Short diary entries from Dutch Prime Minister Jan E. de Quay during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

First Secretary of the Dutch Embassy in Cuba, K.W. Reinink sends a cable to Amsterdam concerning a talk with Fidel Castro. Among the issues discussed are Dutch-Cuban relations, Cuban industrial development, the economic conditions of Cuba and the sugar trade.

Ambassador Pos forwards a letter detailing an exchange between First Secretary of the Embassy Reinink and Fidel Castro.

R.H. Pos, the Dutch Ambassador to Cuba, writes home to Amsterdam reporting on attempts at espionage in the Dutch Embassy. The gardener reported to the Embassy staff that he was invited to take a seat in an automobile used by the Cuban secret service. He was asked by the Cuban government to observe which Cubans and foreigners frequent the Dutch Embassy. He refused them point blank, which the Dutch Embassy thanked.

Van Roijen writes to Amsterdam from Washington on a meeting between him and U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk. Rusk says there are now no more Soviet military personnel stationed in Cuba, although there are still technicians and instructors remaining. The belief is those too will soon leave after training the Cuban forces has completed. Rusk notes the icy relations between Moscow and Havana now, notably regarding Castro's refusal to sign the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

This letter concerns Cuba's political and economic isolation. Castro has attempted to repair relations with the capitalist countries to no avail, and the author relates his/her own experiences with Castro. Che Guevara, Cuba's Minister of Industry, approached the author and staff asking for economic assistance in the form of trade. The author relates how he has submitted a request to a high standing industry in the Netherlands if supplies can be shipped to Cuba.

Reinink writes to Amsterdam on the current situation in Havana. There is positive press about the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, it's more a case of lip service to the Soviet Union than genuine enthusiasm from the Cuban Socialist Party. The "new communists" especially have strong reservations about the treaty, and have cast aspersions on Nikita Khrushchev for reaching an agreement with Washington. More than half of the party leadership share this opinion, according to Reinink. Cuba's leadership is now more falling in line with China and Mao Zedong than with the Soviet Union.

Boissevain reports on Fidel Castro. During a banquet held by the Egyptian ambassador, Castro speaks to Swiss Ambassador Masset of a decision to nationalize the former building of the U.S. embassy, currently in use by the Swiss embassy acting as U.S. representatives. Castro is noted as having "the air of one who is boasting to a trusted friend about how he has crossed an opponent." Boissevain thinks it best to keep on Castro's good side and requests an illustrated work of the Netherlands to be sent as a gesture of goodwill.

Dutch Foreign Minister Joseph Luns responds to Boissevain's two cables regarding Castro's proposal for an agreement with the United States. Luns is wary of Castro's request to use the Boissevain as the mediator, and urges caution and reserve. He asks Boissevain to keep him updated of any future developments, should Castro make a future proposal.

Boissevain writes in continuation of the previous cable regarding Castro's desire for a mediator in an agreement with the United States. The Swiss or Czech ambassadors are offered as alternatives by Boissevain. Castro also notes that the Cuban debt to the Soviet Union is far to large, although he still wishes to continue revolution, creating this impasse between Cuba and the United States.