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Documents

January 9, 1962

Hungarian Embassy in Havana (Beck), Report on Deputy Foreign Minister Péter Mód’s talks with political leaders in Cuba

Ambassador János Beck reports on Foreign Minister Péter Mód’s visit to Cuba, and with whom he met. The report is divided among four different official meetings: Foreign Minister Raul Roa, Prime Minister Fidel Castro, Carlos Rafael Rodriguez, and the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (ORI). Beck summarizes each meeting separately. Topics include Cuba’s expectation of a US invasion and the US’s current clandestine activities, Organization of American States (OAS) and its use as a political tool in US-Latin American relations, Sino-Soviet relations, socialist unity and the importance of Soviet trade, Cuba’s perceived Soviet military advantage over the US, and the Communist Party’s development/popularity in Cuba. Many of these topics appear in various meetings outlined in the report.

March 1970

Bulgarian Communist Party Politburo Member Boris Velchev, Report to Boris N. Ponomarev, Secretary, Central Committee, Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), re: Relations with Latin America

Bulgarian Politburo member Boris Velchin reports on a Bulgarian delegation visit to Latin American in late 1969. Liberation movements are characterized by mass participation against imperialism, not socialism. Latin American communist parties have a strong theoretical base, but are weak. Velchev proposes that socialist countries create coordinated economic and political strategies towards Latin American countries and aid the populist movements in their quest for liberation from imperialism. Velchin is interested in collaborating with the Soviet Union, which should coordinate the effort.

March 31, 1966

Embassy, Havana, Report on the State of the Cuban Communist Party

In a report on the Cuban Communist Party, Bulgarian Embassy counselor S. Cohen discusses strengths and concerns with the Cuban goverment. The Cuban revolutionary movement debunked the theory of geographically determined fatalism, but also displays a strong dependence on the Latin American liberation movement (e.g. Jose Mari, Simon Bolivar) for inspiration instead of socialist principles. Cohen reports negative developments including the Cuban government’s growing ambition to rule the Third World revolutionary movement and strong belief in the Cuban armed struggle as a template for all national liberation movements. The Cuban delegation strongly endorsed armed struggle as the only means of socialist advancement at the Tricontinental Conference recently held in Havana. Bulgaria must remain close with the Cuban government to help it develop economically and mature politically.

January 17, 1962

Telegram from Polish Embassy in Havana (Jeleń), 17 January 1962

Jelen reports to Krajewski on the Punta del Este, based on conversations with Blas Roca [Caldeiro], [Raul] Roa [Garcia], and [Carlos] Lechuga, about the situation in various Latin American countries: Mexico, Bolivia, Columbia, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Cuba.

November 28, 1978

Information on the Developments in Nicaragua

Report which outlines the activity of leftist opposition movements in Nicaragua in their attempt to overthrow the rule of Somoza. The text gives an account of the support which various leftist opposition organizations have received from neighboring countries. According to the information, the following groups have overtly expressed discontent with the ruling regime: The Democratic Union for Liberation, the “Group of Twelve,” the Nicaraguan Democratic Movement, and the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). Those movements have been supported politically, financially, and in some instances with military aid, by the governments of Venezuela, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, and Cuba. The text suggests that two factors have contributed to the escalating tension in Nicaragua – the internal struggle against the regime combined with pressures from outside, coming mainly from the USA, to keep the regime in place.

January 11, 1967

Cooperation between the Czechoslovak and Cuban Intelligence Services

The report introduces Czechoslovak's assistance in the Operation MANUEL after the isolation of socialist Castro regime. Cuba looked for alternative routes in Europe in order to promote and influence the revolutionary movement in Latin America. Czechoslovakia assistance in the operation is of a strictly technical nature and its intelligence service is doing its utmost to protect the interests of the country by securing all technical matters. The report says that terminating the assistance was not possible for both practical and political reasons-- all direct flights between Czechoslovakia and Cuba would be suspended and a drastic cooling off of relations between two governments. Czechoslovak's refusal in assisting the operation would be interpreted as a political decision to suspend assistance to the national liberation movement in Latin America countries. However, the reports says that the assistance of Czechoslovak intelligence service to the operation is in no way amounts to agreeing with its political content and constitutes a minor aspect of intelligence work. The Soviet intelligence was also involved in organizing the operation in Moscow and offered assistance to its Cuban counterpart.

November 9, 1982

Information from the Bulgarian Communist Party Regarding the visit of the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Honduras – Rigoberto Padilla

Summary of recent developments in the formation of a unified leftist movement in Honduras lead by the country’s communist party, in an attempt to counter the “imperial” influence of the USA. The text suggests that various pro-communist movements within Central Latin America have formed, and have started to cooperate with the intent to create a network. The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) and the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) have played most prominent role in this endeavor. The Honduras Communist party has worked internally in the direction of creating a strong consolidated left wing movement. The document mentions future plans for mutual cooperation between the Bulgarian Communist Party and the Honduras Communist Party.

July 11, 1983

Information from the Bulgarian Communist Party Regarding the Visit of the Delegation of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) to Bulgaria

Information summarizing the objectives of a visit of the FSLN delegation, headed by Baiardo Arse [name is spelled phonetically], to Bulgaria. The visit, which took place from 28 June to July 3 1983, aimed at exchanging information and ideas on ways to reform FSLN, in order to transform the Front into an avant-garde Marxist-Leninist party.
The document describes the political and economic pressure exerted by the Reagan administration on a number of Central and Latin American countries, in order to decrease the support for the Front and other leftist revolutionary movements. According to the information FSLN responded to these measures by consolidating and strengthening its army, and national militia; maintaining transparency and political pluralism; strengthening the cooperative and state economic sector, and redirecting trade to new markets, mainly in the socialist community.