Sergio Arcacha Smith and the FRD (Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Front)
Author: jpshinley
Email: jpshinley@my-dejanews.com
Date: 1998/07/16
Sergio Arcacha Smith announced his presence in New Orleans on
December 6, 1960. He identified himself as the delegate of the Cuban
Democratic Revolutionary Front, known in Spanish as the Frente
Revolucionario Democratico or as the FRD. Arcacha had been sent from
Miami along with another Cuban named Manuel E. Quesada. Dr Manuel
A. De Varona was identified as the coordinator general of the
FRD. Overthrow of Castro was identified as the main objective of the
FRD; however, the purpose of the New Orleans branch was stated to be
merely to inform Orleanians about "exactly what is happening in Cuba."
The local branch could be contacted through P. O. Box 5336, Station
B, New Orleans. (NOTP; December 7, 1960; secton 1, p 2)
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The FRD's office was opened on December 21, 1960. The address was
room 207, 403 Camp Street (the Balter Building). Besides Manuel
Quesada, Arcacha was now accompanied by a young Cuban from Baton
Rouge, Francisco J. Uriate. (NOTP; December 22, 1960; s 4, p 14)
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In a talk before the Junior Chamber of Commerce in January, 1961,
Arcacha declared that that the "Cubans will launch an invasion
sometime in 1961 to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro. While the
actual invasion would not be launched from U. S. territory, "Cuban
citizens are being recruited by the front [FRD] in this country and
sent elsewhere to train for the invasion." Six months of fighting were
expected to be necessary to achieve victory. Arcacha asked for help in
combatting Communist propaganda "all over Latin America." (NOTP;
January 5, 1961; s 1, p 2)
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Speaking along with Arcacha were Oscar Higgenbotham, former "general
manager of Central Espana Sugar Mills in central Cuba" and Carlos
Marquez Diaz, former Cuban consul who was "removed when Castro came to
power." Of Castro, Marquez said, "He has destroyed everything that
represents decency and honesty in Cuba." (ibid)
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The next day, William Dalzell announced the opening of the offices
of the Friends of Democratic Cuba, Inc. at 402 St. Charles Street
(another entrance of the Balter Building). Grady Durham was identified
as secretary-treasurer and was said to be drawing up a charter and
"getting the support of New Orleans citizens, who will be members of
the board." A Mrs. Margot Campoamor was also mentioned as being
affiliated with the group. (NOTP; January 6, 1961; S 3, p 2)
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Dalzell identified two main aims for the Friends:
1. To get six ambulances, a field hospital and other
medical aid to the FRD which is fighting in guerilla
action against Castro forces in eastern Cuba. (Is the
acqusition of the six ambulances connected to the widely
publicized Bolton Ford Incident?)
2. To help get out of Cuba 52,000 Cubans who are seeking
visas.
Dalzell was alarmed because "Cuba is a satellite of the Soviet Union
and is only 15 minutes away by jet-propelled atomic bombs." (ibid)
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During the Garrison probe, Martin L. McAuliffe, jr. gave a
statement to the DA's office dated May 9, 1967. According to the
statement:
When I was first contacted by Arcacha and asked if I wanted
to handle publicity for the [FRD] which was organized in
November or December, 1960, I called ADMIRAL WARDER, who
was then Commandant of the 8th Naval District, who a
roomate of mine when we were at Annapolis. I asked him to
check if it was all right for me to work with these people
or not. The Naval Intelligence man then contacted me and
set up an appointment with a man at the FBI who used the
name MR. CALL [Ernest C. Wall?]. From that time forward
until after the Bay of Pigs whenever I had anything to
report to the FBI or whenever I was contacted by them the
man was always the man I described as MR. CALL. (p 233; per
the handwritten numbers on the lower right)
McAulliffe remained in contact with the FRD until the Summer of 1961,
when he was advised by Admiral Warder to cease contact. (p 234) In
McAulliffe's view the FBI "was supervising" the FRD. (ibid)
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McAuliffe said that he was contacted by Bill Dalzell about allowing
his name to be used on the letterhead of the Friends of Democratic
Cuba. "[The] next thing I knew I was down as President of the
organization." McAuliffe accepted the post on the advice of his FBI
contact, Call. "About ... six weeks after the thing was started, I was
called over to the FBI office and MR. CALL told me to dissolve the
organization." Call told McAuliffe to raise the spectre of arrest with
the Friends on the basis of a violation of the Neutrality Act. (p 233)
In a memorandum dated April 2, 1968, Andrew J. Sciambra reported that
a Phillip Boatwright was a friend of both a "McAuliff" and Kerry
Thornley.
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An October 26, 1967, CIA document on Arcacha Smith states the
following about his involvement with the Friends:
Arcacha SMITH was also one of the promoters of a New
Orleans organization knows as the Friends... This
organization was created by several New Orleans business
and political figures, including the deceased former FBI
agent, Guy BANISTER, to collect money to aid Cubans in
their fight against Communism. One month after the FDC was
created, it was put out of business by strong criticism
from prominent Cubans. There was evidence that the FDC was
organized strictly for the personal gain of the promoters.
(p 2)
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A possibly interesting counterpart to Dalzell and the Friends might
be Wendell N. Rollason and the Miami based Inter-American Affairs
Commission. A similarity is suggested by Dalzell's goal of helping
52,000 Cubans obtain visas. (NOTP; January 6) Rollason was reported to
have provided such services in Miami. The New York Times stated in
1964 that the Commission "which has operated independently since 1962
was previously part of the Cuban Revolutionary Council. At that time,
Mr. Rollason's task was to assist Cuban exiles in applying for United
States waiver visas." (NYT; Sept 24, 1964; p 11) Rollason was in the
news in 1964 because at that time he, and a Cuban assistant, Anthony
Farinas Gonzalez, were detained in Mexico on a charge of having
supplied forged Mexican entry visas for Cubans attempting to flee
Castro. (NYT; ibid; Sept 27, 1064; p 25; Oct 8, 1964; p 4; no copies
provided) No resolution of this matter was published in the New York
times as far as can be determined. In March, 1961, Rollason was
reported to have provided the State Department Office of Security with
a report that a Cuban had been overheard saying that Caroline Kennedy
should be kidnapped and held until JFK agreed not to invade
Cuba. (NOTP; April 1, 1961; s 1, p 1; April 3, 1961; s 1, p 1)
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At the FRD offices in the Balter Building on Januray 6, 1961,
Mrs. Amparo Rocha announced her resignation as Cuban consul and the
closing the Cuban Consular offices in the International Trade
Mart. "Mrs. Rocha, a veteran of 23 years of foreign service, had been
consul since Francisco Batet quit Dec 7." Arcacha revealed that Rocha
has kept her job at the request of the FRD; however, Rocha maintained
that "her sympathies with the Front movement had not influenced her
work on decisions concerning ... the counsular office." (NOTP; January
7, 1961; s 1, p6)
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A week before the launching of the Bay of Big invasion, Sergio
Arcacha Smith saw fit to inform the New Orleans press that
"preparations are almost complete for an anti-Castro Cuban invasion."
Some of the participants were to be Cuban students recruited from
Louisiana Universities and sent, via Miami, to training grounds in
Central America. Arcacha stated that the aim of the invasion was "to
set up a government-in-arms so that Cuba can once again be recognized
by countries throughout the world." This statement suggests that
Arcacha was indeed aware of the plans for the Bay of Pigs. The
invasion "could begin this afternoon, tomorrow, anytime. We are just
waiting for the signal." (NOTP; April 11, 1961; s 3, p4)
-
After the official launching of the Bay of Pigs invasion, the press
sought out Arcacha for a reaction:
Smith learned that the invasion was imminent Sunday about
11 pm through a coded message on a short-wave radio at his
home: "Look to the rainbow. The sky is clear. The fish are
ready." He said each sentence has an important meaning, but
he declined to elaborate.
-
The Cuban official said that refugees in this country have
been on the alert for several weeks and that he has been
listening to his radio each day for the signal.
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Many New Orleans area Cubans are members of the invasionary
force, [Arcacha] Smith said, but he declined to say how
many. He said all were Cubans - some exiles, some students.
Many of the students were attending colleges and
universities in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Arcaha identified Francisco Uriate, who had been present at the
opening of the FRD office in December, as one the leaders of the
invasion. (NOTP; April 18, 1961; s 1, p 9)
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Volume X of the report of the House Select Committee on
Assassinations states, on page 127, that "the FBI files also indicate
[Guy] Banister was performing another service for the Cuban exile
group. He ran background checks on those Cuban Students on the campus
of Louisiana State University who wished to be members of Arcacha
Smith's anti-Castro group, ferreting out any pro-Castro sympathizers
who might be among them." Arcacha's comments cited above suggest that
these students cleared by Banister were not volunteering to operate
the mimeograph machine at the FRD's Balter Building office, but that
instead they were recruited to be part of the Brigade 2506. If this
surmise is correct, then Banister may have had a personal stake in the
men killed and captured at the Bay of Pigs.
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The Crusade to Free Cuba
-
The fund-raising drive to be known as the Crusade to Free Cuba had
an abortive beginning when NO Mayor Victor Schiro proclaimed November
6 to December 6, 1961 to be "March of the Paper Bullets for
Democratic Free Cuba Month." "Paper Bullets" were identified as dollar
bills, which were to be given to the FRD. (NOTP; November 7, 1961; s
2, p 4)
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After some retooling, the obliging Mayor Schiro proclaimed December
and January to be the "time of the Crusade to Free Cuba." (NOTP; Dec
1, 1961; s 2, p4) A kick-off meeting was held December 1 at the
Monteleone Hotel. The principle speaker was Manuel Gil, a Cuban exile
who would become involved with INCA. Other Cubans present were
Arcacha, Carlos Quiroga, who would later speak to Oswald in an attempt
to infiltrate Oswald's FPCC group, and Arnesto Rodriguez. Another
speaker was Norman Thomas, identified as a "New Orleans freelance
writer, [who] spent two weeks in Cuba during October." (NOTP; December
2, 1961; s 1, p 6) A Norman Thomas was listed as editor on the
masthead of William George Gaudet's Latin American Report (contents
pages from the February 1960 and June 1962). Dr. Alton Ochsner is
listed as a director of Latin American Report in the February 1960
issue.
-
The Crusade picked up steam with the naming of William
A. Monteleone, of the Monteleone Hotel, as general chairman. A
city-wide committee was named which included Robert D. Reily; former
superintendent of police, Provosty Dayries (the man who fired
Banister); city Councilman Paul V. Burke, who had opposed Banister's
police corruption probe at every opportunity; Arnesto Rodrigues and
Manuel Gil. (NOTP; December 3, 1961; s 1, p 19)
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Another gathering at the Monteleone Hotel in late Decemeber
featured a speech by Arcacha himself. Arcacha is now described as a
delegate of the Cuban Revolutionary Council (CRC) rather than the
FRD. To offer an explanation as to why the Cuban populace did not
rise up against Castro during the Bay of Pigs, Arcacha gave the
following dubious account: "There were 33 people in my office. Of
these 33, only five were for Castro. But they were armed with machine
guns as were other Castro militiamen. When the invasion came they
pointed the guns at us, wouldn't even let us leave the office for
lunch." (NOTP; December 29, 1961; s 1, p 6) Funny that the reporters
interviewing Arcacha at the time did not notice that he was being held
by armed men.
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Another speaker was Ronnie Caire, decribed as a coordinator of the
campaign. Caire indicated that some of the money raised would be used
to keep the anti-Castro underground active. And he offered that "Cuba
has missiles. And these missiles will be only 20 minutes away from New
Orleans. Suddenly we find the thing in our own backyard. If this
doesn't shake you up at night, I don't know what it takes. Caire
stated that the had checked out Arcacha and the CRC before becoming
part of the Crusade. "I checked unofficially with the CIA, the
un-American activities committee of the House of Representatives and
the State Department. From every national check source came back the
answer, 'This is the group.' I also checked up on Arcacha personally."
(ibid)
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William Monteleone also piped in: "The revolution in Cuba is no
comic opera. It is an international drive aimed at encircling the
United States and capturing all of Latin America." (ibid)
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The next big event in the Crusade was a parade down Canal Street on
January 20, 1962. Arcacha is now conspicuously absent; the parade was
led a Carlos Quiroga. The paraders carried a large Cuban flag into
which people were encouraged to toss their contributions. Mrs. Harlod
K. Marshall was identified as women's committee
chairman. J. B. McMahon the large donor's chairman, and Maurice Andry
as finance committee chairman. (NOTP; January 20, 1962; s 3, p 4;
January 21, 1962; s 1, p 21)
-
The day after the parade, Monteleone stated that the drive would be
extended throuh January 31. Mention is also made of a two-hour
telethon held over the weekend. (NOTP; January 22, 1962; s 1, p 8)
Was this the telethon Rancier Ehlinger said Gordon Novel was involved
with?
-
A new name is that of Luis Rabel, brought in to replace
Arcacha. (ibid) Notice that the Times-Picayune gives no hint of
Arcacha's departure or the reasons for it. According to the CIA
document cited above, "the FRD in New Orleans threw Arcacha SMITH out
of the organization in early 1962. Some Cubans said Arcacha SMITH
stole money entrusted to him for the counterrevolution." (p 2)
During the Garrison probe, Ronnie Caire was interviewed by Frank
Klein, who filed a memorandum dated January 23, 1967. Caire said he
was first approached by Arcacha around November or December of
1961. He could not recall if Arcacha had been referred by anyone. "The
Crusade lasted about three months and was a failure and [Caire] says
that he lost about $10,000 on the deal in expenditures for which he
was never remimbursed. He believes that all that was raised was about
$4,000 and that [Arcacha] pocketed some cash contributions." (p 202)
After the debacle of the Crusade, Arcacha worked for Caire from
February to September of 1962. The relationship was terminated when
Arcacha departed New Orleans after telling Caire that he had arranged
business in Mexico. (p 202) Caire identified Arnesto Rodgriquez as the
leader of the "anti-Arcacha" faction in the Cuban community. (p 203)
Caire had an uncertain recollection of being introduced to a "Toni
Varona" by Arcacha. (p 204)
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A memorandum of February 14, 1967, summarizes Sciambra's interview
with Ernesto (aka Arnesto) Rodriguez. Calling Arcacha a "bad hombre",
Rodriguez recalled that at one meeting of the Crusade "there was an
argument between RONNIE CAIRE and some of the Cubans over the way that
the finances were being expended. It seems that there was a complaint
that the money was being used to pay some of ARCACHA's personal
debts." (pp 787-8) Rodgriguez also claimed contact with Oswald during
the summer of 1963. (p 787)
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Rodriguez recommended an Orlando Piedra as a good source of
information on the N. O. Cuban community. (p 787) In February of 1962,
Piedra, described as former "chief of investigations for the secret
police of deposed President Fulgencio Batista," shared his secret
files on the early career of Fidel Castro. Piedra had been in New
Orleans since September 1960. (NOTP; February 10, 1962; s 2, p 3)
According to James and Wardlaw, Plot Or Politics, page 160, Piedra was
in New Orleans until the onset of the Garrison probe.
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Citizens for a Free Cuba Committee
-
On September 24, 1964, the formation of the Citizens for a Free
Cuba Committee was announced. Ross Buckley was identified as
chairman. (Earlier, an E. Ross Buckley had run as a Republican
candidate for Mayor.) Cuthbert Brady was vice-chairman for public
relations, Mrs. Sidney Scoenburger vice-chairman for women, Arnesto
J. Rodriguez secretary, and Paul Lapeyre coordinator of student
groups. (NOTP; September 25, 1962; s 3, p 19)
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In October, Cuthbert Brady proclaimed that "Alpha 66 is the only
group actually doing something about getting rid of Castro." He said
that agents of Alpha 66 were in N. O. A petition circulated by Brady
called for the "recognition of the existence of a state of hostilities
between Red Cuba and the U. S." and the "use of volunteers from this
nations and others to liberate Cuba." (NOTP; October 18, 1962; s 4, p
10) This, of course, was during the Cuban missile crisis.
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Jack Frazier, owner of the Ryder Coffee House, in a February 26,
1968 interview with Garrison investigator Gary Sanders, said he had
attended meetings of a discussion group whose members were the
following: "KERRY THORNLEY, WILLIAM [CUTHBERT] BRADY, HELEN GLADSTONE
(a close friend of Brady's), JACK BURNSIDES and ROSS
BUCKLEY. (Memorandum dated March 6, 1968; p 134) Frazier said Brady
was a homosexual who was arrested on a morals charge and deported to
the Phillipines "around the same time as OSWALD's leaflet
distribution." Frazier reportedly said, "I think that Brady was
deported because the CIA wanted him out of town." (p 135)
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David Graydon, who lived with William C. Brady from July to August
of 1962 and June to August of 1963, was interviewed by Sciambra on May
27, 1968. (Memorandum of May 27, 1968; p 776) Graydon said that Helen
Gladstone had some of Brady's papers, but she was also a personal
friend of Clay Shaw (and thus unlikely to be helpful to Garrison's
investigation). Brady was also said by Graydon to have known Clay
Shaw. Two other Shaw-Brady acquaintances were said to be "LEKLA FREA
and VERNON KELLOGG." Graydon also claimed to have been told that Lee
Harvey Oswald had attended two parties in Brady's apartment. (pp
776-7)
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Jerry Shinley
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