November 15,1965

By CARLOS MARTINEZ

Two small exile boats shot up the Havana waterfront Sunday with machine gun fire in what appeared to be an attempt on the life of Cuban President Osvaldo Dorticos.

Fidel Castro took to the air waves shortly after and denounced the U.S. government and Central Intelligence Agency for "stupidities against this country."

Castro, speaking from Mount Cuba on the occasion of the graduation of 400 Cuban doctors, heaped blame on "the miserable ones at the service of imperialism." He declared the strafing provides "a magnificent opportunity to compare the constructive work of the revolution with the destructive aims of counter-revolutionaries."

Jorge Mas, a spokesman for the Cuban Representation in Exile (RECE) claimed his organization made the attack and said the two beats did not concentrate on Dorticos' home alone.

He said two other targets were also shelled. They were the Havana Riviera Hotel and the Eighth Police Station, both on the waterfront and about one mile apart.

Mas added that the group had also planned to hit the "radar installations" about one mile west of Dorticos' house. "They found out that it was impossible to hit them from the water," he said.

He added that the operation was carried out with two other exile groups. He said they were Commandos L and the Frank Pais Movement.

He said it took the two boats "several hours" to shell their objectives.

No one was hurt in the attack, according to Castro and RECE said the boats escaped to bases in the Caribbean.

Sources here indicated, however, that it was unlikely a raiding party could stay that long off the Cuban

coast without drawing any response from Castro's forces.

Exile sources speculated that RECE could have deliberately timed the operation with the OAS foreign ministers meeting in Rio de Janeiro this week. RECE sent a delegation to the meeting to "brief" the hemisphere foreign ministers on the Cuban situation.

Dorticos' home in Havana's once-plush Miramar district had been the property of the Pedro Villodoldo family, now in exile. Dorticos took over the house several months after being