47. Memorandum for the Record by the Executive Secretary of the Department of State (Tarnoff)1
Benes called to relay a message that Padron, speaking for Castro, asked be transmitted to me when they met in Havana this past weekend. The substance of the Castro message was as follows:
Cuba is not interested in pursuing the conversations that have been conducted with us in the Padron channel. Cuba needs a gesture from the U.S. before the dialogue can usefully be resumed. Castro understands that the U.S. has other priorities in its foreign policy, eg: SALT, [Page 105] China normalization, the Middle East. Last year, real progress in Cuban-American relations might have been possible, but these chances seem to have evaporated, at least until the end of President Carter’s first term. The United States should know, however, that Cuba will do nothing to provoke hostile relations with the U.S. The establishment of the Interests Sections, the elimination of “incidents” (Note: presumably intelligence operations against Cuba) and the cooperation on the prisoner release programs have all been to the good. While Cuba foresees no immediate hope for progress in bilateral relations, it does not want any backsliding either. Cuba remains interested in pursuing links with the Cuba-American community, in keeping up contacts with the U.S. on the prisoner release programs, in holding talks with the U.S. Coast Guard later this spring and in continuing its cooperation with the FBI on security matters affecting the Pan-American Games that will be held in Puerto Rico.2
Benes added that Padron (again speaking for Castro) asked him and us to do everything possible to keep all our past official and unofficial contacts with the Cuban Government confidential. Padron came back to this request several times in his talks with Benes, putting a special emphasis on it that seemed to show Castro’s own interest. Benes believes that the Cubans would be highly embarrassed by any disclosure of the official Cuban-American contacts since they were never shared with the Soviets, and Cuba is now negotiating with the USSR for a substantial increase in Soviet assistance for its next economic plan. Finally, Benes found the Cuban officials he met highly preoccupied with the state of the Cuban economy, but resigned to the view that only supplemental aid from Moscow could possibly help, since productive trade relations with the West in general and the U.S. in particular would not likely develop in time.
Executive Secretary
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, North/South, Pastor, Country, Box 13, Cuba, 2–4/79. Secret; Sensitive.↩
- In telegram 120485 to Havana, May 11, the Department reported that the Coast Guard talks, held from May 8 to May 10, were largely uneventful. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D790221–0852) The Pan American Games took place in San Juan from July 1 to July 15.↩