New York Times
April 6, 1958.  p. 1.

Batista's Regime Reports Rebels Cut Off In Hills
Army Says Castro's Main Unit is Fleeing--Troops Rout Group in Santiago

Special to The New York Times

        HAVANA, April 5--A Cuban Army communiqué said tonight that "the principal group" of rebels in the Sierra Maestra had "been isolated and are now fleeing from Government troops."
        The bulletin, issued by Cam Columbia, Army Headquarters, identified the rebels as part of those under the command of Fidel Castro. The Government announcement came eighteen hours after the deadline set by Senor Castro for the Government of President Fulgencio Batista to resign or face "total war."
        The army communiqué gave no details of the action in the Sierra Maestra. But it said the rebel forces never had the opportunity to advance, "much less to occupy the cities of Santiago de Cuba and Manzanillo."
Arms Held Ample
        At the same time, the headquarters said the Cuban Government had all the arms it needed for the maintenance of public order. It said that the Government could buy arms freely "in any country of the Americas or Europe."
        The announcement said all arms ordered from the United States had been "canceled" by the Cuban Army. Apparently the statement referred to 1,950 Garland rifles, whose shipment was held up by the United States recently.
        "The General Staff of the army sincerely appreciates the declaration of Col. Lopez Penha of the armed forces of the Dominican Republic with respect to the fact that there is no ban on selling military equipment to Cuba," the statement added.
        [The State Department said in Washington Friday that it had been assured by the Dominican Republic that none of the arms being provided by that country to the Cuban Government was of United States origin.]
Fight in Eastern Oriente
        A fight in northeastern Oriente Province, where some of the Castro forces have been active outside the Sierra Maestra ranges, was reported in a later Camp Columbia headquarters announcement.
        It said seven rebels were killed in an encounter with Government troops near Cananova. Two soldiers were reported wounded. A Piper aircraft, some trucks and arms and ammunition were captured, headquarters said.
        The police here announced tonight the arrest of nine youths accused of terrorism.
        The earlier Camp Columbia communiqué declared that generally "tranquil" conditions prevailed in Cuba and that "all news stories of violence are false."
        Despite the lack of rebel action in the Havana area, the threat of a general revolutionary strike, which Senor Castro has announced will be called at the "opportune" moment, is still causing apprehension.
        Rebel sources here said that Senor Castro had no intention of openly attacking havana and that his greatest weapon was the threatened general revolutionary strike. With thousands of Government troops in the Havana garrison, an open attack on the city is out of the question, they added.
        Meanwhile, little movement was seen on Havana's streets. Most people remained in their homes. Most of the families who are accustomed each year to spending the Easter holiday outside the city on farms and at near-by beaches remained in the city.
        A few depositors continued today to withdraw money from Havana banks. However, the majority have been reassured by the statement of President Batista that the Government will fully respect all deposits. A week after Congress approved a "state of national emergency" giving the Government almost unlimited powers over all phases of national life.
        Travelers from the interior said fighting was going on around Manzanillo, Bayamo and Niquero in the southern part of Oriente Province. Clashes between rebels and Government troops have occurred even in the outskirts of Manzanillo. After a suspension of two days, commercial airplanes landed today in Manzanillo.
        Representative Rodolfo Masferrer, brother of Senator Rolando Masferrer, who maintains a private militia in Oriente Province, was gravely wounded by rebels recently. A bodyguard was killed. The editor of Tiempo, a newspaper owned by Senator Masferrer, said that the two men were riding in a jeep at La Maya, near Santiago, when they were ambushed by rebels.