East German State Security as Mentor to the Cuban Political Police
By Jorge L. García Vázquez
A CUBAN IN THE SIGHTS OF THE STASI
HAVANA-BERLIN CONNECTION
A RESEARCH AND EYEWITNESS REPORT
The two Cuban intelligence officers were in a hurry when they entered the house at Oberseestraße 66 in Berlin on February 2, 1981. They handed their German counterparts from the Ministry for State Security (MfS) a wish list of materials and requested that the order be fulfilled by February 17, 1981. The MfS officers from Department 26 and the Operational-Technical Sector (OTS ) assured the officers of an immediate review and possible provision of the materials.
The request concerned the creation of an operationally and technically secure space for Cuban state security in the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba in East Berlin.This was reportedly not an isolated incident . The operational group of the Cuban secret police, which was and still is a subdivision of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), maintained close ties with the MfS." Specifically, the issue concerned a room on the fourth floor of the Cuban embassy on Berliner Straße in Berlin-Pankow, which was to be better and more securely equipped for the secret police activities of some Caribbean "diplomats." Many Cuban agents used diplomatic immunity as a cover for their "political-operational" activities in East and West Berlin or in West Germany.
The Cuban ambassador in Berlin repeatedly awarded Cuban Orders of Merit to employees of the Ministry for State Security (MfS) or the Ministry of the Interior (MdI) for their cooperation. Erich Mielke, a close friend of Raúl Castro, received a certificate of honor from the ambassador in 1983 on the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between East Germany and Cuba. Additionally, East German diplomats in Cuba placed great importance on close relations with the Cuban security services.
In 1988, on the 39th anniversary of the GDR's founding, the GDR ambassador in Havana hosted a reception for senior MININT staff. Among the guests were Interior Minister Abrantes and the heads of intelligence and counterintelligence.
Until the late 1970s, numerous meetings took place at the Cuban embassy in East Berlin between the MININT liaison officer and his GDR counterparts. Later, clandestine Stasi facilities were preferred.
A closer examination of the role of former embassy secretary Juan Miguel Roque Ramirez reveals the extent to which the Cuban secret police carried out various operational tasks in the GDR. Colonel Roque officially served as embassy secretary, but unofficially, as an experienced intelligence officer, he acted as a liaison to the Stasi. Together with the Stasi, he ensured the security and "monitoring of Cubans working in the GDR. He was also responsible for expanding the unofficial network among the Cubans who were studying or working in the GDR. At the same time, Colonel Roque coordinated the delivery of equipment and materials between the secret police forces of the GDR and Cuba.
A MININT officer, subordinate to him and officially serving as vice-consul, was responsible for carrying out counterintelligence work and monitoring the Cuban contract workers. He coordinated cooperation with the Stasi's investigative unit and the state prosecutor. An important task of this "vice-consul" was also the "operational penetration" of the connections between GDR and FRG citizens and the Cuban workers. Although he was not authorized to make arrests, searches, or interrogations in the GDR, he was permitted to summon Cuban contract workers to the embassy premises and question them there. MININT officers with diplomatic passports were also deployed in the GDR districts, maintaining close contact with the operational group in Berlin and with the district headquarters of the Stasi.
Roque's activities became public knowledge when the West German terrorist Johannes Weinrich , a member of the Carlos Group , was put on trial in 2003.
Two letters from Roque to the Stasi revealed that he had met with Weinrich and Gerd Albartus, alias "Kai," a member of the Revolutionary Cells (RZ), in the spring of 1984.
The report will soon be published as an e-book.
Jorge Luis García Vázquez is a Cuban-born dissident, researcher, and human rights activist whose personal history and current research directly tie into the historic collaboration between the East German Stasi and the Cuban Ministry of the Interior (MININT).
The connection manifests in two primary ways: through his personal history as a victim of their joint espionage operations in the 1980s, and through his modern investigative work exposing their shared historical archives.
The Historical Background: Stasi & MININT
Since the 1960s, the East German State Security (Stasi) maintained a highly active partnership with Cuba's Ministry of the Interior (MININT). The Stasi essentially helped build, train, and structurally supply Cuba’s domestic intelligence apparatus.
The Stasi provided technical gear, wiretapping infrastructure, and specialized surveillance training.MININT (specifically its G2 intelligence unit) focused on counterintelligence, monitoring the general population, and spying on Cuban nationals residing in or visiting East Germany (DDR).
García Vázquez as a Target (1980s)
Born in Havana in 1959, García Vázquez arrived in the DDR (Chemnitz)1982 to work as a translator and interpreter for Cuban contract workers (Vertragsarbeiter).
The Recruitment Attempt: Because of his position and access, MININT agents operating inside East Germany targeted him, attempting to force him to spy on his fellow countrymen and act as an informant.
The Arrest & Extradition: Refusing to cooperate, García Vázquez attempted to defect and escape the DDR. In March 1987, he was arrested. While the Stasi was involved in the initial containment, historical records show that Stasi chief Erich Mielke coordinated directly with the Cuban Interior Minister to hand him over. He was held in isolation for days before being forcibly flown back to Cuba to face interrogation by MININT.
The Connection: The "Stasi-MININT" Research
Today García Vázquez lives in Berlin as a German citizen and acts as a primary witness and researcher of this era. He leverages Germany's open Stasi archives to expose the exact scope of the Stasi-MININT alliance.
The Stasi-MININT Project: He directs specialized research initiatives and blogs (such as the Stasi-Minint project / Havana-Berlin Connection) dedicated to publishing declassified documents.
Historical Revelations: His work has uncovered extensive operations showing how MININT officers routinely embedded themselves within the Cuban Embassy, blackmailed Cuban artists touring Europe, and even coordinated forced labor arrangements using Western corporations (such as documented historical links involving IKEA production in Cuban prisons). He regularly works with human rights organizations like the International Society for Human Rights
