From the Journal of S.M. Kudryavtsev, 'Record of Conversation with Fidel Castro Ruz, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba, 22 March 1962'

 SECRET Copy Nº 1

13 April 1962

Outgoing Nº 130

FROM THE JOURNAL OF

S. M. KUDRYAVTSEV

RECORD OF A CONVERSATION

with Fidel Castro RUZ, Prime Minister

of the Republic of Cuba

22 March 1962

This evening we held a reception on the occasion of the presentation of the Lenin Peace Prize to Fidel Castro. [The following] attended the reception: Fidel Castro, Dorticos, Raul Castro, Ernesto Guevara, Blas Roca, Raul Roa, and all the other members of the government and National Leadership of the United Revolutionary Organizations, and also prominent representatives of Cuban public organizations, and the ambassadors of socialist, Latin American, and a number of Western countries.

Fidel Castro asked me to inform Moscow that the Cuban government has decided to appoint Cuban Ambassador to the USSR Chomon to the post of Minister of Communications. Fidel Castro noted, after Chomon becomes part of the ORO National Leadership he will remain in Cuba and take a practical part both in Party activity as well as in governing the country. Fidel Castro continued, we intend to announce Chomon’s appointment as Minister of Communications in the press on 24 March. He will return to Moscow in the near future to pay farewell visits.

For my part I promised to pass this report to Moscow.

Referring to our last conversation in the course of which he, Fidel Castro, expressed concern about the telephoned report from New York of Inchaustegui about an aggression being prepared against Cuba, he said that apparently the Cuban representative to the UN had essentially sent the statement of the Soviet representative in the Security Council on 15 March. The Soviet representative, referring to the American press, cited the facts of the preparation of an armed invasion of Cuba by the United States. The Soviet representative, in particular, cited an excerpt from the 16 March [issue] of the magazine Time in his speech, which reported that 800 Marines had been recently landed in Guantanamo and that the strength of the Marines had reached at least 1100 men. In addition, the number of sailors had been brought to 2,000 men. A battalion of Marines was quartered in Puerto Rico ready, as indicated in the magazine, “to move out on short notice”. The US fleet, now legally deployed near Guantanamo, has been supplied with F-4H jet fighters which are based on aircraft carriers.

Fidel Castro expressed gratitude for the information, noting that some increase of military contingents had actually been noted recently at the American base in Guantanamo. However, as yet no large or serious movements have been noted which would tell of the impending closeness of a military invasion.

It needs to be noted that the reception passed in an unusually warm and cordial atmosphere. Fidel Castro stayed at the reception for four hours. Bidding us farewell, he excitedly asked that the CPSU CC and Soviet government be assured that he justifies the confidence shown in him with the award of the Prize of the Great Lenin with his work, whose ideas he will worthily put into effect.

USSR AMBASSADOR IN THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA (S. KUDRYAVTSEV)