292. Editorial Note

On August 5 Admiral Radford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, received detailed information about a plot to overthrow Batista within the next few days. In an August 5 memorandum to Admiral Radford, Colonel E.G. Van Orman, Acting Deputy Director for Intelligence for the Joint Staff, wrote that an official in the American Embassy had been informed of the plan by an unnamed source who claimed to be the secret leader of the Fidel Castro movement in Habana. The coalition of Castro forces and the imprisoned Colonel Barquin, supported by elements of all three military sources, allegedly planned to persuade Batista to give control of the country to a military junta which would be replaced once order was restored by Barquin as provisional president. If Batista refused, the coalition would overthrow the government by force. Van Orman stated that CIA reports tended to confirm the existence and general outline of the plot. (JCS Records, Chairman's File, Admiral Radford, 1953‑57, 091 Latin America)

On August 7 the Embassy informed the Department of State that the attempted nationwide general strike on August 5 as a means of overthrowing the government failed because of prompt action by Batista's officials and of general disorganization among the opposition groups. (Despatch 107, August 7; Department of State, Central Files, 737.00(W)/8‑757)