with the arrival of the SS Maximus in Havana.

24 The Cuban Government issued a decree expropriating the United States Ehbasm building in Havana. The Swiss emSassy, which occupies the building while representing US interests in Cuba, rejected the demand and said its mission would not leave the building unless Cuban officials used physical force. No action was taken by Cuban officials. The planned embassv seizure was in retaliation for the US action on July 8 in freezing all Cuban assets in the United States.

26 Fidel Castro's s~eech,celebrating the tenth anniversary of the beginning of k5s revolution, aada the most explicit appeal for violence and revo- luticn in other Latin American countries.

10 Fidel Castro asserted that Cuba's small farmers would be permitted to retain their lands but that "bourgeoisfl rural landowners faced eventual nationalization of all their uropsrties.

10 The Cuban Government announced officially that the Fational Agrarian Reform Institute (INRA) would be transformed into the Ministrv of Aararizn Reform.

13 Cuban air and naval forces landed on the British islet AIUra Cain the Bahamas and seized 19 Cuban refugees. 16 The Cuban Armed Forces Ministry reported that -1 plane bombed and strafed a swar mill in Morbn, Camaguey Province.

19 The Cuban press reported that a "pirate plane" attacked oil storage tanks at Casilda, Las Villas Province.

22 At. . ~oteto the Castro reaime demanded that Cuba apologize for the Anguila Cay raid.

29 US students visiting Cuba since July 1 departed for the United States via Prague.

September

9 Hurricane Flora, hit the eastern half of Cuba and was described by Cuban media as the Itworst in living memory," It caused extensive dmto crops and hundreds of homes were destroyed; many lives were lost. Fidel Castro rejected the US offer of disaster relief made through the Red Cross.

20 Carlos Franqui, editor of the Havana daily Revolucibn, was replaced by Enrique de la Osa.

28 Fidel Castro charged that the US was "tightening the economic nooseu around Cuba. He praised the Soviet Union for the llextraordinary helpt1 it had given his government since 1959 but said that' C~bztseconomic survival could not depend on continued Soviet aid.

29 The Seventh International Conmess of Architects was convened in Havana.

30 Fidel Wmed. . tha t Cuba will not sign the partial nuclear test ban as long as nimperialistu pressure on the island continues.

October

1 Russia s u~,manco.wnaut, Valentina Tereshkova, arrived in Havana. 2 The Cuban Armed Forces Ministry reported that a "wirate ship1! attacked ved a 1&er all at Cavo Guin, Oriente Province. 4 The Cuban regime confiscated all farms larger than 165 acres promising that their owners would be compensated within ten years for their loss.

12 It was announced in Milan, Italy that Fidel Castrots first book, "Ten Years of War Revolutionil will be published by Giangiacomo Feltinelli of Milan. The publication date was not specified. ,-

------corn UBRARY . > 21 Fidel Castro urged Itan end to the [US] economic blockade of our country, especially at this moment," when the Cuban economy has suffered severely as a result of Hurricane Flora.

22 The US-owned ore ship, J. Louis,was attacked as it sailed into the area of a clash between Cuban forces and a raiding party of Cuban exiles 13 miles off the southeast tip of Cuba.

31 Morocco severed di~lomaticrelations with Cuba because of Castrots Itextreme hostilityt1toward Morocco in its border war with Algeria. Moroccan .Foreign Minister Ahmed Balafrej charged that Cuba had shipped arms and ammunition and volunteer troops to Algeria to participate in the border fighting,

November

10 Juan Jarinello. Rector of Havana University was replaced by Deputy Education Minister Juan Mier. Marinello was appointed a delegate to UNESCO in Paris. 13 The Castro regime "submitted" a com~ulsor~militam service law to the Cuban people for their approval. The law provides that all male Cubans between 17 and 45 years of age will be subject to military service for three years, The law was "approved by popular ac~lamation,~~

18 Cuban UN Ambassador Carlos Lechuga asserted that Cuba would support a Hemis~hericatom-free zone only when the US gave formal guarantees that it would not base nuclear weapons in the Panama Canal Zone, and other US possessions in the Caribbean, and in Latin American counCries. He further demanded that the US withdraw from its Guant~oNaval Base in Cuba.

21 The Ministry of Public Health ordered private laboratories to sell all their production of pharmaceutical md biological articles to the state- controlled medical supply ent er~rise.

22 The Cuban Government installed a new 30-kilowatt broadcasting station at Col6n, Matanza s Province.

23 President Kennedy's assassination initially evoked expressions of sympathy from Cuban media commentators but they soon reverted to their usual anti-US line.

28 The Venezuelan Government disclosed that it had found a three-ton cache of arms on Venezuelan territory that included Belgian automatic rifles manufactured for the Cuban army. 29 The Cuban Government denied any connection with the arms cache found in Venezuela.

COW I.& UBRARY December 3 The Council of the Organization of American States (~0~~)rneetingin emergency session in Washington voted 16-0 (one abstention: ~exico) & Venezuela for use by local terrorists.

6 Major Fame Chomon was appointed Transportation Minister and Major Jesus Montane replaced Chomon as Communications Minister.

. ... COPY LBI LIBRARY .