GUATEMALAN PROCUREMENT OF ARMS FROM THE SOVIET ORBIT
Table of Contents
!.2
Arrival and Unloading at PuertoMeasures
Admissions Regarding Receipt of Arms by Guatanslenof Alf^sgof
Estimated Typos and Quantities of Arms
Value of the Alfhem
Financial
Guateaalan Negotiations for the Alfhem
Previous Guatemalan Efforts to Obtain
Other Recent Reports of Aros
Attachments:
of Lading
of Johan Henry Lind, Captain ofat Key Vest, Florida on4
Statement of Harold Haase, Vice President andGuatemala Division, International RailwaysAmerica.
of Daniel Alfonso MARTINEZ Estevez and Jose
OA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM RELEASEAS SANITIZED
SECRET
TJATSKALAK PROCUREMENTRMS FROM THEIT
The shipmont of arras from the Soviet orbit to Guatemala on tho Swedish flog vessel Alfhea was the outcome of clandestine negotiations botveen agents cf the Guatemalan government and Chechoslovakianand conmercial agentel The chartering, loading and soiling orders of the Alfhem were deviously contrived by the Soviet orbit supplier so as to conceal the true origin, nature and destination of the cargo, and the oporations of unloading and transferring the cargo in Ouatemala wore covered with secrecy, under close military guard, by the Quaternion government.
Tho Alfhem soiled under blind ordersisleading course, Neither the captain nor the crew know their true destination until within hours of Poarto Barrios, Neither the captain nor the crew knew for certain their cargo. Their suap*BlT|ions were aroused, however, by the weight and dimensions of the cases and the strength of the packing. The crew was not surprised when the ship was net by military officers ond plocod under onwd guard. Since that time the Guatemalan Oovcrrmtnt and military officials, by inference and direct statement, hava admitted that the Puerto Barrios consignment consisted of
Hod the arms been new, the estimated value of that shipment would. The known transfers of Guatemalan foreign exchange during tho period of transection, however, although they were much highernormal, indicate that Ouatemala by no means peid this amount of money for the Alfhem shipnont to the Chechoslovakia supplier. What advantages did the Soviet orbit gain from this bargain sale?
In spito of the carefully concealed financial and shipping arrangements, the false cargo manifest of the Alfhem, and thesecurity precautions maintained by the Guatemalan government over unloading the cargo at Puerto Barrios and transferring it to inland points, tho details of the war munitions delivered by the Alfhem have bocone known. The mortars and howitzers, grenades and land' mines, as well as tho machlceguna,autcaatlc rifles and ether items, appear to exceed by for, in fire power, nature and quantity, any forseeablo Guatemalan need for national defense or thoof internal order* Guatemala's own estimates of its needs for arms and ammunition heretofore have been abouta year.
Final negotiations for the recent extraordinary arms purchase ware carried out tn Prague during January andii, by Major Alfonso Martinez, apparently dealing at high levels of the CMChoslovaklan State hlorarchyersonal agent of President Arbenz, Althoughilitary title, Major Martinea has no close relations with the Amy, butolitically important government post as Chief of the National Agrarian Department. This agency administers the controversial Agrarian Roformaw which was drafted with tho ass&ance of Jose Manuel For tuny, until recently secretary general of the Guatemalan Corroinist Partynd pushed through the Guatemalan Congross by Comunist pressure.
Fortuny spent two months in Moscow Just prior to the Journey which took Major Kartinox to Prague, During the sane period, arrangenonts wore consummated for tho formal establishment ofrelations with the Cosaunist satellite government ofand the Minister of that country prc-sented his credentials to the President of Guatemala onU. It was not surprising that the date of this diplomatic accord coincided with Major Martinez's mission in the Czachoslovakian capital, whore he remained from JanUaryo February
w
This acquisition of axils from tho Sovlot orbit is but representativeany other known efforts by the present government from early? to the present, to obtain military supplies in substantial quantities. Using as agents various Guatemalans and certain well known international traffickers in eras, approaches on the subject have beon made in rest of the countries of Western Europe and even in many Latin American capitals. The broadly inclusive nature of this arms quest is common knowledge in military, banking and commercial circles cf Europe* It ranges froa small arms and low calibre aaaunition up through anti-tank and anti-aircraft cannon, tanks, half-tracks, army trucks, and airplanes. These persistent, widespread efforts generally have met with failure. Some commitments and actual deliveries nevertheless have been made. Guatemala has received Cerlikon cannon and replacement parts,and numerous spare parts for military trucks, Yot cvon before these acquisitions, Guatemala's military and police strength was more than double the forces of arr/ of its neighboring states comparable in site and population. The delivery of the Alfhem consignment, togother with the possibility of further contemplated negotiations with the Soviet orbit,ontinuing source of apprehension for Guatemala's militarily weaker neighbors and of darker to the peace of the Western Hemisphere.
In chronological sequence, the known facts regardinglfhem and its cargo aro as set forth in the following pages.
Arrival and 'Jnloading at Puerto 3arrloa
1, Onu, the Goneral Manager of the International Railways of Central American Guatemala City, received information ?rom the Terminal Superintendent of the railway at Puerto Barrios, Guatemala,hip was due on or about that date with cargo for tho Guatemalan government but that nothing definite was known as to class of cargo, quantity or origin, Ono Arturo Papadopolo was supposed to be the agont for the ship and it was "understood" that the ship's cargo was "armament," 1/
2* Later the same day the ship entered and was received by the Minister of Defense of Guatemala, Col, Jose Angel Sancbazj the Director of tho National Agrarian Department, Major Alfonso Martineai and other government officials. 2/
3. Col. Sanchez requested the IRCA Terminal Superintendent to providelat cars and as many box cars and locomotivos as would bo required to snve the cargo without delay and asked to have the ship docked immediately. No Ship's documents, manifests or bills of lading were presented or shown to IRCA officials, as requisite under normal conditions, 3/
lw Effoctivo discharging began onay. Col. Sanchoz informod IRCA employees that ho wished to dischargeay and desired that there bo no delay due to shortage of cars, or power, or movement over tho rsilrood fron Puerto Barrios to Ouatemala City. On tho basis of tho Terminal Superintendent's estimate of costs, Col. Sanchos paid ovor toeposituetsalcs onay, (Tho Guatemalan government was previously in arrears to IRCA for unpaid freight shipments. Tho cash deposit waa to eovor the oost of handling tho Alfham shipmont alone, although tho cost of moving the Alfhem shipmont probably will exceed this amount.) h/
5. Unloading was completed on Sunday,ay, The first train with eight cars left Puerto Barrios at midnight,ay. An explosion occurred under the locomotive at MileCastenoda) as it passedmall bridge. Following this sabotage attempt the Ministry of Defense requested IRCA to supply six rail motor cars with trailers for handling troops and piloting the trains with tho special Government cargo. An oseorfcofsoldiers end offlcoro aJcoeparuLed each train.
6. Onay felted Fruit Company employes at Bananer* vent on strike andonsequence IRCAubsidiary of United Fruit) suspended servloe. All looomotlve power and praotlcally all equipment ueo removed from the United Fruit lines. The following day, Lie. Alfonso Bauer Paiz, Government Interventor of the IHCA, requested roestablishment of service. The Director General of the Guardla Ciylj, Col, Rogelio Cruz Wer, and the Dlreotor of the Quardja Judicial, Major Jaime Rosenberg, accompanied lie, Bauer Palz to the offices of IRCA to discuss resumption of service. uring these conversations, the nature of the special Government cargo was mentionedin the terms of "armaments". Colonel Cruz Wer stated that the Guatemalan Government wished to have this "armament" moved as'rapidly as possible. The General Manager of IRCA commented thatfficials- had supposed the cargo consisted of armament because they had heard rumors to that effeot. Subsequently In the conversation when anyas made to the movement of the cargo by the three Guatemalans present, they referred to lt as "special cargo". It was understood by IRCA officials In Guateaala City that their Terminal Superintendent in Puerto Barrios had been Informed either by Cclonel Sanchez, Defense Minister, or by seme of his party at the port, that the Alfhcn cargo oonsisted of armaments. 7/
Security
Col. Sanchez and Major Martinez went to Puerto Barriosarty of officials and remained several days at the port awaiting the arrival of theros the time of the ship's unheroldod arrival until unloading was completed no effort was spared to assure the rapid discharge of cargo and its safe transport to Guatemalauard of troops was maintained so that it was impossible for unauthorized persons to approach the dischargo area. There were twenty to thirty guards on the dock at allact cade the sore conspicuous by the absence of any military personnel on or abcut the eight or ten other vessels In the harbor at the same time. The cargo was discharged directly Into railway cars with the ship's dorrtcks and military guards were on duty on all the railway cars, chocking the cargo into them. he Alfhem crew was allowed shoro leavo during the unloading. Regular United Fruit Company and IRCA oaployes were allowed to continue their normal work, but strangers were barred from the area and. Service Attaches at the port were kopt under Even the local shipping agont, to whom tho Alfhom had radioed onay regarding its impending arrival, was prohibited from boarding the shipot given access to its papers.
Admission? Hogardlng Receipt of Ams by Guatemalan Officials
1. Guatemalan offiolal efforts to maintain secreoy and to preserve tho fiction that an innocuous cargo of machinory was brought by the Alfhom wero quickly nullified, not only by the flow of rumor at tho harbor, which began evon before the ship's arrival and by the evident special concern of tho Guatemalan Army chiefs to take tho cargo Immediately under their control, but by tho characteristic shape and dimensions of the items unloaded, although everything was closely boxed and some packages carried deceptive Members of thorew had had previous experience In freighting arms and were reported <is saying about the port that while they wore told the shipment was machinery they bollevod it
cut of thabiukii span an deck, wmmSAm, Uu cantonsO Bpj lieufc. aiiu tied the ben rnlih mi.lla Him. lg/
Byay, tho Swedish Foreign Office informed the press that the Swedish Government was satisfied by reports from its own diplomatic sources that the Alfhemargo of munitions. he charterer of the vessel nevertheless denied that the cargo consisted of arms. But tho vessel's owners, convinced that the cargo had been loaded under falao description, then cancelled the charter, onay, at Stockholm, The owners then radioed Instructions for withdrawal of the ship from Puerto Barrios,
Publicn the subject was now high in Guatemala as well as abroad and official statements admitting receipt of arms finally began to appear. Foreign 'flnistor Guillormo Toriello admittedress interview onay that the Alfhem cargo consisted of arms, nay the official government paper, piarlo dec am-rlea, and also the paper Nuestro Diario carried statements by the Hinistor of Government, Augu'sVo'Charnaud MacDonald, referring to
"the shipment of arms" to Guatemala City, hay Nuestro Dlarlc published and Interview with Toriello in which Toriello sain ho hE3 discussed with U.mbassador Pourlfoyhipmont of arms recently acquired by the Guatemalan Government." nay El Imparccal quoted Toriello as stating that tho AIfhom was "the only ship which would bring arms "toay,"tho official piario de Centre AD'-'rlcafrtatement by Major Enrique Parinello', Army Chief of Staff, in which he referred several times to tho arrival of an arms shipment, anay, in Mexico, Guatemalan Ambassador Roberto Alvarado Fuentos admittodress interview given tho Mexico City newspaper Dxcclslor that arms had been received. He also inpliad that the arms embarked oi; the Alfhem at Stettin wore of Chechoslovakian origin,
History cf the Alfhem Consignment
As bits and pieces of information from Stockholm, London, ond CzochoSlovakia cane out, together with tho ship's log, sailing orders and falsified manifest, the history of the Alfhem shipawnt emerged as detailed belovi
1, lfhem was purchased one or two years ago by A, B, Boh us land ska Kusten, Uddevalla, Sweden, The company is owned by "ustav Thorden and associates, and nonaged by Knud Kordendorph,
The actual charterer of tho Alfhem for this voyage was Alfred Christeneon of Stockholm, an independont ship broker who represents the Czechoslovak!an State Corporation, Czochofracht 2k/ Czechofraeht is identified in the Cioche-slovakcrague,L, as the (Czechosiovakian State) Corporation for Shipping, Czochofracht paid the shipping costs. However, two other Czechoslovak State corporations are shown on theoading time sheet as shippers, namely "SFESRAPID" and "KSTRAHS". Tho latter is listed in thok Czechoslovak Economic Bulletin as "corporation for international forwarding." All three are Cftich government agencies.
3. Because of complications in arranging payment through transfer cf Czechoslovakian funds from London to Sweden, Alfred Christensen, the charterer, obtained the services of E. E. Dean of London, Dean obtainod permission from the Bank of fncland to effoct the payments and wasstraw charter"hrlsterson, This was no moroormal arrangehristensen agrcod in writing Lo icko all responsibility ir. logal end financial matters, ho existence of this dummy charter in London does not in Itself prove thoature of the Alfhem transaction, because Dean merely played tho rolo of expediting 'Czech payment to Sweden, with the full knowledge and consent of the Bank of Englanda he rjcords of the real charterer, Alfred Christensen, and of tho Alfhem itself, howovor, rhow witting collaborationlandestine enterprise, "ho Alfhoa at Ltast once previously/crofrterode"hof racht, inB carry Czechoslovak goods to Communist China, ChVlstonson also acted as charterer on that occasion,
SECRET
U. In Stockholm onoy Chriotonsen stated that the Alfhem cargo consisted only of chemical ond optical glassware and machinery as indicated in the bill of lading. He named as shipper John MUles and Brothers, tendon. To dote it has not been possible to vorify tho name or existence of this feVm. Ho declared that the bill of lading was issued to tho buyer ond that the Captain of the vessel was specifically Instructed not to relooso the cargo to any agent or person other than tho actual holder of the fully Fold bill of lacing. Christensen claimed not to know who woe taking delivery of the cargo, but later indicated that it was the Guateaalan
Christensen cooperated with the Guatemalan Minister of Defonsc in tho letter's urgent efforts to get tho Alfhem cargo transferred to Guatemalan possession as rapidly as possible, and contrived so as to enable the Alfhgm to remain in port until tho consignment was discharged. This was in despite of on appeal to Christensen by, Embassy in Stockholm to order tho Captain to cease unloading and deport On tho night ofoy he finally agreed to do so, but two days later admitted to Guetaf Tr.orden, the owner, that he hod not carried out the. promise, "because he thought that it would be no use". Tho same day Thorden cancelled the charter and himself issued the further instructions to the ship.
Bo actual violation of Swedish lav occurred in the Alfhem transaction inasmuch as the ship did not pass through Swedish territorial waters while carrying its cargo of arms, Howovor, the fact that tho director-manager, Knud Kordondorph, wont all tho way to Copenhagen to seo tho Captain on his way out of the Baltic rather than have the ship stop
ot Goteborg or 'Jdevalla, would indicate that tho Alfhem was trying to avoid entering Swedish waters. Tho devious and unusual course taicon by the voseol on Christonoen's ordors also bears out the assumption that hoitting conspirator in _tho plot to deliver arms secretly from Czechoslovakia to Guatemala.
Alfhem departed Uddevalla, Swedenpril forbunkers ond provisions, thon proceeded to Stottin, Poland. Uddevella, the Captain was tcldepresentative ofmall part of the cargo might be "second-classStettin, the shipper's representatives denied this. The ship's agent
there was one Mueller, from the Polish government rgency "Morekais known to have handled previous cargo from Czechofracht in Qaynio,agent was responsible for the bill of lading and manifest; thocccopted it, }jj Promobut did not entor the port. There Knud Kcrdendorph, as stated,vessel and examined the papers recoived by tho Captcln at Stottin,to home waters, tho Alfheir. thon procoodedpril towardorders". The Captain bcliovod from his instructions that hothe vesselestination on tho coast of South America; hedetailed charts of the Caribbean, Onpril, while in the Bayradio Instructions wore received to prooood to Curascao "for7 May, the Captain received Instructions to proceed to Puerto Cortes,coast of Honduras, "for orders", Tho charterer thon requestedtime of arrival at the discharging port, and onay, oneof Puerto Cortos, he was instructed to take the Alfhem
8, Tho feet that the ship carried trms Booms to have been almost an "open secret" among those on board, Cortoinly theretrong poasibllity thot the Captain suspected if ha did not know thn true nature of his cargo. Soveral of the crew members wore certain that It eonsistod of arms, and he was aware of their speculations. At leastovman secretlyamaged packing case in the hole and found tho content to be/ By the time ho nado this discovery ho considered it too late to demand tho extra pay which the erow would have recoived hod the charterer acknowledged he was freighting arms. Therehance, of course, that the crew received some form of bonus for tho voyage. No evidence of this has appoared, however.
Transhipment of Cargo
All of the cargo from the Alfhem was removed under military guardn RCA freight cars. At tho Corona freight yard in Guatemala City, it was unloaded by the Guatemalan soldiers ond transported elsewhere in military trucks. The first throe or four trains were held under /word in tho Gerone yards during the day and discharged at night. This offort to maintain eeffrecyter abandoned, nusvil security precautions havo been continued, how-vtr, to the extent that numbers of the U, S. Army Mission, who formerly
had ready access to all ritliW installations, have not beofl peroitted so muchlimpse of the orates in which these arms were shipped. The
bers of the Guatemalan General h^o this new equipment "as soon as .it nas been completely uncrated, cleaned and
2. The Alfhom cargo unloaded at Puerto Barrios consistedounds inhis was asaSSfl the WU of lading signed4 casesotal3 freight cars of the IRCA, Ofemaining four csts were taken
Puerto Barrios airport. Fromcars WO packages
?9ro transferred by air to unknown points. It if
surmised that some of the latter packagea went to Zacapa, the principal military base in eastern Guatemala, near the Honduran frontier]
1oliverad to Guateaala CUy by IRCA was discharged
s the
TJS Army attache In Guatemala has been able to ascertain, was awroximsteiy
o the Ordnance Dspotflgoatrana) at Fort Metamores.
Sstlmated Typos end On
flV?1Jflbl6 purees to date indicates that
hersW2rld / ThetTa uncertain whetherTnyES^*waa tocludodthis shipment. The manner of handling the cargo does not indicate that high explosives were carried.
^ an individual who reportedly participated inat the |ase Militar the armsn
reconditioned, appear in excellent condition, and consist of the following:
A
large number of Czech-typem Mauser rifles
equippedound magazines^
fa)
Bipod-type light machine guns, cloth-belt fed,ullet about the same sizem Luger pistol, y) m machine guns mounted on tripod.
(4) a automatic rifles resembling the Browning rifle, except that clip is loaded from the side,
SeumauftiSs ith^ouette and
rtillery Howitzersaliber betweenndm,wooden wheels with steel tires and equipped withf these have been unpecked
ond Regloent). These weapons were crated in truncated pyramid-shaped ffany mortarsaliber betweenndm,
othat appeared
fi Md resembled the action end of the Gorman World War II "potato masher,"
(9)
es' pftckodase- Thesobore tbe imprinthampagne glass and were marked "Fragile,"
apparently to create the impression that they contained glassware,
the 2s* fl0,urce' aUwer* 8hiPFedthe ammunitionlfl oplnion'heflfteM year8*n to the source, no
he ^pmeSt. There were'no" ono vehicles of any type, no communications equipment, no technical advisors and no airplanes. W
c
The foregoing isoniervative but fairly realistic estimate which would be representative of the total Alfhea shipment. Much speculation and cany allegations have circulated on theuch reports tend to reflect, however, some of the exaggeration naturally arising from apprehensions ofeighbors regarding Guatemalan military strength and intentions. The Guatemalan Government, on the other hand, has tried to diminish the importerco of tho Alfhom cargo by releasing statements implying that the arms received are adequate only for defense and still leave the country weak in striking power.
Value of the Alfhom Cargo
1, on consignment discharged at Puerto Barrios wascargo ofhip which normallyunloading,empty, oney. Zt
tons of arms hadw, the cost would have beei., according to US Armyuatemala, however, seems to have obtained this great quantity of roconditioned equipmentargain price, to Judge ty the kncwn movement of government foreign exchange funds at the time, as shown below.
Financial Arrange rents
1. During4 Guatemala comploted an unusual and complicated financial transaction in which0 was transferred from the account of the Bank of Guatemala In the Federal Reserve Ban* of New York. The transfer probably was made to the account of tho Czeohoslovakian Notional Bank; In Switzerland. The foreign exchange Involved In this transaction waa about five times the normal monthly foreign exchange sales by Guatemala. Caroful arrangements were made to conceal what was going on. The transaction was split up and funnolled through sovon How York banks end one New Orleans tank in several separate steps. Those cloaking measures successfully hid tha size and nature of the To follow it in detail,4 the Bank of Guatemala instructed the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to0 from the Bank of Guatemala account there to the Bank of Guatemalawith various Sew York Banks and one New Orleans Bank. Five days later,arch, these banks were in turn instructed to transfer approximately equivalent amounts,to the accounts of theUQ in Suisse maintained in thoseubsequent report from Switzerland shows that "in late February'1 Guateaala transferred tho equivalent In dollars ofillion Swissn late March,Guatemala Informed the Union Bacoue de Suisse that Guatemala had drawn two checks on this amount. pril two checks totalling almostillion Swiss francs were presented to the Union Banque bank by the Czechoslovak National Bank (probably the Statn; bqpka cgskoaloverskfl, tho Czech Stateb/
2. While tho amount of military equipment obtained appears toin comparison with the cash outlay herehe contrast between the cost of this single arcs purchasemilitary budget of Guatemala shows the extraordinary
nature of the transaction, as tho whole budget for all military costs0 and 2 Guatemala hoe paid out ano far as can bofor arms bought through Col, Hubert Julian, jl/
Guatemalan Negotiations forhea Shipment
1. Final negotiations for the Alfhom arms shipment were carried out In Prague during January andy Major Alfonso Martinez, apparently dealing at high levels of tho Czechoslovaklan State hierarchyersonal agent of President Arbenz. There is
reason to believe that the agreements, instructions, and finalpassed through Chechoslovakian and Guatemalan diplomatic
2. Major Martinez has been identified with numerous previous
ia totimate friend and henchman
of President Arbenz. %J Althoughilitary title, he has no close relations with the Amy, butolitically Important government post as Chief of tho National Agrarian Department; rovoraial Agrarian Reformaw which was drafted with the assistance of Jose Manuel Fortuny, until recently Secretary-General of tho Guatemalan Communist Party (Partido CuoUm-.ltec pre^iST^ Qnd pUShBd throughGuatemalan Congress by Communist
; Jurt^ior to the mystorloualy sudden Jou.-ney which took Major Martinez to Switzerland and Prague lastortuny spent two
tbe CuateMlQn
arrangements were consummated for the formal establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet satellite government ofCzechoslovakia, and the Minister of that country presents his credentials to the Preaident of Guatemala ont
l^thU diPlo=tic accorfcointideo
with Major Martinez'a mission in the Czechoslovaklan capital, where he remained fromanuaryebruary,
5* AS FOMihly rolated strand in the net of political and commercial intrigue surrounding the Alfhom arms shipment is the fact Fortuny3 obtained for his brothcrtin-law, iSo Jerez' ^presentationaala US.Droduot8. To de so, Fortuny displaced the long
ompJoyed Is/Pre"nUtlVe'H^k'onaerl>'
Previous Guateaalan Effnrtito Obtoin fjsj
1. Guatemalan efforts to procure arms through irregularback at least tatement quoted by the^ Imoflrcial onhe Undersecretary* that Col. Hubert Fauntleroy Julian
ntermediary In the purchase of arms, one*nd again when ho procured -twelve Swiss Oren anti-
during the week before the
newspaper interviow. Julian himself was quoted In the GuatemalanPrcnsa iibre and la. Koxft ofs sayinguatemalan Government waa considering the purchase through him of an
lSSSdiX?BT ifDitflre In ifl Hera of Hiulian declared that during the year to had delivered dollare worth of military equipment including halftracks. Be
H tadld for Guatemalan wereIron Curtain. The Undersecretary of Defense denied
r.chQao of Spitfires was contemplated. "When we
wante saidwill got them in the United States."
*i Julian, the "Black Eagle ofa a
flsntoyant Negro soldier of fortune who waa born in,enezuelan mother and British father and now has US citizenship, syja ftoclpal in arranging purchase of the Cerlikon antl-airoraft guns and halftracks mentioned above. Cf that deal, the
! "v?livered, but arrangements never have boencompleted for shipment of the weaponless halftracks because of IK?lems. Those vehicles now are legally in the possession
3* Julian's career as an anas agent has boon widolythe past several years and he has told his story freely,successes and crying over failures, in so cany differentreferences to his activities soaetiaes tend acre to confuseclarify the history of Guatemalan efforts to obtain arms. Ittain that Julian has obtained military supplies for thethrough the Swiss firm REXIM and the associatedor fraud in tho financial accounting
as well qs frustrations regarding actual delivery have causedand recrialnation between all parties to theae deals. The present study will not be served by attempting to sift out the facta hero, part of the difficulty, howover, was the result of lack of technical knowledge coupled with carelessness cn Julian's port. It ia do secret that tbe Genar fins deliberately took advantage of hlB lack of technical efficiency and delivered training ammunition, for example, in placo of tho hightype tho Guatemalans expected to
4. Julian clt-J'ij to haveart in arranging the purchase of the Alfhem eras cargo. It is unlikely that he had anything to do with the deal so far as it involved material free Czechslovokia. But this doos not rule out tho possibility that soae items ho acquired elsewhere for Guatemala oould have boon transported to Stettin and loaded in with the Alfhem shipment. Julian was in Guatemala onreeiEely when final arrangements for the Alfhem shipment were in progress. Ho then returned ton March, he was in Switzerland and then in Sweden where he tried to buy surplus Swedish planes and anti-aircraft guns for Guatemala, offoring cosh payment in US dollars. Prior to4 he reportedly bought from AKT Komlt, Tinnermansgatenalftracks, two landing craft, end five largenfter the Alfhoa incident, Julian was agoln in Sweden, and again in contact with the Stockholm firm AKT Kamit, There was no trace of any contact at that time with individuals connected with the
5* An abundance of Information from many sources shows thathas attempted to obtain arms, airplanes, and military equipment in almost every European country and in the United States over the past sovoral yoars, 6ff/ Apart from the cases discussod above, howevor, no important information emerges except to show the pattern of persistent, determined effort.
in this quest have been carried out throughchannels, through adventurous arms dealers such asand through Guatemalan diplomatic representatives. Inof those transactions move the Communist politicians,
Morales Dardon, Guatemalan Minister toJuon Grajeda, Guatemalan Consul General in Antwerp, long haveas participating in olnndeatine attempts to buy arms, ormer protege of the late Foreign Minister,Meony, whoell-known prc-Cocnunist, Under Moany inEmbassy in Paris,rajodo was associatedManuel Pellecer, who since then has atandoncd histo become one of the throe principal Cocamnlst leaders intoday, Grajeda ond Col. Morales Dardon were roportedontacterman industrialist, ono (fnu) Phclllng, withtraveled by air to Berlin in on effort to makerajeda was reporting to Morales Dardon regardingfroa Hamburg end Antwerp with evident reference toby
to hale hS im? ^ the Guatemalan armed forces seea Prestlen^J^ oonnectien with surreptitious attempts to get arms. StoW^Sl Za^orlzedChiefTt his Military
mbassador Z
of obtaining aircraft and arms in Italy. Col. Weymann touched on the idea of trading coffee for
hia recent tour of South American capltale.Dlat, Chief of the Guateaalan Arced Forces,ewansa and iteimnUlon, and according to an unconfirmedoken shipment of hand grenades (of German World War If acquisition of armseal part of theof Col. Wax' Journey, however, he pursued the mission with
view of the fact that President Arcens and Colonelbefore Colonel Mas departed that the Alfhore was scheduled tofrom Czechoslovakia, the Dia2 quest for arms could have beenmerelyit of stage setting, in advance of future claimsassistance had been asked and refused by frlondly Veetorabofore recourse ubs bad to the Soviet Orbit.
Othor RflOOnt Reports of Arms Shli-manta
1. Rumors were current among the Alfhen crew and in Puerto Barrios during the unloading period to the effect that ot least two more vessels bringing araa and ammunition were duo to arrive shortly inaily surveys were conducted thereafter by ALUSNA, Honduras. Theof some forty vessels traveling toward or expected la the Caribbean area were closely checked. IjJ Two ships, the Wolfsbruk end the Nomine. were inspected for possible eras Results were negative in all cases,
*w fuU 8Xtent of tte activity of the Swiss firm REXIM and the affiliated Italian GENAR, in supplying arms to Guatemala is not yet clear. Although they now give the appearance of willingness to oooperate in denying arms to Guatemala, the responsible heads of the two companies have respondod only to limited and specific recuosts or questions,hat they nay have withheld other pertinent information. REXIM wa founded at Geneva7 by M, Roger Siaonin. The company deals in buying, selling, importing and oxporting of row materials, and merchandise of all sorts from all sources, manufactured or not, .It has deolt heavily in replacement parts, munitions ond arms, as well as largo quantities of surplus American army automobiles and parts. The firm is represented by GENAR, S.he Italian International Development in. In Paris,IE, and AFRICONTRA in Vadua, with correspondents in all countries. Roger Marc Augusta Siaonin, who lives In Geneva, is the president. He was born3 of Swiss26/ Robert A,aturalized American citizen, iswith tha Maurice Haubert, an arcs dealer in Paris, also haa been mentioned in relation with their
hipment was delivered to Guatemala froa thethrough Colonel Julian's efforts, aa followsi
reda machinem
reda machinea
ripods for above
7 mm, ammunition
m, ammunition
1 Mauser Cannon,m,
oundsm, annunition.
Cenar oompany shipped atases of cartridgesguns to Guatemalaenar0 rounds ofa, steel anti-aircraft80/ exia delivered olght boxes weighingto Puerte Barrios manifested as automobile accessories,did not obtain the usual Swiss export license and thethat this may haveaall eras
sec/et'
f. RexlE co=?eny beaded second-rate material Infilling seme of these orders for Guatemala. The Oerllkon-
thTsSfr- declared valueless by with^ohnical Dopartoent and consisted of training shells, with low fragmentation and reduced explosive Cuotomalon
he poor cf the
nltlon. &/ Since that time tho Army has been pressing for delivery of more ammunition for the Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns!
exim was responsible for or Involved in obtaining for the
ofro,jndaSiiB. Swiss
anti-aircraft sheila which was intercepted at the froe port of Homb-rg T'oL^V/K*'porttd* th63eoriginated in Swiss ^rplusthe Swiss firm^
ofto JTioan Consulate at Hamburg to discuss this shipmentbb ammunition. He stated that the amountons ando8Uwith the
alfh0 ^temalan Government,Si Mi^hB.PreSent 8hlpaont oontained practice omiunltion, rather than high-explosive amDunition. This has not been verified. It
f amnuniUon was practice ammunition, and was unsatisfactory to tho Guatemalan Army
hat tha ^temalans
second shipment of traininga
. Th8roc8nJ investigations of arms traffic also revealed that ra-burg has been the port of departure for previous successful, shipments
S nts have been reported bf
f'& JO.epresentative of this firm. Mr. (fnu) Jungclaus).
or sutoach1^ammunltloTand
obtalned' he 8ald> "fl certificate from the Guardla Civil Thlir*-SeS!haiW WI doaUned for th* GuatemalanThree shipments then wero delivered to Guatemalans followsi
a. Ammunition for Machine Guns "MPounds. This was purchased from Forsvarets Fabriksverk, Stockholm, and was shipped from Swedenhrough bill of lading to Guatemala via the Hamburg Freeport,
'Purchased from the Manufacture de Machines duilsaoe. The French export license waa'obtalnod by the manufacturer.
c. Submachine guns. This shipment was purchased from Forsvarets Fabriksverk, Stockholm, and shipped to Hamburg Free-porthrough bill of lading to Guatemala.
hv;o"for this order was made by Irrevocable dollar letter of credit opened at the Chase National Bank of New York on instructions of tho Banco Agrleola Mercantll of Guatomala. upon shipment of the arcs and ammunition, Cordes laid the suppliers fron the letter of credit, and retained the balance as
ir,military use has been Dm Bclclu QnoiMrt ap^:ved,- tad fcril.
hree licenses for shipment to Guatemalamall quantity of armsmmunition, on the grounds that they were for sporting purposes and not military use. The three licenses coveredThe shipment was loadod at Antwerp for Guatemala on French flag vessel Wyoming. This cargo was found to be as described in the govornmont-approved export licenses, consisting ofhotguns, two pistols,aliber rlflos, together with sparehe shipper
was tha Schroeder Liege Company and the ccnaignee was Jj Poiasek,la, Poiasek, as previously mentioned, formerly was the representative In Guatemala of the Czechoslovak Govemaent Export Mcnopoly until that agency was conveyed to the brother-in-law of Cosaunist Party Secretary-General Jose Manuel Fcrtuny, The present order aay well represent no acre than an attempt on Polasek's part toew import lino,
10. Guatemala's urgent efforts to obtain arcs and aiscunltionto Spain early Accordingepresentative of the Genereal was concluded through Rexia of Genevapanish firm,illion roundsm, Mauser rifle ammunition to be shippedpanish port, Allegedly this shipment was to go to Amsterdam, whore it would bo reconslgnod direct to Guatemala, It was incidentally stated that Guatemala has considerably in oxcessm, Mauser rifles (type produced especially for Latinut has only thoreda machine guns noted in the listing above, to utilise anounds In response to US representations, Rexim cancelled the order forillion rounds of ammunition from the Spanish aource was cancelled,
Guatemala has succeeded in obtaining considerable supplies of arms and military equipment, but has not been able to obtain complementary supplies of ammunition. All of the arms and equipment obtained Is old and much is deficient in various ways.
Guatemala can be expected te. continue Its efforts to obtainand supplementary arms and equipment to overcome deficiencies. Various cargo vessels known to be loading or at sea aro atiU suspect and subject to watch.
SEc^r^
UNIFORM BILL CF6
The Documentary Council of the Baltic and InternationalConference
To be used with Charter-Parties Code Name: Congenbill
Shipped at Stettin in apparent good order and condition by Johnf London on board the good Vessel called the "ALFHEM" for carriage te Dakar for order ernear therete as she may safely get, the following goodsi S
ases mochinerypr/mi
0
ACTUALLY ON BOARD' FREIGHT PREPAID!
spare parts,nd chenical glass etc. as per specification
os
Doted at Szezecln,h4 /s/ HENRI LIND
Specification to the Bill of lading datedALFHEM" shipper: Johnrothers, London destination: Taker for order 5
kos
asesases nailsases pickaxes
asos machinery spareos
ases machinery
ases
ases handcases machines and
machinecases spare ports and
machinerycases laboratory and
chemicalcases laboratorycases fine mechanical
and opticalcases disassembled
machinery ecuipment.
SE^KT
Statement of Johan Henry IINDJ Captain ofLPHEM, taken at West, Florida, onU
My nans is Johan Henry LINDn presently Master ofLFHEM. ove been Captain of the vessel sincehen Captain Johans became ill* The vessel then was in Copenhagen! Previous to thisad been Chief Officer sincoave heldCaptain's Certificate in Swedenave been with the ALFHEM's owners since they purchased the ALPHEM, at whichent aboard as Chief Mate. Previous to employment by tho owners of theas with the owners of the Salen Lino for about seven yearsdck officer. ave been on officer
On Aprilfc> when tha ALFHZM was at Uddovalla,eceived Instructions from the owners to proceed to Stettin for loading. lsoopy of the chartor party between theBORUSUXSXA KUSTEN, UDDSVALLA, owners, and AKTIEBOLAOST Ki.YI3ATI0JI,charterers, dated April 1, The ALFHEH sailed fron Uddevalla onnd proceeded first to Copenhagen for bunkers and provisions. We lay at Copenhagen Roads and tho bunker station for approximately 2Uhours. We then sailed directly to Stettin, Upon leaving Uddevolla, it was my understanding that the cargo which would be loaded at Stettin would bo general and other legal cargo, according to the charter party. Before leavingharterer's representative (from Donalfredo) mentioned to monail part of the cargo to be loaded at Stettin might be some "second-class explosives". r. Mueller, representing tbe shipper in Stettin, about the avail cargo of second-class oxplosives. He informed me that there would be no such cargo.
The vessel arrived at Stettin on Aprilh, and comencad loading the following morning. Loading proceeded in accordance with the notations made in the ship's log. The vessel loadedovernment pier which had two cranes for light liftsons). The stevedores who loaded the cargo apparently were ordinary longshoremenid not see any unusual security guards In the area. id not see any Latin Ancricans conoerning themselves with the loading of the cargo at Stettin* The usual military guard was stationed at the gangway and there wore two other ships ot the some dock in Stettin, one Swedish ond one Finnish, according to my recollection, both of which were tied up ahead cf us. So farould see all of the cargo loaded aboard the ALFHEM came out of railway cars which were pulled up alongside the vessel on the quay. id net pay any particular atte ntion to" the narks on the railway cars indicating their possible origin, but It was the usual nixture of railway cars fron various countries. The ship's agent in Stettin was tho Government Agency,A AGENCIA" (Cable addressi POLBROKER), All vessels are required to use this agent in Stettin and in all other Polish ports. r. Mueller was the chiof tallyman in charge of loading the cargo. Ho apparently represents the various shlppors of cargo fron Polish ports. od previously seen him handling cargo for CZECHOFRACHT in Gdynia.
A list of the cargo to be loaded was not provided to me or to the ship's officers before loading began. Tho Chief Mate prepared the cargo plan on tho basis of. his own observations of tho cargo being loadod. Checkers also worehink by the shippers, although at ny request, to check the cargo into the vessel. On the basis of tho checker's tally sheets tho Bill .of Lading and manifest were prepared by the shipper's agent. The ship's agent obtains this information from the shippers, as mentioned above. When signing the bill of lading, it was necessary for me to accept the list of cargo aboard, as prepared by the shipper.
s;
All of tho cargo was loadod by the dock cranes; the ship's derricks were not used for this purpose. There was no dock cargo loaded for this voyage. f the cargo was in wooden coses of dlffetent sizes. So farould tell thc wolghta of the cases and cargo shown on theattached to the bill of lading wore approximately correct. The
largest case taken aboard was approximately ono motor square on the baso and two meters high. The cases in which the cargo was packed wore strongly constructed of wood;ad no opportunity to observe what was in them. Tho Chief Kate told me about ono case which had been damagedooden chest was seen inside the outside packing* In accordance with our regular practice, we repaired the outside case.
I hoard several rumors from members of the crow that tho cargo might notbo as listed in the specification, but It was necessary for me to accept the specification as given to mo with tho bills of lading. ad learned that the cargo loaded aboard was not that specified in tho charter, it would havo been necessary for no to notify my owners of tills fact, and thon it would be up to them to straighten it out with tbe charterer. In addition,ad been aware that weapons or explosives werelso would have notified the owners, particularly because inaso there might be violations of various safety regulations.
During the voyage from Stettin the owner of the vessel,DEKD0RPH, boarded ths vessel at Copenhagen. howed him the papers received in Stottin. Tho charterer did notuper cargo to the vessel under the provisions of paragraphf the charter party for the voyage. There were ro passengers aboard the vessel during the voyage. Hy wife, son, and daughter were aboard, signed on as members of the crew, and the wife and son of the Chief Engineer were also aboard, as members of tho crew.
Onhe ALFHEM sailed from Stettin and our orders were to proceed to Dakar for orders. This was in accordance with the statement in the bills of lading, and also the charterer had informed in Uddevalla that these would be my orders from Stettin, although ho was not certain. Dakar has been known to be an "order port" and it was my feeling that when we loft Stettin that it would not be the destination of the cargo, herefore assumed that our destination would be some place on the east coast of South America and to bo ready for thatbtained charts for that area. id not obtain and did not have large scale navigational charts for the Caribbean area. od no thought that we would be going into the Caribber. area because Dakar is too far South foriversion and considerable time would bo lost.
The voyoge proceeded without incident until ondecoived radio orders from the charterer, while the vessel was somewhere in the Bay of Biscay, to proceed to Curacao for ordors. Upon receiving the orders to proceed to Curacao forabled- the ownors and informed thenhoughtight need additional charts. xpectedould have possibly two or three days in Curacao Roads are! therefore would have time to obtain charts for tho order port. While the ALFHEM was still to the east of the Westeceived on Kay 7th further orders by radio to proceed to Puerto Cortes, Honduras, for orders. This message was receivod in time for me to pass through Windward Passageoute to Puerto Cortes, essage asking for my ETA at the discharging port. adioed an answer giving the ETA at the order port (Puerto Cortes). Finally, when the vessel wasone day out of Puertoeceived onessage naming Pusrto Barrios fcr tho discharging port, avo never before boon in Puerto Barrios and had no harbor plan for that port, herefore radioed to the agent named in tha message which had named the final port cf discharge, PAPADGPOLO, to bringarbor planntered tho harbor. Upon arrival outside Puerto Barrios, hoarbor chart out by launch. There ore no pilots in Puerto Barrios and therefore it was necessary for me to pilot the vessel into the harbor myself.
The ALFHEM first anchored in the inner harbor onh of May, Shortly after weersonniform came aboard the ALFHEM and ordered mo to come ashore. He took me to an officessumed to be the Port Captain's office. Upon arrival at thisarge group of military and civilian persons. They immediately asked noas the Master of the ALFHEM andaidas, they handod me tho original bills of lading. ook tho original bills of lading and then asked to see the vessel's agent,eodod assistance in
clearing, etc, ocated tho agent in another room in the sane building, but hehat he did not want to act as agent for tho vessel, He lad ine to believe that something was wrong and that he was worried about losing his agency for other companies. He was vory friendly to me personally and told meeally did not need an agent and could handle matters myself, However, he did arrange clearance for the ALFHEX when to were ready to leave the port.
The vessel went alongside the quay on tho afternoon of arrivaloticed that there wero,onsidered to be unusual security precautions being taken. The cargo was discharged directlyiil-way cars on the quay with the ship's derrioks. The military guards were stationed on all of the railway cars and ware checking the cargo into them. The discharging of the cargo itself was handled by the regular stevedores. In all there were approximatelyoilitary guards on the quay at any one time. It was impossible to use the ship's radioractical matter because it was necessary tofonn the antenna to use tho ship's derricks. The messages recci-edrto Barrios were received through the ship's agent, and ty reasons wero also sent through the agent, l members of the crew were pei-mitted shore leave. Upon completion of discharge, ray copy of tho specification attached to the bills of lading was signedniformed individualhought to be the Port Captain. Ha signed with tha notation that the cargo had been received in good order and condition and without any remarks.
There wererther vessels in the harbor of Puerto Barriosare in the Roads at all times, essels could get to the quay at one time but the ALFHEM was the only vessel which had military personnel in attendance at the quay while discharging while we were there. The vessels in the harbor wore of severpl different flags, including one Swedish; one or possibly two Norwegian; two or possibly three German; and several United fruib vessels. The harbor was very crowded and there was not much space for us when we arrived.
Two cf the crow members, an engine room apprentice by the name of BO AXEL CAMTS,aiter by the name of SVSN BERTH OHLSSON, deserted ship while we were at Puerto Barrios after about fiveave no Idea why they left the vessel. They had been ashore most of the day and aboard at night but they did no work during the day timo. Several members of the crew had heard that thoy had stowed away on another vessel.
State of Florida County of Monroe
Sworn to before meh day ofa.
/
S^mtS?StSJaase* wceand generaldivision, international railways of central
General Kt"^SteteB, Vice President and
Central Africa, do
'At about, on Saturday,emorandum datedritten by Humberts Ciotti Canpos, IRCA Terainalat Puerto Barrios, Ouateaala, and directed to tho Generalof Transportation in Guatemala City was received in ay office. It stateship was due on or about that date with cargo for theGovernment but that no definite information aa to claaa of cargo, quantity or origin was known. Immediately on receipt of thishecked with Mr, Ciotti by railroad telephone, ond he stated ho had no further information except that Arturo Papadopolo was supposed to bo the agent for the ship and thot he understood the ship's cargo wasurther check with Mr. Ciotti later the eame day and by themoans diaelosed thot tho ship was then in the atreara ond wss being recoived by Colonel Sanchez (Minister of Defense of Guatemala) and Major Alfonso Martinez, Director of the National Agrarian Departzaent, together with some of the local Government port officials, but that in so far as ho knew there wore no ship's documents, manifests, or bills of lading covering the cargo. Mr. Ciotti said Colonel Sanchez asked him to provide fifteen flat cars, and ao many box cars and locomotives aa would bo required to move this apecial cargo without delay and asked that the ahip be docked immediately. natructed Mr. Ciotti to inform Colonel Sanchez Lhat all of the berths wore occupied at the Puerto Barrios pier but that Colonel Sanchez could order one of the ships to leave the pier ao that the Alfhem could be docked.nited Fruit Company ship that, was not working at that time moved out into the stream and the Alfhem was docked, as told that no IRCA or United Fruit Company officials or employees wore permitted aboard the ship except laborers to handle the discharge of the cargo, as informed that Colonel Sanchez stated he wished the ship to commence discharging immediately, but due to bad woather ond other delays on their part, actual effective discharging was not commenced untilon tho morning of After the discharging was started on Kayolonel Sanchez informed company employees that ho wished to discharge twenty-fouray and desired thot there be no dolay duehortage of cars, or power, or movement over the railroad from Puerto Barrios to Guatemala City. When Mr. Ciotti asked for instructions, onith regord to docking tho ship, henstructed to estimate the coat of the labor Involved in the discharging of the ship and to inform Colonel Sanchez thot the amount estimated would have to be deposited beforo any work was done. This information waa given to Colonel Sanchez, and on Monday,eOO quotzales with Mr. Ciotti to cover it. Tho cost to the IRCA cay bemore than this.
The discharging during the first three or four days was slow and only about eight railroad cars were dispatched from Puerto Barrios every twelve hours but fromh on some ten to twonty cars were dispatched every twelve hours,otalars for the entire shipment aboard the Alfhm. Unloading was finished on Sunday,
The first troin with eight care left Puerto Bsrrios at Midnight, According to information given International Railwoys of Central American employees by soldiers who were aboard tho train aa guards, an explosion occurred under tho locomotive at MileCasteneda) as it passedmall bridge. The soldiers who were accompanying tho train ordered the conductor to stop immediately after passing over the bridge aid on investigation found that bombs had been rigged or. both rails over the bridge and connectedire leadingarda into the swampetonating machine. The local newspapersicture of the bridge and the bomb. Following tho attempt to blow up thia train which waa investigated by the local military and police people froa Puerto Barrios, Zacapa and Guatemala, the Ministry of Defense asked me for aix rail motor cars with trallera to be placed at the disposition of the
SECRET
Guatemalan Government for tho handling of troops froa these three points to the bridge at These motor ears were also for the purpose of piloting the trains with the special Government cargo from Puerto Barrios to Guatemala City.
In connection with this movement of Guatemalan Government special cargo the International Railways of Central America received reports from various employees of the United Fruit Company at Bananera that the United Fruit Company employees wero all going on strike on uspended railroad operatione on the United Fruit Company lines but ordered service resumed when the strike did not materialize. However, onh the strike did take place and all International Railways of Central America train aervice on United Fruit Company linos was cancelled and all locomotive power end practically all equipment was removed from thoae linea. Cn Friday,ho Government interventor of tho International Railways of Central America, Lie. Alfonso Bauer Paia, called mo on the phone and agked that rail sarvico be re-establiahed. old hieould not operate our trains through those linea unless the Government would in writing guarantee safe operation, assume all responsibility for any accidents, deaths, ato. and return to service the regular employees of the United Fruit Company who were required to operate our train aervice. Lie. Bauer Pali confirmed hia oral requestetter ofoeplied in writing in the eaae terma as mentioned to him verbally tho day before. On the morning of Saturday,ie, Alfonso Bauer Paiz, Colonel Rogelio Cruz Wer, Director General of the Ouardia Civil, and Major Jaime Rosenber, Director of the Guardla Judicial, called at my office at about'clock and Bauer Paiz said he only had two points to discuss with me. The first was that he wanted all cars and locomotive power necessary placed at tha disposition of the Guatemalan Government to handle without delay, and if possible in one train, the balance of the "armament" that had arrivod on the steamship Alfhem. nformed Bauer Paiz thatequestittle practical studyid not know how many more cars or how many more tons of armament was still to be discharged from the ship and aent to Guatemala City* lso told Colonel Crux wer that this request appeared unuauel to me because in so fornow there hadn't been any ahortege of cars or power since the arrival of the ship. Colonel Crua Wer then said thoy were vory interested in getting this "armament" moved as rapidly as possible. old him that International Railways of Central America officials supposed the cargo consisted of armament because we had heard rumors to that effect. After thla statement when any reference waa made to the movorient of this oargo by the three men colling on me, they referred to it aa "apodalho ascend point which Bauer Paiz stated he wished to apeak to aa about was theof International Railways of Central America train service in the United Fruit Company linos betwoon Bananera and Qulrigua.
From the various conversations which International Railways of Central America officials in Ouatemala City had with Mr. Ciotti in Puerto Barrios over International Railways of Central America telephone linea, it was understood that Mr. Ciotti had been informed either by Colonel Scnchez or acne of hia part in Puerto Barrios that tho shipment aboard the AJfhan consisted of armamente.
All of the cargo from the Alfhem was discharged in the Corona freight yard in Guatemala City by Guatemalan soldiers and transported in military trucksestination In the Citynderstood was the Guardia da Honor. Tho ears arriving on the first three or four trains woro held under guard at the Gerona freight yard during the day and diacharged at night, but the last several traina ware diacharged immediately after arrival at Gerona. upposed that tho action in unloading at night at first wasatter of secrecy. When the first train of AJ^hea cargo arrived at Guatemala City, the International Railways of Central America hod received no information free anyone with regard to where it waa to be diacharged ao the train waa brought to tha Guatemala City freight yards. About thirty minutes later eevorol offioora froa tho Ministry of Defense arrived at our
-2-
dispatcher's office and asked that this train be returned to Gerona freight yard for discharge and that all furthor trains of this type of cargo be eat out et Corona for unloading. According to reports to me from our officiala and employees, oach of the spoelal cargo trains from Puerto Barrios to Guatemala carried an Array officer and from ten to twenty soldiers guarding the shipment.
In ao far as the officials of the International Railways of Central America knew, the ahip ehowed no ship'a documents nor documents covering the cargo which la always necessary requisite under normal conditions. In handling cars on our railroad the dispatchers mado out tho "consist list" properly, except thct on their own initiative they described the contents aabran), Aa soon aa thia caae to mynstructed our general superintendent ofd chief dispatcher to have all such "consists" eorrocted to road "special cargo" or "Government cargo".
The dates given above, including that of ny interview with Lie. Bauer Pals, Colonel Cruz Wer and Major Rosenborg (stated to be, are correct to theboet of my recollection without roference to myTecords in Guatemala; thoy ere in eny averfc jorrect within one or two days,
MlffiESS
Sworn and subscribed to beforeUBLIC in end for the District of Columbiah day.
WASHINGTON,
E. J. Hadill
4 -
4 -
Guatemala City for Mexico City, KLM. Planned to leave forKIM, transiting Canada.
Arrived Amsterdam) left same day for Zurich via Swiss Air (flight number not given).
ebruary In Prague*.
4 -
to have travelled Prague tc Zurich to Bertt.
9tated ho would bo in Bam approximately
this period.
4 -
to Zurich to Amsterdam via Swiss Air.
Loft Amsterdam via KLMor Mexico City.
Returned to Guatemala City (details not given).
Itinerary of Jose Menuol FCRTCNT:
33 -
84 -
Guatemala City for Mexioo.
Left Mexico City via KLMor Amsterdam.
Route fromoscow not available.
Left Mexioo City for Guatemala City via TACA.
* Martinez travelled on Guatemala diplomatic passport) hezeoh visa which was not attached to his passport.
Sworn Statement of Harold Haase, Manager, IRCA.
litf.
Ibid. .
jbid.
Ibid.
State, Guatemala,ecret.
Ibid.
NA, Guatemala, Unnucbored,ecret.
Sworn Statements of Alfhem Captain and crew.
NA Guatemala, Unnumbered,ecret.
State, SS, cK.
Ibid.
t
Suorn Statements of AJfliom Crow,
Statelt.
State, Stockholm,ecret.
Statetockholm,ecret.
Embassy Guatemala, Letter to Raymond G. Leddy,ecret
Ibid,
Ibid.
Stateexico City,ecret,
,ecret.
Stateondon,ecret,
Statetockholm,ecret.
Statoifi,
Stateondon,ecret.
Stateecret
State, Stockholm,ecret,
Ibid.
State, Stockholm,ecrot,
State, Stockholm,ecret,
,ecret,
Sworn Statement of rtlfllBf? Captain,
Ibid.
Sworn Statements of fJQM Crew.
Sworn Statement of Harold Haaae, hfcnager, IRCA.
uatemala,ecret.
State,onfidential,
Original Bill of Lading, signed at Stettin.
lUi.
Sworn Statement of Harold Haaso.
. cil.
State,ocret,
fi. sM-
USARMA, San8ecret.
State Circularo London,ecret.
C
C
2)
3
,fficial Use Only.
Statetockholm,ecret.
uatemala,onfidential,
State, Guatemala,nclassified.
State BI Files.
Ibid.
State, Zurich,4
State,onfidential,
State BI Files.
State, Geneva,onfidential.
State,onfidential,
State, Ancongen Hamburg,ecret.
K. T. TJmes,
State, Geneva,ocret.
Stato, Stockholm,ecret,
State, Stockholm,ocret.
^
Statetockholm,ecret,
c
,onfidential.
State, Buenos Aires,ecret.
Sworn Statements of Alfhem Crew.
State, Guatemala,ecret,
Serieat ,t seq,
Statearis,ecret,
Stateeneva,estricted.
6 to Milan,ecret,
Stateilan,ecret,
Stato, Guatemala,onfidential.
Stateocrot.
Stateernecret.
uatemala,onfidential.
aris,aris,ecret.
State Telegramaris,ocret.
Stateern,ocrot.
State, Hamburg,ecret.
State, Amcongon,ocrot,
laid.
laid.
Staterussels,ecret.
State, Brussels,ecret.
Stateome,ecret,
ibid.
Original document.
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