DOMINICANS ASSERT COUNTERCLAIMS TO CIA'S "FAMILY

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001582 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, INR/IAA; USSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL DR SUBJECT: DOMINICANS ASSERT COUNTERCLAIMS TO CIA'S "FAMILY JEWELS" ¶1. (U) Prior to the release of the CIA's "Family Jewels" set of historical documents, there was a good deal of speculation in the Dominican press that the documents would reveal new information about whether the United States was involved in the assassination of President Trujillo in 1961. However, since the documents were published on June 26, reaction here has been relatively subdued, with the major daily newspapers "Hoy" and "Listin Diario" both placing the story below the fold on the front page. ¶2. (U) Our initial review of the declassified documents, which are available at www.foia.cia.gov, revealed the following mentions of the Trujillo assassination: -- A May 8, 1973 memorandum addressed to "Executive Secretary, CIA Management Committee," lists "Potentially SIPDIS Embarrassing Agency Activities," including "An Inspector General report of investigation of allegations that the Agency was instrumental in bringing about the assassination of President Trujillo. The investigation disclosed quite extensive Agency involvement with the plotters." -- A January 3, 1975 memorandum for the file by an Associate Deputy Attorney General detailing a meeting in which the CIA Director informed the Department of Justice of several potentially controversial covert operations, including "The CIA apparently 'plotted' the assassination of some foreign leaders.... With respect to Trujillo's assassination on May 30, 1961, the CIA had 'no active part,' but had a 'faint connection' with the groups that in fact did it." ¶3. (U) In an interview with the reputable, center-left newspaper "Hoy," Dominican historian and former ambassador to the United States Bernardo Vega played down the relevance of the Family Jewels to the Dominican Republic. Vega said, "All of the information about the role of the CIA (in the assassination) has already been... published and there will not be any new news." According to "Hoy," Vega believes that some of the weapons used by the assassins were provided by the CIA long before the plot came to fruition. In addition, Vega asserts, "On April 26 (1961),the CIA instructed (an Agency employee) to prevent the assassination of Trujillo." ¶4. (U) Gen. Antonio Imbert Barrera (ret.),the only living member of the team that assassinated Trujillo, told the establishment daily "Listin Diario" that there were two groups of conspirators. According to Imbert, one group had contact with the CIA prior to the assassination. However, Imbert continued, the second group -- of which he was a member and which actually carried out the attack -- had no discussions with the CIA. "Our group, Antonio de la Maza, Salvador Estrella, Amado Garcia Guerrero, and I, had nothing, nothing to do with the gringos." ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: The assassination of Trujillo is celebrated by most Dominicans as a day of liberation, and the issue of whether the United States was involved in the plot is seen here in that context. Many Dominicans are eager to defend their role in the assassination and seek to downplay the U.S. involvement in what they view as a patriotic act. In a June 26 editorial, the credible, centrist newspaper "Diario Libre" spoke for many here when they praised the assassins, saying that "those who shot the dictator were Dominicans, with their own guns and their own bravery." (U) This report and extensive other material can be consulted on our SIPRNET site, http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/santodomingo/ BULLEN