C.I.A. Men Freed In Prisoner Deal

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30115, 26 April 1963, Page 13

C.I.A. Men Freed In Prisoner Deal

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

WASHINGTON, April 24.

Three of the Americans released from Cuban prisons this week in exchange for four Cubans held in United States gaols were agents of the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Congressional sources quoted by the Associated Press today.

The Cuban Prime Minister (Dr. Castro) was said to be aware that some of the prisoners he agreed with the New York lawyer, Mr James Donovan, to exchange were C.I.A. employees. Members of Congress familiar with the situation said that Mr Donovan was acting under United States Government orders in making the pact with Dr. Castro to release three Cubans and a Cuban-American held in United States gaols. Among the Cubans released was Francisco Molina del Rio, serving a sentence of 20 years to life in New York for killing a nine-year-old girl during a brawl in New York between pro-Castro Cubans and refugee Cubans. He is a former bodyguard of Dr. Castro. < The New York “WorldTelegram and Sun” said in a dispatch written by Jack Steel for Scripps-Howard newspapers that responsible Government sources had confirmed a report that some of the Americans were agents.

The exchange of prisoners was agreed to by the United States “primarily to free the

captured C.I.A. agents who were being held in Castro dungeons along with an assortment of American adventurers and soldiers of fortune,” Steel wrote.

The report had been confirmed “by responsible Government sources,” Steel said. Dr. Castro had been aware there were several C.I.A. agents among the prisoners being held in Cuban gaols, but be had not necessarilyknown which ones were the agents. Dr. Castro therefore “refused to release any Americans until Mr Donovan arranged the return of the four Cubans gaoled in this country," Steel said. The St. Louis “Globe-Demo-crat" in a copyright story said that a C.I«A. agent among the 21 Americans released by Dr. Castro was identified as Daniel L. Carswell. aged 45, supposediv an engineer from New York.

Carswell had served more than two years and a half of a 10-year sentence for espionage.

Dr. Castro had known of hu connexion with the C.I.A. the "Globe-Democrat” said. The C.I.A. had no comment on the story