Routing Form Doc. No.I
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Date:
Ht ti54
TO:
/RIEAT
CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM RELEASEES
Indicate title of person to take actionriginator. Place consents there under by numbered, paragraphs. Initial in center of page and draw across the page and forward. Each recipient is to repe above prods cure until action completed snd ready for filing. This cover-sheet aaist be retained with enclosure.
DATE
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LXKCOLH
FROM hief Of Station, OuatSBals/
DISPATCH NO..
gwerm- Operational
s*eofic- ead trip made by esperakce
Reference:
ESPERAKCE has Just returned froafter tvo daysbout in the said snd rain. There isn't time to debrief hia and got the information in the pouch which ia closing in the nextdntues. opy of his report has been photographed for debriefing purposes hers and the original whioh appears to be colorfully written is forwarded to LDJCOLH now.
2. Arrsngenents are being aade to have the film derelopad here. After the shots bars been identified, they will be forwardedubsequent pouch.
8 page report,
RBR/rbr
ay 54
Distribution:
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Gualan
Who in the hell thought this onen going to do ray beat to impress you to drop any opeartion in this spot if you are depending on surface transportation.
.*'_ wanted to know where the road could be cut. "ell. Boy, it is cut already but they don't know it. ot of bad roads in my life but this one takes the cake. Remerteber, aaand Roverould have turnedozen timesadn't been so damn stubborn to see it thorugh. Keep this fact In nind. 'hey have had one rain so far and it is just starting the rainy season there. So if the road isescribe it, picture it two month3 from now.
*ou leave Zacapa and imnediatoly plungeiver that would be hellard rain. aw whs re it had carried away two light oolea the night before. The road turn fron fair to poor to awful very quickly after crossing the river, ept stopping and askingas on the right roadouldn't imagine that this oould be the only roadown that siae. It is badly erroded and rutted. It is narrow and in some spots the bank has been erroded away until there is just roomar to pass between the bank and cut. In one estas one half hour trying various ways ti get through. lmost turned the oar overas on such an angle,I4 got it hung up on the oil pan, ad ray drive shaft throwing rocks all over the place where it was draging and it is set very high. You must go through several stream beds that look like they are hellain. Thereouple of bridges made ofrjssing smalliB). One isn't going to last long. At last after fghting through allrrive at the town only it ie on the other side of the river. At looks like the Mississippi tos abnitds. wide and goin? like hell. Thereruck on ray sidesk him about croaaing and he says" Oh sure, go ahead "and pointed out the route to take. tart in and the firstm swimlng. Thereoot of water inside the car. The water is over thefenders.truggle through the truck starts and he makes it half way and was still there thia morning. as the guinxa/ pig, Hovever, it backfired.
I looked up ray manasuoattionor an irrigation system and after weaa ready to start back. elegram to the hotelaebh that had left in ray room and went to the car. ent toellowhe car and asked ray name. old him ;nd he asked again so pulled out ray "eilhauer, Pagrame card and he sald"Oh, you looked like'someone else." Like "ell. He was another aecret police. ad asked the guar dia Civil where ay customer lived and they must nave trailed me. ra sure now that they must have someone In each town checking on all strangers. as never followed after that.
Well, Guaian has tha daraest raess of wires that you ever S'ux. alked ray
self sown to the instep trying to trace then. Every timehought
i had it , they wouldead off andtreet lamp andould
go again. They have three wires coining frwn the sideof the building and
three that go out the rear to the next street. ld figure out which wa
chhi nk the ones coming out the side must go to the munlcpal offices oh nes.
Anyway since wo ware only Interested In where they left theidn't check Into the local lines. These three wires that go out thc back decond the hill and houses and head for the railroad tracts . eet from the track one wire takes off and climbsast in one swoop to the topill about -'CO- sway; hink this wire goes to La Union. Itiggie strand wire. *he other two end up on the RR coaru pole and one goes towards Zacapa and the other towards Bananara alongingle strand wireicked updle west of the town and was told that this goesto illage on thathecked along the river both ways from town and this is the only possible wire out of town. This is the first tiswav? heard of them using the RR poles. Je had better check this.
ils wont of town, the road crosses tne RR and this is about the best place to cut the lines. They are mounte on RR rails. There are three wires on top (cross bar) and one below. e one below is the one that Joined froo to-n.
Oualan had telephone service and telegraph'. Tho telephone is quite goodsed it. Tho doors closeM butthere is soneoee thereall the night to receive messages. onder if this is the same system that is used ineported as closingM. Better check this.
-he road was so horribleas afraid to start back on it at that hour and actually tried to put the carlatcar to haul it back to Zacapa. It is that bed. as too late to make thetrain so had to spend the night in the ^orioua Pension Gualan. Did you ever sleep onid last night. It was so dirty andidn't dare sat. ent fron noon until al-stost noon againite. woke with the rooster this AH. a speaking literally. After not sleep at all the entire night, it wae Jusr gee ting lightropped off only to havethia horrible screech practcally In ny ear that scare': ae half to deathhot eye toour pound red rooseter perched on the foot of ny bed crowing at ae. That settled no with Oualan for llfej Iou can have itl Jive it back to the MayasI
I hope the pictures cone out to show you what kindave been talking about. ade myself clear.concerning tho road. IT'S HO GC0D1
Police Checking points between ^Guatemala City and ^ualan
The first point is at the Puente de Las vacasa . Atercr sav anyone going bat on th- wayolice drifted out of the station and looked at me and drifted back in. on't think he was checking. Probably got stuffy inside at that nosent.
At PI *Vogreso, there is an old checking point strong box just as
you cross the RR on the west edge of town but this gave no Indication
of having been used lately. However, in town st the Ouardla Civil
thereanesk that checked both coming and going.
'here is no way to avoid this point.
I saw no other actual check points although at Jiciro, there wore two GC outsids the tlDq. that looked at me.
The next aotual point is at the bridge at Zacapa,
There lo nctual only, %we tha three points that looked like theyn business for sure, Guatemala, El rjgreso, and Zacapa.
unic at ions
There are some wires leading into Guatemala from Zacapa direction that run along side the RR east of the Puente de Laa Vacas. They are on wooden poles snd are two cross bars full of wirss so pribably are the Bain lines.
I could find only one wire leaiin? Sanarate for Guatemala.
El Rancho to El rrogresoarge pole that looked more like power lineommunication.
Zacapa his noere telephone is limited to that aroa. The; use tho same wire for telegrams as for radio.
I saw two cannonsrs in the camp at Zacapa. lhey looked like they were on thc ball as this morning they hadoups sitting under trees with blackboards, fenstructsrs, ect. The hotel keeper said that they had two tanks, He knew nothing of any newly aiTived tanks. thingt Oualan.
The radio is coning in very good in that area.
ruck* should carry; mud chains, shovels, if In convoy,hould
have winch, planks. Should not be loaded to capacity should one get stuck and
reloaded to another truck.
1at signs should be put up locating route. It is very easy
to get confused on both the Zacapa road and the road to Jutlapa. ave
an idea that we could do it by using Kail ha uer-Parr na as advertisement.
Living Guatemala city there is an overpass of theas out. They areew concrete bridge but probably wouldn't have it finished in time. *hls an old structure and the planks are laidteel truss.
Thereooded bridge under the Puente deas.
Probably the beet in the routem out at Agua Caliente. Thisong brigeeep gourge. It" creasota planks.
Thereother bridge at justJim out.
There are several besides this that are constructed more or less the same." laidunners which rest on steel trusses.
The fridge at Marmol ongfeet) whith plankingtrusses. Deserted area
The bridge at El _Rncho is the*ept. of ^andnoarge
fuel dump at the foot of theancho side.
Ouateoala City to ^acapa
The Ruta Al Atlantioo ia as far aa Agna Caliento and for the most part is in fair shape. Atood grade on it but ia starting to get wash boentjre from the rains, some places Tory badly rutted. ereew short detours around rock cuts that are being blasted.or leaving the new road the other ia the same aa always. Harrow, twisting and steep, cut right from tho side of rugged moutains, "any times hanging over stoop clifta. 'rfhen another car ie encounteded, one must back up. cry few places whore two can pass.
After hitting El "anehoffootthe road ia wider, straighter
and generallyew mud holes. This is
on the Jiearo side.(Oldoountry here is like Arisona orTexas.
Guatemala CitynKm.
El Who to
^acapa to
El Rancho to Guatemala
Tha Ruta Al Atlantioo frwi the bridge at Marmol to El itancho ia from fair to poor ahape. Parts are surfaced and ready for paving but fore the most part ltot. xhere are no bridges yetetour through the rivers is nadeat each crossing. Soon the rivers will be too high for this.
Theread detour atms out that might be ln uso before it is needed but at this time lt really takes some doing to get up the steep sloop.
Ths oar took and awful beating and so did I. n just whipped. iloworer,
a good nig Li- rest without roosters will probably fix me up.
The car goee back in the shs? tomorrowheck and draining the axels.
1 checked them after getting back fron Qualan and they wore both fill of
water-oil mix. an't tell you what that takes outriverand car.
H amounts0 hours of continoua chatter, banging, skidding and
pitching.
Aa aotnnm going to Jutiapa. ound the oil lnidn't dare risk it andanted to gat this all downook no notes.
Original document.
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