From our reexamination of the bases of our policy toward Cuba, we have concluded that these two threats persist and that our continued support of the OAS resolutions with respect to Cuba is warranted. Cuban support of revolutionary groups in Latin America continues, although at a reduced scale compared to the level of 1968. The Cuban Government has not abandoned or renounced its policies of engaging in subversion in the hemisphere.

With respect to Cuba's military ties to the Soviet Union, we found even less reason to alter our policy toward Cuba. While we would rate as "low" the chances of renewed Soviet military adventures involving Cuba, we have taken careful note of Marshal Greshko's visit to the Soviet naval visits to Cuba and of the flights of TU-95 Bear reconnaissance aircraft. The full implications of these developments remain to be ascertained.

The United States has regarded the OAS policies of "isolating" Cuba by restricting contact, including the suspension of trade, with Cuba primarily as means of diminishing Cuba's capability to succeed in its goal of subversion and not as a means of overthrowing the present Cuban regime. As a result of adhering to the provisions of the OAS resolutions, the OAS member nations have succeeded in depriving Cuba of substantial sums of hard currency which would otherwise be available to promote Cuban goals of fostering armed revolution in their countries, and they have required the Soviet Union to pay an estimated $1 million a day to support Cuba's creaking economy. Despite substantial Soviet assistance and Castro's promises of a better life, our findings are that Cuba today is a drab place, with most of the trappings of a repressive police state. Long lines of consumers seek out the scarce essentials of life; an extensive block warden system insures that neighbor spies upon neighbor; and all are subject to being uprooted at any time of day or night to pursue illusory goals such as 10 million tons of sugar. It is from this fear-ridden atmosphere that freedom-loving Cubans have for the past 10 years sought refuge and it is to these people that we have offered hope by agreeing to receive them, just as we have traditionally welcomed oppressed peoples from other lands. The case of the Cuban people was even more acute in that many thousands of families were separated, with part living in the United States and the other part remaining in Cuba.

It is with these underlying factors in mind that the Cuban refugee airlift was established under the provisions of a Memorandum of Understanding dated November 6, 1965 between the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, representing the interests of the United States in Cuba, and the Government of Cuba. The memorandum was negotiated after President Johnson announced on October 3, 1965 that he had directed the Departments of State, Justice, and Health, Education, and Welfare "to make all necessary arrangements to permit those in Cuba who seek freedom to make an orderly entry into the United States." This undertaking was entered into by the United States after many thousands of Cubans sought frantically to escape from Cuba and after Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro announced on September 28, 1965 that all Cubans who wished to leave their homeland could do so. He set aside the small port of Camarioca, east of Havana, as their point of egress. Escape was by means of small boats, rafts, and inner tubes, and many died in the attempt. Between September 30 and November 30, 1965, some 159 small craft from the

United States manned by Cubans already in the United States made the dangerous crossing carrying 2,866 persons in addition to those carried by U.S. chartered vessels. The U.S. Coast Guard saved many lives that would otherwise have been lost.

The Memorandum of Understanding brought order into what had soon become a chaotic exodus. On December 1, 1965, a regularly scheduled two-flight-a-day, five-day-a-week airlift, via aircraft chartered by the Department of State, began bringing Cubans to Miami from the Cuban town of Varadero, 75 miles east of Havana, which became the new jointly designated point of egress. As of May 31, 1970, the airlift had carried to Miami an average of about 3,500 Cubans a month, for a total of over 190,000.

This Memorandum of Understanding constitutes an international commitment on our part.

In addition to the humanitarian considerations involved and the fact that we have entered into an international agreement, there is additional sound basis for the airlift. Experience has indicated that as long as hope for escape to freedom exists, people living under oppression resist committing themselves to the regime's goals; but when escape routes are sealed, accommodation to the inevitable becomes the prevailing attitude. Illustrative of this phenomenon is the case of East Germany where the beginning of economic recovery can be said to date from the erection of the Berlin wall: when the wall barred future escape to the freedom of the West, the East German population had no real alternative but to accommodate to the Communist regime there. The refugee airlift, a route to freedom, forestalls the certainty of accommodation to communism by the Cuban people.

Mr. FASCELL. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

Without objection, at this point in the record I think it would be very well to have the entire Memorandum of Understanding, so that we can refer to it.

(The text of the Memorandum of Understanding and notes relating thereto between the Swiss Embassy and the Foreign Ministry of Cuba is contained in the following White House press release:)

OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY,
Austin, Tex., November 6, 1965.

THE WHITE HOUSE

The President announced today that at 9:00 am CST the Swiss Embassy in Havana, representing United States interests in Cuba, and the Cuban Foreign Ministry had exchanged diplomatic notes establishing procedures and means for the movement of Cuban refugees to the United States. The arrangements for the movement were set out in a Memorandum of Understanding incorporated in the notes.

The full text of the note from the Swiss Embassy to the Cuban Foreign Ministry follows:

"The Embassy of Switzerland presents its compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Relations and, in its capacity as representative of the interests of the United States of America in Cuba, has the honor to refer to recent conversations which have taken place between the Embassy and representatives of the Government of Cuba with respect to the movement to the United States of Cubans who wish to live in the United States.

"The Embassy also has the honor to set forth below the text, in English and Spanish language versions which shall be equally authentic, of the memorandum of understanding agreed upon in those conversations:

"MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND IN HAVANA, REPRESENTING THE INTERESTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA AND THE FOREIGN MINISTRY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CUBA CONCERNING THE MOVEMENT TO THE UNITED STATES OF CUBANS WISHING TO LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES

"1. The Government of Cuba agrees to permit the departure from Cuba of, and the Government of the United States agrees to permit the entry into the United States of, Cubans who wish to leave Cuba for the United States, in accordance with the provisions of this memorandum of understanding.

"2. In recognition of the prime importance of the humanitarian task of reuniting divided families, the two Governments agree that persons living in Cuba who are immediate relatives of persons now living in the United States will be given, as a group, first priority in processing and movement. The two Governments agree that the term 'immediate relatives' is defined to mean parents of unmarried children under the age of 21, spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21 and brothers and sisters under the age of 21.

"3. The two Governments agree that they will include as members of this first priority group other close relatives living in Cuba of persons now in the United States who reside in the same household as the immediate relatives when such inclusion is required by humanitarian considerations. In order to protect the integrity of the agreed principle of first priority for immediate relatives, the two Governments agree that it will be necessary to verify the relationship and the actual existence of the humanitarian considerations referred to. The two Governments agree that this task of verification will be carried out by the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana and that the judgment of that Embassy will be accepted by the two Governments as final.

"4. The Government of Cuba agrees to present to the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana as soon as possible a list (hereinafter called "Cuban Master List A") of immediate relatives living in Cuba of persons now living in the United States, and of other persons living in Cuba described in paragraph 3 above, who wish to live in the United States. The Embassy of Switzerland in Havana will transmit Cuban Master List A to the Government of the United States. The Government of the United States for its part, will have prepared a list (hereinafter called "US Master List A") based on information supplied by persons now living in the United States who have immediate relatives living in Cuba and who are prepared to receive and are interested in receiving such relatives. It is understood that the lists provided for in this paragraph may be prepared in installments and shall be supplemented from time to time.

"5. Those names which appear on both Cuban Master List A and US Master List A will be incorporated by the Government of the United States in a single list (hereinafter called "Joint Consolidated List A"), which will be transmitted by the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana to the Government of Cuba. With respect to Joint Consolidated List A, there will be a presumption that the persons on the list will be permitted by the Government of Cuba to depart Cuba and will be permitted by the Government of the United States to enter the United States, but final permission will be granted in the form of approval by both Governments of embarkation lists for each flight from Cuba to the United States.

"6. The cases of persons whose names appear on Cuban Master List A or on US Master List A but not on both (and therefore not on Joint Consolidated List A) will be the object of further examination by the two Governments, utilizing the services of the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana as required, with a view to the inclusion of such persons in addenda to Joint Consolidated List A, or, in any case, in the second priority group described below in paragraph 8. "7. The two Governments agree that from Joint Consolidated List A, and its addenda, embarkation lists for each flight from Cuba to the United States will be drawn. The two Governments agree that they will make every effort to ensure that the following categories of persons appearing on Joint Consolidated List A are transported in the order of priority indicated: First, parents and unmarried brothers and sisters under the age of 21 living in Cuba of children living in the United States under the age of 21; Second, unmarried children under the age of 21 living in Cuba of parents living in the United States; and third, spouses living in Cuba of persons living in the United States. Families and other members of the households will be permitted to travel together in accordance with the principles of paragraph 3 above.

"8. When both Governments agree that the persons appearing on Joint Consolidated List A and its addenda no longer require full utilization of the transportation provided, the movement of other persons living in Cuba who wish to live in the United States will begin. First consideration will be given to relatives living in Cuba of persons living in the United States who do not fall within the definition of immediate relatives.

"9. The Government of Cuba agrees to present, in due course, to the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, for transmission to the Government of the United States a list (hereinafter called 'Cuban Master List B') of all such persons who will be permitted to depart from Cuba. The Government of Cuba agrees to consider, in preparing Cuban Master List B, names of persons living in Cuba submitted by the Government of the United States on the basis of information supplied by friends and relatives living in the United States.

"10. The two Governments agree that Cuban Master List B will form the basis of the preparation of embarkation lists for each flight from Cuba to the United States, in accordance with procedures described below.

"11. The Government of Cuba agrees that, with respect to persons on either Joint Consolidated List A or Cuban Master List B, it will prepare, in consultation with the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, prospective embarkation lists for individual flights from Cuba to the United States. Such lists will be provided the Government of the United States at least seven days prior to the date of the flight.

"12. The Government of the United States agrees in turn to inform the Government of Cuba without delay, through the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, of persons on the embarkation lists approved for entry into the United States, with the understanding that final formalities will be completed at the point of embarkation by officers of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service and Public Health Service.

"13. The Government of Cuba agrees to assemble such persons at the airport at Varadero.

"14. The two Governments agree that such persons will be subject to a final departure inspection by officials of the Department of Immigration and the Ministry of Public Health of Cuba and to an entrance inspection by officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Public Health Service of the United States, at the airport in Varadero. Persons found to be ineligible for departure from Cuba by Cuban officials in accordance with the laws and regulations in force in Cuba or those found by American officials to be ineligible for entrance into the United States under laws and regulations in force in the United States will not be permited to embark.

"15. The Government of the United States agrees to provide air transportation to carry persons permitted to depart Cuba and to enter the United States from Varadero to a convenient point in the United States.

"16. The Government of the United States agrees to provide air transportation with such frequency and capacity as to permit the movement of between 3,000 and 4,000 persons per month.

"17. The two Governments agree that the first movement under the terms of this memorandum of understanding will begin not later than December 1, 1965. "18. The two Governments agree that any problems that may arise in the implementation of this memorandum of understanding will be considered jointly by the Embassy of Switzerland in Havana, representing the interests of the United States of America in the Republic of Cuba, and the Government of Cuba. "In the course of the conversations which led to the Memorandum of Understanding set forth above, the Government of Cuba stated its position concerning the departure of technicians and men from 15 to 26 years of age in Cuba who are obliged to perform compulsory military service. The Government of Cuba also stated that it would set forth its position on these matters in a separate note. "The Government of the United States stated that it would reply, through the Embassy of Switzerland, to the note of the Government of Cuba referred to in the preceding paragraph and would set forth its own position on these matters as it had been expressed in the course of the discussions. Furthermore, the Government of the United States stated it would transmit to the Government of Cuba, through the Embassy of Switzerland, a separate note concerning the position of the Government of the United States on the matter of the inclusion in the movement from Cuba of persons imprisoned in Cuba for offenses of a political nature as that position had been expressed in the course of the discussions.

"The Government of Cuba stated that it would reply to the note of the Government of the United States concerning the inclusion in the movement to that country of persons imprisoned in Cuba for offenses against the revolution and would set forth its own position on this matter as it had been expressed in the course of the discussions.

"The Embassy has the honor to propose that, if the understandings described in the Memorandum of Understanding set forth above are acceptable to the Ministry of Foreign Relations, this note and the Ministry's reply concurring therein shall constitute an acceptance by the Government of the United States and the Government of Cuba of the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding, which shall take effect on the date of the reply."

(Spanish language version omitted.)

A concurring note from the Cuban Foreign Ministry to the Swiss Embassy completed the exchange and put the memorandum of understanding into effect.

In addition to these main notes, there were four other notes exchanged separately at about 9:30 am CST. The first of these, from the Cuban Foreign Ministry to the Swiss Embassy, reads as follows (complimentary introduction and close omitted):

"The Government of Cuba, in accordance with the statement in the note containing the Memorandum of Understanding, and in order to prevent errors in interpretation on the part of, or in relation to, certain persons who, by reason of the social function they perform or because of legal obligations from which they cannot be excused, are subject to certain restrictions in regard to their departure or who do not have the right to leave the country, considers it useful to confirm in writing, and also to publish, what was stated orally in the conversations with the Swiss Embassy which preceded the said (memorandum of) understanding, in reference to priorities, form and manner of departure of Cubans who wish to join relatives or live in the United States, namely that in the case of technicians or skilled personnel whose departure from the country may cause a serious disturbance in a specific social service or in production, because a replacement for such person would not immediately be available, the Government of Cuba will authorize the departure of such person within the period during which the trips will take place, but will postpone it until the time when such person may be replaced in the duties which he performs. "Likewise, and in conformity with the statement in the Cuban note containing the memorandum of understanding, and for the same reasons set forth in the preceding paragraph, the Government of Cuba considers it desirable to confirm hereby, and at the same time to publish, what it clearly stated during the course of the negotiations; namely that no citizen who under the law is included in the first call-up for compulsory military service, that is, between 17 and 26 years of age, or who will be included in the call-up in the next two years, that is to say, who is at present 15 years of age, has the right to leave the country and therefore will not be authorized to leave."

The Swiss Embassy replied to this note as follows (complimentary introduction and close omitted):

"During the recent discussions which led to the Memorandum of Understanding of November 6, 1965, the Embassy of Switzerland made clear that it had been the understanding and hope of the Government of the United States that the statement by the Prime Minister of Cuba on September 30, 1965, would encompass persons in these categories who wished to leave Cuba to live in the United States. Thus, for example, there was no suggestion in that broad statement that any technicians who wished to leave Cuba for the United States would be prevented from departing, even temporarily.

"The Government of the United States regrets that at this time the Government of Cuba has not permitted men subject to military service and certain technicians to be included under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding. The Government of the United States expresses the hope that the Government of Cuba will be willing to reconsider this position expressed in the course of the discussions mentioned above and repeated in the note of the Ministry. The Government of the United States wishes to stress the particular importance which such reconsideration would have in permitting the reunion of many families.

"For its part, the Government of the United States reaffirms its readiness to grant entry to the United States of the persons who are the subject of this note through procedures consistent with those established in the Memorandum of Understanding of this date."