TO
The Secretary of State
SUBJECT
Interdepartmental Organization for Cuban Affairs
The President has approved the following organizational arrangements to facilitate the coordinated management of all aspects of our current policy toward Cuba; final policy responsibility of course remains with the President, working with the Executive Committee of the National Security Council when necessary.
1. Day-to-day coordinating responsibility will be vested in a Coordinator of Cuban Affairs in the Department of State, acting as Chairman of an Interdepartmental Committee on Cuba. The Coordinator will be responsible to the Secretary of State for State Department business, and under his guidance to the President and the Executive Committee for interdepartmental coordination.
2. The Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee shall consist of the Coordinator and representatives of the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency. Representatives of other departments will be associated with the work of this committee as necessary in particular cases. Officers shall also be detailed to the Office of the Coordinator from the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, HEW, CIA, and USIA. Other departments and agencies may be requested to participate in the work of the Interdepartmental Committee and in the work of the Coordinator's Office as appropriate. A White House officer will maintain liaison with the Coordinator and with his Interdepartmental Committee.
3. The President and the Executive Committee will look to the Coordinator for effective coordination of the execution of policy decisions, and for timely recommendations on new courses of action. The Coordinator will work through his assigned officers and with the Interdepartmental Committee in meeting these responsibilities.
4. The Coordinator's authority will not supplant the responsibility of other operating departments or agencies for the management of their assigned tasks or their right to be consulted before their resources are committed. Differences which arise will be promptly referred to higher levels of resolution.
5. The Coordinator will name a full-time representative who will open an office in Miami to represent the U.S. Government in relations with Cuban refugee organizations and coordinate the implementation of all Federal programs being carried on in the area, relating such programs to State, local and private programs.
6. The Coordinator will assume the same responsibility for covert operations as he does for overt actions. However, he will report on covert matters to the Special Group which will be guided by broader policy established by the President through the Executive Committee.
McGeorge Bundy
Source: Department of State, S/S Files: Lot 72 D 316, NSAM 213. Secret. Copies were sent to the Secretary of Defense; the Attorney General; the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare; the Director of Central Intelligence; and the Director of the U.S. Information Agency.