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Cryptonym: AMFOX-1

Definition:
Juan Falcon Tamar, aka Juan Esteban. Also known as "Montes".
Status:
Probable
Discussion:
Cables from JMWAVE in November and December of 1963 described AMFOX-1 as "a former member of a Cuban law enforcement service who has been a reliable source since before the Castro regime. He has varied experience in intelligence work and has personal and professional contacts in Habana and Oriente provinces."

A memo in January, 1972, stated that Carmen Castro Porta was a friend of AMFOX-1. In addition, the David Phillips' approved Western Hemisphere Division 1946 - 1965 by David R. McLean, stated that the "stay-behind agent, AMFOX-1, was still reporting in 1973 but WH Division believed he had been doubled."
Sources:

104-10103-10121: TYPED NOTE

AMFOX-1 is "Montes".

104-10103-10145: CABLE:79. MARCH 23 I TOLD LUIS BUENO TO ASK YOU OPINION REGARDING SABOTAGE CIA ELECTRIC COMPANY

3/27/61 memo is signed by "Monty" (identified elsewhere as AMBRONC-5/Juan Manuel Guillot). Also seen on the document is the 201 number for the double agent AMFOX-1, aka Juan Falcon Tamar), stating "201-281397". Other marginalia next to his 201 number is "Agent 2637" (also known as AMPANIC-7/Emilio Adolfo Rivero Caro), as well as AMBRONC-5/Juan Manuel Guillot Castelloro.

104-10506-10024: JUAN FALCON TAMAR

Juan Falcon aka Esteban was national coordinator of the MRR from May 1961 until his capture with 35 men in May 1962. 201-281397. On July 18, 1962 Falcon was interviewed on CMQ Television by REVOLUCION director Carlos Franqui, EL MUNDO director Luis Gomez Wanguemert, and HOY assistant director Raul Valdes Vivo. Six pages earlier, a 7/17/61 interview on Radio Rebelde is summarized. Juan Falcon Tamar was engaged in sabotage events: Burning the "petroquimica" of Cotorro; a plan to destroy national transport in general; destruction of three buses on Rt. 33; a plan to poison cattle; destroy other aspects of economy; assassinate Carlos Rafael Rodriguez; plan to assassinate Castro. Claimed to have CIA support.

Fabian Escalante, The Secret War (Ocean Press, 1995) pp. 115-116

William Harvey met with several of these agents during the early days of 1962, to personally instruct them in the tasks they were to carry out. These included Manuel Guillot Castellanos (AMBRONC-5), Julio Hernandez Rojo (AMOT-99), Esteban Marquez Novo (probably AMBANTY-1, head of what was called AMCOBRA in 1962, Felix Rodriguez (present for Che's death), Eugenio Martinez (the Watergate burglar), Clemente Inclan Werner, Luis Hernandez Rocha (AMHINT-53), Miguel and Ramon Orozco, Alberto del Busto, Pedro Cameron and Manuel del Valle...Guillot, Marquez Novo, Fernandez Rocha, Cameron and Del Valle would be infiltrated into Cuba to organize the counterrevolution, while the rest would take charge of marine supply. Of all of them, the greatest hope was placed in Guillot Castellanos...his friendship with Juan Falcon Zammar, alias Esteban, the coordinator of MRR on the island, guaranteed him a position of influence in that structure, which was the CIA's favorite instrument for the Mongoose projects."

104-10308-10157: INTERVIEW OF JUAN FALCON TAMAR, UNDER ARREST IN CUBA, ALLEGED NATIONAL COORDINATOR OF THE "MOVIMIENTO DE RECUPERACION REVOLUCIONARIA" (M.R.R.) IN CUBA

July 18, 1962 interview with Falcon: "What can you tell us about the assassination attempt against Carlos Rafael Rodriguez?" "We learned through the newspapers that Carlos Rafael was going to give a lecture in the 'Fausto' theater of Matanzas. We surmised that he was going to go by the Via Blanca highway and we set up a surveillance. When Carlos Rafael left an automobile of ours was traveling ahead of him and made a sign to an individual that we had posted on the highway, indicating that Carlos Rafael's automobile was coming behind. Then the individual tried to intercept the automobile and was shot at, with the known results that the individual whom we had posted there was killed."

104-10075-10252: JMWAVE CABLE RE POSSIBILITY OF A BURIED MISSILE DUMP IN SOUTHERN PINAR DEL RIO PROVINCE

11/28/63: Cable from JMWAVE to Director: Slugline INTEL TYPIC: "SUPDATA: ZRWAHOO because vagueness location AMFOX-1 SW 8 of 4 Nov received 16 Nov, processing till 27 Nov because tried locate penal farm info from Veter from Teresa Teresito Hernandez, from Maria or Miriam de los Angeles who obtained letter from sweetheart Jose Antonio Solares AKA Pelusa who serving sentence at prison farm. Querying AMFOX for details. Also continuing attempts identify sanding farm....Source: A former member of a Cuban law enforcement service who has been a reliable source since before the Castro regime. He has varied experience in intelligence work and has personal and professional contacts in Habana and Oriente provinces. This information was received from a Cuban professional man with a medical background who obtained the information from a friend who received a letter from a former inmate of the sanding penal farm."

104-10075-10441: JMWAVE CABLE RE EXECUTION OF INDIVIDUAL WHO SABOTAGED THE SEWER SYSTEM IN LAWTON SECTION, HABANA

12/04/63: Cable from JMWAVE to Director: Slugline INTEL TYPIC: "SUPDATA: ZRWAHOO. AMFOX-1 SW 9 of 9 Nov translated (unintelligible) 29 Nov from 'Juana de Argo' possibly from an unidentified officer in general staff...No WAVE traces..." - - - Page 3: "Source: A former member of a Cuban law enforcement service who has been a reliable source since before the Castro regime. He has varied experience in intelligence work and has personal and professional contacts in Habana and Oriente provinces. This information was received from a resident of Habana with access to an unidentified officer in the Cuban general staff. The nature of the access has not been established." - - - Pages 4-5: Field Information Report: "1. On 29 October 1963, Jose Luis Dominguez Perez, was executed at the Cabana fortress. Agents of the Department of State Security arrested him for placing a bomb in the sewers of the Lawton section, Habana city. 2. Field Comment: A reliable Cuban with a variety of contacts in western Cuba reported that as of 2 November the chief of the Habana sewage system had been executed, he was accused of giving the Habana sewer plans to American agents so that the system could be sabotaged during Fidel's 28 September speech. Habana radio subsequently reported that during the evening of 7 to 8 November parts of the older section of Habana were blacked out because of (unintelligible) main explosions leading to a power failure..."

104-10216-10041: FIELD INFORMATION REPORT AND REPORT COVER SHEET:1. STATUS OF ROLANDO CUBELA. 2. REASON FOR REMOVAL OF JOSE MATAR AS DIRECTOR OF COMMITTEE FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE REVOLUTION

In 1967, it looks like Juan Falcon Tamar has changed his name to "Jose Matar" and remains as AMFOX-1 with a new bio number of 201-058654. This means that Juan Falcon was a double agent working for Castro throughout his stint with the MRR.

104-10170-10181: CIA FILE ON ALPHA-66 LOOSE DOUMENTS DCD FILE.

01/07/72: Memorandum for the record from Patricia L. Johnson: Subject: AMFOX-1: Message No. 30: "1. Following is the text of a message from AMFOX-1 dated 6 December 1971...6. Indexing...Alias of Carmen Castro Porta, friend of AMFOX-1..."

104-10301-10001 EXCERPTS FROM HISTORY: WESTERN HEMISPHERE DIVISION, 1946-1965

In 1975, David Phillips wrote that AMFOX-1 was a CIA agent who WH Division thought might have been doubled.

Brian Latell, Castro's Secrets, page 10.

CIA officer, Brian Latell, cites Phillips' history to say that AMFOX-1 was a double, and adds that he was recruited as a stay-behind agent before the American embassy closed in Jan. 1961 and that he reported for a dozen years before he was outed in 1973.

Contributors:
Bill Simpich

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