Cryptonym: AMCRAG-1
Definition: Francisco Bilbao Alvarez, MRR chief,
Oriente province, 1960-61. Worked with ONI intelligence officer Harold Feeney
at Guantanamo Naval Base in the early sixties.
Discussion: Worked with Lt. Commander Hal Feeney,
ONI officer. Feeney had plans to overthrow Castro. Three months after the
Bayo-Pawley Raid of June 1963, Angel Luis Castillo tried to convince Bilbao
into having his men infiltrate Cuba. Bilbao's organization was known as the
Battalon de Brigada, or the Brigade Batallion. Bilbao worked at Guantanamo.
Shackley wrote that he was not with CIA. He was probably with Feeney at ONI.
Sources:
Compare with 104-10057-10102, below - marginalia
substitutes the name "Francisco Bilbao Alvarez" in place of
"CRYPT".
Same as above, except the CRYPT is revealed to be
AMCRAG-1. AMCRAG-1 concluded that despite Angel Luis Castillo's assurances in
Sept 1963 that AMDENIM-11 (Eduardo Perez, aka Bayo) and his men were still
alive in the months following the "Bayo-Pawley raid" of June, 1963,
there was no hard evidence proving it. Castillo was relying on information
provided by John Martino. Martino had allegedly used this information in an
effort to convince Irving Cadick/Rip Robertson to infiltrate his men into Cuba,
but Robertson allegedly was not interested. Martino then turned to Castillo,
described as a "witting informant of AMJAGER-1". JMWAVE traces from
late 1962 show that at that time Angel Luis Castillo had the "complete
confidence of AMCRAG-1." "AMCRAG-1 returned to Miami from YOACRE/Guantanamo
in mid-October 1963...AMCRAG-1 came to the conclusion that no one at
(Guantanamo) had any direct knowledge of or contact with Eduardo
Perez/AMDENIM-11."
CDR Harold Feeney, USN (Ret.) "The Night of the
White Horse" (1988).
http://bayofpigs2506.com/The%20night%20of%20the%20white%20horse.pdf
Late 1960: Hal Feeney became Base Intelligence
Officer at Guantanamo. After diplomatic relations ended (1/61), urgent to
infiltrate CIA-trained Cubans. His team included his assistant Jack Modesett,
ONI civilian agents, infiltrators such as Tony Izquierdo and Rodolfo Hernandez.
He met with RADM Frankel of ONI and then with CNO Arleigh Burke. The radio
handles for him team was "Pete", an exile Cuban agent; Feeney was
"Quijote", and Modesett was "Pecos". One of the agents
recruited and trained by Pete was "Alonso Gonzalez, code-named
'Curita'." Feeney wrote that when placed before a firing squad, Gonzalez
"cried out in a loud voice: Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King! To
which many of us would add our fervent amen."
Deadly Secrets, Warren Hinckle and William Turner
(Thunder's Mouth, 1992), pp. 113-115.
Summer 1961: Tad Szulc wrote, "I cannot say to
what extent (JFK) knew, that November (of 1961) about a scheme elaborated by
Military Intelligence officers soon after the Bay of Pigs...to kill Castro and
his brother Raul...using Cuban marksmen who were to be infiltrated into Cuba
from (the base at Guantanamo)" The authors write: "...the CIA
collaborated closely with its naval hosts, on this assassination plot ONI
appears to have been in the driver's seat. The officer in charge was a Navy
lieutenant commander, and one of the assassins had long been under ONI control.
His name was Luis Balbuena, a thickset man called El Gordo ('the Fat One')...a
second marksman was Alonzo Gonzales, about whom little is known other than that
he was an Episcopalian priest who had designs on being bishop of Cuba once
Castro was deposed...Balbuena aditted to a US Senate investigator that he had
worked with Gonzales out of Guantanamo in 1961 and confirmed that the ambitious
priest was proficient with firearms...(in Aug 1961, at the hemispheric nations'
conference in Uruguay, Che Cuevara) said the plot was for the killing to be
followed by a mortar shelling of the base, giving the impression that enraged
Cubans were taking revenge for Raul's death at the hands of
counterrevolutionaries. The shelling would give the United States a 'clear-cut
case' of Cuban aggression and provide a pretext for armed intervention - the
old Guantanamo shell game." (This was also known as Operation Patty.)
"WAVE attempting to bring together AMNORM-1
(note: Nino Diaz), Tova, Sori Marin and Francisco Bilbao in order plan open new
front Oriente."
PASSAVOY Memorandum For Record No. 200: "Dr.
Miro Cardona informed me that on the evening 7 February (1962)...he received a
visit, previously arranged, with Mr. BILBAO and a U.S. Navy officer, Mr. HAROLD
FEENEY (FINNEY), whose rank he believed was a Commander or a Lt. Commander.
This officer was wearing the blue uniform of the U.S. Navy...he spoke Spanish
very well...he believed it was necessary to fight Castro..." Also see
104-10133-10227 - Feeney met with anti-Castro jurist Julio Garceran, displayed
his ONI credentials, and presented a plan to overthrow the Castro regime by
staging air attacks from Guatemala. Finney set it up with RADM Frankel, and
then met with Admiral Arleigh Burke. On radio calls, Burke was
"Pete", Feeney was "Quijote", and Modesett was
"Pecos".
This is a poorly reproduced copy of the Cuban
Counterrevolutionary Handbook, circa late 1962. On Secondary Organizations: I.
IDENTIFYING DATA: Common title: B. B. Title: Batallon de Brigada Brigade
Battalion Member of internal FND, suspected of being G-2 vehicle in Mid-1962;
composed of ex and actual military men. Organization made up of cells.
Political orientation not known. Claim large number of members and operations
from Habana to Oriente. Leading Personalities: in U. S.: Domingo FALBER
VILLASANTE. Coord. Gen, Exile; In Cuba: Guillermo CADENA (war name), Coord Gen
and FND rep, in prison; Alfredo CORDERO (aka "TOBITA"); Rigoberto
VALDES, Coord. Gen. Habana; Pedro FORMENTAL; and Francisco BILBAO. II. HISTORY
Organized prior April 1961, Cuba. Primary activity: commando type acts against
small guerrilla groups, and sabotage to strategic installations. Claims to have
accomplished many of its plans. III. CURRENT STATUS Not known. Basically
operates in Cuba. May have suffered drastically from GCC roll-up resulting from
planned "uprising" of 1962, as did FND." Easier copy to read can
be found here: http://cuban-exile.com/doc_376-400/doc0386.html The FND was a
coalition of the Batallon de Brigada and about 12 other military-oriented
groups. Most of the leadership was arrested in April 1962 due to infiltration
by Castro's G-2.
http://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html
docId=105712&search=%22batallon_de+brigada%22#relPageId=305&tab=page
During Dec. 1962, AMCRAG-1 got a letter from Victor
Balbuena, Angel Luis Castillo and Jorge Caseno, writing on behalf of FUNC, the
Frente Undio Nacional Cubano. The plan was for refugees at Guantanamo Naval
Base and Cubans on the island to conduct actions designed to overthrow Castro.
Considering having AMCRAG-1 debrief Alberto Espino re more on FUNC activities.
[BK NOTES: Is this the same Luis Angel Castillo who was a programed assassin in the Phillipines, and was named by the NSA clerk who Vladislas Mitrokin outed as a double-agent who named Castillo as the man mentioned in NSA records as the "real assassin" of President Kennedy?]
On 10/9/63, SAS/EOB Dave Ronis wrote a cable about
Dr. Rene Vallejo, Fidel's personal physician. "One of Castro's closest
companions in work, sports and play." Reported elsewhere as Fidel's
confidant in the ongoing negotiations between the USA and Cuba towards
rapprochement. "Suggest station... determine if (_)GRIP can reasibly (sic)
cultivate subj...WAVE: HQS file indicates (Vallejo) contact with AMOT asset
AMCRAG-1..." Query AMCRAG-1 about any current correspondence with Vallejo
and any additional information.
5/1/65 Reuterman (Ted Shackley) memo:
"Cuco" Leon told AMCRAG-1 that he is concerned about GROWERY's
actions with his contacts in Europe. Growery is trying to get AMLASH-2 and AMLASH-3
to work for him (note: this is right during the time of a failed attempt to
kill Castro in April 1965 that involved the AMLASH net). There is an
unfavorable attitude towards GROWERY among the Cuban officials in Europe
working with Castro's opponents - they would prefer to work with the
"Miami group". "FYI, AMCRAG-1 is not known as being associated
with KUBARK (CIA) and has mainly dedicated himself to private business. He has
maintained close relationship with AMBIDDY and AMBIDDY's followers."
4/1/65, one of a series of biographic data reports
of prominent anti-Castro leaders issued by State Department Cuban expert Harvey
Summ: "Did considerable earth-moving contract work for US Naval Base,
Guantanamo Bay...Head of Revolutionary Recovery Movement (MRR), anti-Castro
underground movement, for Oriente province, 1960-61...Bilbao is bright, honest,
trustworthy, steady and mature. He is a good executive. He is highly respected
as an underground resistance leader, both against Batista and against Castro,
in Oriente province."
4/21/65 cable from Chief of Station, JMWAVE to Chief
of Station, REDACTED: By 1965, AMCRAG-1 was described as "a member of the
AMOT group".
See Also:
Contributors:
Bill Simpich
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