Page 178 - Gobierno ivisible

Date: 4/5/2011 Page: 178 of 237

The high-level meeting concluded that Castro's demand of $53,000,000 in drugs would cost only $17,000,000 at
wholesale U.S. prices. It was also decided to study the tax angle involved in possible contributions of drugs by the
companies. It was agreed that a memorandum would be prepared over the weekend to be ready for Robert
Kennedy on Monday December 3. * In the meantime, a drug-industry representative was contacted informally.

On Monday morning the New York Herald Tribune published a front-page story by Warren Rogers, Jr., stating
that the President felt a "moral obligation" to free the men. It was the kind of reassurance the drug companies had
been looking for. Donovan's phone began to ring in Brooklyn with additional pledges of drugs from the industry.

In Washington, Robert Kennedy called on the President at the White House, and at noon the Attorney General
phoned Oberdorfer to give him the green light to go ahead with the operation. The American Red Cross then
agreed to accept the drugs as contributions to charity and to deliver them to Havana.

The next day Donovan slipped into Washington to confer with Robert Kennedy. On December 7 the Attorney
General met with officials of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. He told the drug manufacturers that
the Bay of Pigs invasion had been launched by the United States, that the plan had been started by the Eisenhower
Administration and continued by the Kennedy Administration, and that both the nation and the government had a
moral obligation to get the men out.

Robert Kennedy talked about the courage of forty members of the brigade who had escaped and crossed the
Caribbean in an open boat. He went on to say that the United States could not directly conduct negotiations with
Cuba because it would be "misunderstood" by the world and would be a diplomatic disaster if the deal failed. He
said that all departments had received a list of the drugs Castro wanted and that none were considered strategic.

Finally, the Attorney General assured the companies that the sight of the returning prisoners would still any
criticism of the drug companies for contributing to Castro. He made it clear that contributions were voluntary.

He then ordered Oberdorfer to devote his full time to the project. And on December 9, Robert Kennedy gave the
same talk to a group of baby-food manufacturers.

Oberdorfer's office in the Justice Department became the command post for "Project X." Additional telephones
were installed. A group of private attorneys, including John E. Nolan, Jr., and E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr., were
brought in to help. (Both later joined the administration.)

From Oberdorfer's office, the private attorneys (and two Justice Department lawyers) now began telephone
solicitation of the drug companies. The Justice Department attorneys did not identify themselves as government
employees, but said they were calling as representatives of the Cuban Families Committee.

The Justice Department team obtained clearances from the Civil Aeronautics Board and the Interstate Commerce
Commission to permit charitable contribution of air and surface transportation to haul the drugs to Miami. The
CIA, the Air Force, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Department of Health, Education and
Welfare began making arrangements to receive and process the prisoners in Florida. The Commerce Department
granted export licenses for the food and drugs.

During this time Donovan told the Justice Department that Castro was demanding a guarantee of full payment of
the ransom; otherwise he would hold back the brigade officers until the last payment was made. Katzenbach flew
to Montreal on December 14 but the Royal Bank of Canada balked at issuing a letter of credit without some
formal guarantees by American banks. The Justice Department official flew back to New York. The Morgan
Guaranty Trust Company of New York and the Bank of America agreed to participate; special meetings of their
boards of directors were hastily convened to approve the plan.