Careful not to seem especially anxious for these visits, Donovan kept him waiting {or about an hour. But when he finally saw him, he treated him “exactly as though he ‘were Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes," as he recalled, They discussed juridical concepts for a while, even though the Cubaa attomey general confessed that he had been 1 shoemaker before the Revolution. ‘The stage fora brush-off was setup carefully. Donovan did not wish to insult the ‘Attorney General-—he would rather have him on his side, But he told him plainly that he id not wish to bargain or even discuss the prisoners of war issue with anyone other than Castro (whom he referred to as Doctor Castro in deference to the Cuban custom of calling all that obtain a doctorate in aw degree, “Doctor”, Meanwhile, back in the U.S, the politcal setting of the impending talks seemed to grow even more dangerous, with Congressional Republicans calling for an invasion, and Castro declaring that one was inevitable. As if to throw a match into this volatile atmosphere on the day of his talks with the ttomey general, two Cuban gua ships fired (ona US. Navy patrol aircraft over international waters near Cuba. These navy patrols hhad markedly increased since the Soviet Union had begun sending shipments of supplies to Cuba and the U.S. military attempted to determine their contents, Following this incident, the White House promptly announced that American planes would now be authorized to retum fire if provoked. ‘The Cuben government insisted thet the naval surveillance was more preperation for an invasion, in spite of disavowals by the President Kennedy of any such intention “Washington announces that their planes will fre on Cuban ships,” said Castro angrily. “This constitutes another provocation by the imperialists whichis related to their invasion plans.” aLIK FACE-TO-FACE Berta and Jesis’s villa was located in a plush neighborhood in the Alturas de Miramar section of Havana, Today itis a convertible peso only department store called “La Tienda Flor ‘tunnel into the Miramar neighborhood past some of the most beautiful homes Donovan, bad seen, Bert's car, a mid-s0's Dodge roared along the Malecén and through ‘Berta’s villa ted out to be a magnificent house surrounded by a white stone fence, whith a garden overlooking the Almendares River. It had been built by a friend and lav-business partner of Berta’s husband, who asked them to move int it and to use the house before his departure ftom Cuba in the latter part of 1959. Although opulent with matble throughout, it was no consolation for the lack of hot water. The water heater hhad broken down a few months before, and remained that way forthe lack of spare parts in Cuba, Fruits and flowers covered a high wall surounding the garden and the inner courtyard. But the fragrance of paradise mingled with afar different reality. When they passed through the iron gates at one end of the high wall around the house, the gates clanged shut behind them. Looking through the bedroom window assigned to him, Donovan watched Castros sentries exchanging ther pistols for rifles and machine guns. (Once proper introductions were made by Berta to her domestic staff, Donovan ‘was curious to see a Cuban news program and asked Berta to turn on the television Almost the first thing he saw on the screen was his own face. The commentator described him as a "decoy that has come to cover another Kennedy invasion.” ‘As Donovan later recalled, he was expecting to receive a visit from then Attorney General (Fiseal) of Cuba, Dr. José Santiago Cuba Feméndez, who had prosecuted the prisoners at the mass trial held in the patio of their prison at the Principe's Caste 80Kennedy held a press conference a few days later, however, and perhaps thinking of the prisoners and their families, declared that an invasion would be @ mistake that “could lead to very serious consequences for many people.” ‘An appointment was arranged for Donovan, Sanchez, Freyre and Berta to meet Castro the next afternoon, September 2, 1962. They were greeted upon their arrival at the Presidential Palace by the diminutive figure of Celis Sénchez, who led them into an anteroom and soon departed, Five minutes later, Celia returned and said that Castro was waiting for them, ‘They walked down a corridor toward the Cabinet Room, and there atthe entrance stood the “maximum leader” himself, While shaking hands with him and gathering first ‘impressions, Donovan noted that this man was hardly the insane-looking buffoon so ‘commonly portrayed inthe political cartoons. The fastidiously-groomed man before him seemed a Head of State in all respects, as Donovan was to tell many an American audience inthe future In her memoirs, Berta deseribed the key personality characteristics of these two ‘men, Both Donovan and Castro were what one would call strong-minded conversationalists, Castro, of course, was famous for his ability o speak by the hour, ‘whether before hundreds of thousands in the Plaza ofthe Revolution, or in front of small groups of associates. Donovan was not inclined to harangue the masses, even if such an ‘opportunity arose as it during his seastorial campaign, but his manner in small ‘conferences had a definiteness that did not encourage interruption or opposition. While Castro had the tendescy to become magisterial in his manner, he found in James B. Donovan that he had some competition for once. Donovan could only understand and read a smattering of Spanish, The Cuben leader could understand English fairly well, but could only speak it on an elementary level. Therefore a translator was necessary, and Alvaro Sanchez, Jt. was more than equal 2