Cryptonym: ZRPRIMA
104-10185-10266: 201 FILE OF PROTECTABLE SOURCE.
5/29/63 cable from Mexico City to Director: "ZRPRIMA is (CIA) program to identify and recruit third party nationals who are being hired by (the Government of Cuba) to work in Cuba."
104-10247-10254: LETTER TO CARLOS FROM WILLAM A. THOMPSON
9/20/62 letter to Carlos from Bill Thompson using this "new address" of William A. Thompson, PO Box 7224, Apex Station, Washington, DC, and asking him if they can meet in NYC for dinner now that Carlos is back from Italy. The envelope can be seen at 104-10247-10255.
104-10247-10251: CABLE- REF ROME 9496, PLS REPLY
6/26/63 cable ROME 9515: Chief of Station - William Harvey - in ROME 9496 aka 104-10183-10034, Harvey requested the Director to provide name and phone number where AMWHIP could call in true name to make contact. This memo adds: "Pls reply."
104-10247-10250: CABLE-AMWHIP/1 IN PARIS 2 AND 3 JULY 63 WITH JOSE VENEGAS VALDESPINO
Early July 1963: While in Paris, AMWHIP/1 saw in the Cuban consulate "three Cuban plastics and electronics engineers who were going to Poland to recruit plastics techs for Cuba."
104-10527-10212: CABLE: MULTI-ADDRESSEE CABLE RE (--) PRIMA OPS
11/21/63 cable recommends giving up on the ZRPRIMA program because very few foreign technicians are being hired by the Cuban government.
11/22/63, 1700 Zulu Time, just minutes before the assassination: "Recently concluded HQs review of ZRPRIMA program shows that (CIA) efforts have not achieved any significant results and continuation of program as such no longer warranted. Main reason for (CIA) failure is that Cuban technician recruiting program has been miserable failure when measured against Fidel's original objective of 2000 techs from Western Europe alone. Though our figures not complete, we estimate probably less than fifty candidates have succeeded in inserting about thirty recruited techs into the various hiring channels, but so far only to have received contract approval from (Havana). Cuban failure to recruit in significant numbers appears (to be) largely to reluctance foreign ministry and foreign service officers pursue tech recruiting mission aggressively, bureaucratic incompetence in Havana, fear of infiltration of hostile agents and probable loss of interest in the program on part of Castro himself." - - - 03/18/2025 release: https://www.archives.gov/files/research/jfk/releases/2025/0318/104-10077-10153.pdf