Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961–1963, Volume XII, American Republics

105. Memorandum for the Record¹

Washington, February 18, 1963.

SUBJECT

• Meeting with The President on 18 February 1963

Present at the meeting were: Ambassador Raymond L. Thurston, Sterling J. Cottrell, Robert Hurwitch, J.C. King, Ralph Dungan, Cyrus R. Vance, Major General Victor H. Krulak, USMC, and the undersigned.²

In the meeting, the President discussed the attached summary of proposed actions with respect to Cuban-based communist subversion in Latin America.³

In connection with Section V of the attached summary,⁴ the President stated that we should go to Congress for a larger military assistance program keyed to subversion in Latin America and the Cuban situation.

With respect to Section VI. B.,⁵ the President approved in general terms a selected exchange of intelligence with Latin American governments.

With respect to Section VIII,⁶ the President said that he was not yet ready to carry out such activities, but that they should be thought out and plans should be developed.

With respect to Section IX.A.2.,⁷ the President approved in general terms the establishment of a clearing house for information about communist activities based in Cuba. However, it was left open whether such a clearing house would be within or without the OAS and whether it would be the SCCS.

In addition, the President asked Secretary Vance to review our counterinsurgency contingency plans for Latin American countries, particularly with respect to the reaction time of the U.S. military and with respect to the extent of non-U.S. participation contemplated in such plans.

The President read the attached memorandum which presented the DoD position on the basic paper submitted by Ambassador Thurston⁸ and then left the room to attend another meeting. Subsequent to his departure, the persons present discussed the question whether a single point of contact should be designated for supervising the execution of the total counter-subversion program in Latin America.⁹

Joseph A. Califano, Jr.¹⁰
Special Assistant to the
Secretary of the Army

1. Source: Washington National Records Center, RG 330, Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, OASD/(C) A Files: FRC 71 A 2896. Top Secret. The source text bears no drafting information except that it was drafted on February 22.
2. Those not yet identified include Deputy Coordinator of Cuban Affairs Hurwitch, Secretary of the Army Vance, and Major General Krulak, Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities to the Director of the Joint Staff.
3. The attachment, unsigned and undated, titled “Elements of an Expanded U.S. Program to Combat Cuban-Based Communist Subversion in Latin America,” is not printed.
4. Section V is titled “Military Measures.”
5. Section VI is titled “Expanded Intelligence Effort.”
6. Section VIII is titled “Special Measures to Obtain Greater Support for the Anti-Subversion Campaign.”
7. Section IX is titled “Increased Multilateral Effort.”
8. The memorandum by Vance, February 18, on the subject “Cuban Based Communist Subversion in Latin America,” is not printed. The basic paper was apparently the paper cited in footnote 2 above.
9. Cottrell stated in a February 27 memorandum to Vance and others that he was establishing a subcommittee of the Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee of Cuban Affairs, to be called the Sub-Committee on Cuban Subversion; it was to be chaired by Krulak. (Filed as an attachment to a March 4 memorandum from Califano to Colonel Francis J. Roberts; ibid.)
10. Printed from a copy that indicates Califano signed the original.