Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between Director Wieland of the Office of Middle American Affairs and Carlos Piad, Washington, July 17,1958

105. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between the Director of the Office of Middle American Affairs (Wieland) and Carlos Piad, Washington, July 17,1958 [1]

During a conversation with Carlos Piad concerning the recent arrest in Habana of a revolutionary student leader who is closely related to Piad, I took occasion to suggest to him that, without invoking the name of the State Department or any other U.S. agency, he ask Dr. Antonio Varona to urge Fidel Castro to push for a speedup in the release of the American servicemen still detained by Rafil Castro.

Piad told me he would do so on his own initiative, without using the name of any U.S. agency. He told me that as the result of his previous conversations with Varona, the latter had, on Friday, July 11, again talked by radio from Caracas to Fidel Castro, urging the latter to take immediate steps to return the Americans.

He said that Varona told Castro that Raul's kidnapping of the Americans had created a bad situation for the 26th of July movement in the United States and elsewhere and that continued detention of the prisoners was only worsening matters. He also told Castro that he felt so strongly about this matter that he was considering going to Cuba to go into the hills to discuss with Fidel personally more fully than he could by radio. Varona told Piad, in a letter which I saw, that Fidel had assured him that it would not be necessary for Varona to return to Cuba at the risk of his life. He assured Varona that he had given categoric orders for the release of the Americans and thought he could assure Varona that they would be freed promptly.

[Here follows Wieland's description of a subsequent conversation with Ernesto Betancourt, registered representative of the 26th of July Movement, during which he was told by Betancourt that Castro and Varona had been having "frequent conversations, principally concerning present negotiations for a unity pact among the revolutionary groups." Wieland wrote that he had been informed during these discussions that "Dr. Varona had told Fidel Castro of the harm being done to the revolutionary movement by the continued detention of the kidnapped Americans."]

NOTES:

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 737.00/7-1758. Confidential. Drafted and initialed by Wieland.