August 23 – September 5, 1972: The University of Panama sent a cultural and scientific delegation to visit Cuba. Operating in alias under Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) cover, DGI officer Norberto Hernandez Curbelo served as an delegation escort. Without providing details, Hernandez told the delegates he had been in Panama on several occasions. According to declassified US government records, Hernandez visited Panama with a Cuban sports delegation from late May through early June 1972.
Editor’s Note: The Directorate General of Intelligence (DGI) was the name previously used by the foreign intelligence wing of the Ministry of the Interior. Following a 1989 “scandal” and reorganization, this service was reorganized and given a new name– the Directorate of Intelligence (DI).