On the fourth day after being placed in the "jail," I was contacted for the first time by the ship's broker, Leroy Williams. This was the same day of the trial. When I saw the broker, I asked him if he had contacted the American Tunaboat Association or the American consul. He told me that he had wired the ATA and informed the American consul. He offered any assistance. I told him that if the fine was reasonable we would pay it and get out of the country. He advised me that this was the best approach, because to argue or fight the matter in court would take 2 to 3 months. So I agreed.

In Government building, the crew and I, one at a time, went to a room containing Panamanian officials. I did not hear any questioning of my crewmembers, and will relate only what happened during my interrogation.

It was around 11 a.m., some soldiers took me and the crew to this building. They took me into this room, and there was a Government lawyer, and interpreter, a girl secretary, and Watson. The lawyer did all of the questioning. I was there for about 1 hour. During the questioning, the same matters as covered by Watson on the boat were reviewed.

I again stated to the attorney that the vessel was anchored about 11.9 miles from either the islands or the mainland, I can't recall at present, but anyway I did give them the same position as represented herein. Watson objected when I started asking him to give the attorney the vessel's position. Watson finally gave the attorney the position. It was written on a yellow piece of paper that was used by the navigator.

I overheard the conversation between the attorney and Watson-I can understand a little Spanish. They were arguing about whether the information of the ship's location should be put in the record. The attorney finally won out. After the questioning I was taken to another room, and then I saw them take the crewmembers, one at a time.

It was about 10 p.m., when we were taken back to the barracks. The next afternoon, we were taken back to the room where the interrogation took place. They asked us as a group, with me as the spokesman, many questions. At that time, they sent back two more crewmembers, and brought back the engineer and the cook. They then sent the engineer and cook back to the boat, and the rest of us went back to jail, and within an hour or so, we were released. The vessel was anchored in Panama City Bay. I asked Watson how the boat got to the bay. He said that he went out to the point of anchorage and brought it in. At 2031, March 24, we lifted up the anchor and left Panama.

I asked the engineer and cook what happened while we were separated. The engineer told me that the Panamanians ordered him to rig a portable hand pump to raise enough lube pressure to bring the boat into the harbor. All of his work was done under guard.

The cook said that he was ordered to feed the five guards left on the boat with special meals, hams, roasts, etc. They made the cook open the icebox, get them liquor, cigarettes. I even paid the passage to shore for the guards. This action by the guards was particularly harmful, because of the low supplies. A lot of supplies were missing from the vessel after the guards left.

When I started the vessel to leave the harbor, I noticed that it would not maneuver. She was anchored in three fathoms of water. Mud had sifted through in the pumps and into the walls. We lost most of our bait. It is my opinion that the bottom of the vessel was touching bottom.

During this entire period of time, I never talked to any representative of the U.S. Government. I was told by my broker that he was not permitted to talk with me until the fourth day and final day of our stay.

Continuously during the entire period, I begged to talk to some U.S. representative. They always told me that once the trial was over, I would be permitted to talk and see the U.S. Government.

I asked my broker if I should see the U.S. consul, before leaving, and he told me that it wasn't necessary. Since there was such a commotion to get us out, I felt that we should leave as soon as possible.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of May 1961. [SEAL]

ERNEST MONTEIRO.

Notary Public in and for Said County and State.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

County of San Diego, 88:

Agostino Guidi, being duly sworn, says:

That during the month of February 1962 I was the master of the American fishing vessel Jo Linda, official number 250944;

That at 0930 Greenwich mean time, on or about the 23d day of February 1962, the DV Jo Linda was drifting on the high seas at 78°10' west longitude, 4°10′ north latitude;

That at such time and at such place, I was informed by a crewmember on watch that a Colombian gunboat No. 71, was nearing the bow of the DV Jo Linda; That I went to the bridge and saw a small boat alongside the gunboat, apparently making preparations to board my vessel;

That I reversed our engines full astern and then full ahead hard right rudder; That while proceeding full astern, the Colombian gunboat fired several rounds at our direction;

That after proceeding full ahead, additional firing by the gunboat was noted; in all, the Colombians fired 12 rounds, 7 of them almost simultaneously.

That at no time during the incident did I stop our vessel, but continued full speed in due west.

That the Colombian gunboat gave up its chase approximately 30 minutes after my action to reverse full astern.

AGOSTINO GUIDI, Master/Part Owner, DV "Jo Linda.”

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 14th day of March 1962. [SEAL]

AUGUST J. FELANDO, Notary Public in and for the County of San Diego, State of California.

My commission expires April 5, 1965.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

County of San Diego, ss:

AFFIDAVIT

Lou Guidi, being duly sworn says:

That I am the master and part owner of the MV Lou Jean, official No. 249,580. That I have just recently completed a fishing trip off Central America, and the following incident occurred off El Salvador:

On the afternoon of April 28, 1962, at about 2:30 p.m., we were off Corinto, Nicaragua, homeward bound with a full load of tuna caught on the high seas. I made the decision to go to Acapulco, Mexico, to pick up fuel rather than stopping in Corinto. When we were abeam of Corinto, we were on a true course of 280°. Sometime about 1:25 a.m., April 29, 1962, my brother Julio came into my quarters and woke me up with the news that a boat, about 50 yards from starboard, was placing a spotlight on our vessel. As he was talking, I could see the movement of the spotlight on our cabin. I rushed to the pilothouse, and as I was in the process of stopping the engines, I heard gunfire. I could hear splashes in the water about our vessel. I hit the deck. John Canepa was also with me in the pilothouse.

When the firing stopped, I heard people hollering from the gunboat. I couldn't understand them. I saw the wake from the gunboat cross our bow from starboard to port, then it drifted along our portside. I could clearly see that they had guncrews stationed on the bow. They had 50-caliber guns and what looked like a 20-millimeter set of guns. They were all pointed at us.

By this time, most of my crew were awake. I decided to send some crewmen to their boat to see what they wanted. Crewmembers Tarantino and Balestreri were sent aboard our small skiff to the gunboat. I sent these men because Balestreri could speak Spanish and had been involved in affairs like this in the past. As soon as my men got alongside the gunboat, I saw them yank Balestreri aboard. Tarantino said that he didn't want to go aboard. Then I saw one of the sailors shove a rifle toward Tarantino's face, and Tarantino left the skiff. After Tarantino and Balestreri got down below decks on the gunboat, they sent five of their men aboard our vessel. These sailors were all armed. They were

shouting and acting as though they were drunk or under the influence of drugs. They didn't appear to be acting like rational men. The man in charge said he wanted to inspect our fish. I had a brine tank opened, and I showed him the frozen fish and attempted to explain that the frozen fish was caught 300 or more miles away from El Salvador. The man wouldn't listen to me. I told this man that I wanted to talk to the skipper of the gunboat. I was taken to the other vessel, and attempted to show my log and other papers to the skipper. The skipper of the gunboat didn't want to talk to me or look at my papers. He just told me that we would have to go into the port of La Unión. They tried to keep me aboard the gunboat but when the engineer told him that no one could start the engine but the ship's master, they released me to my vessel. But before I could be released, three more of my crewmembers had to go aboard the gunboatsort of as hostages. It was about 2:30 a.m., when I got back to my vessel. took us about 7 hours and 15 minutes to get into La Unión. We anchored in that port about 9:45 a.m.

It

As we entered the Bay of La Unión, I informed the Salvadoran sailor in charge that I was not that familiar with the entrance. This deck officer said that he would take the vessel into the bay. As we were proceeding I saw us nearing shallow spots in the channel. According to the fathometer we were just about ready to run aground. I told the deck officer that I wanted to take over command. As I was turning the wheel, the deck officer started raising hell. As I was turning the vessel, we had practically no water under the keel. If we had continued under the control of the Salvadoran, we would have gone aground. When we entered La Unión, I tried to explain our position to the captain of the port. He took statements from the officers on the gunboats. At about 6 p.m., I did have a chance to talk to the captain of the port. By this time, contact had been made with the U.S. consul.

With the assistance of the consul, our crewmembers were permitted to go ashore. Two or three guards were left on our vessel. The captain of the port didn't want our crewmembers to stay aboard our vessel, but by the 30th of April we were finally able to persuade him to permit them to stay aboard. American consul and I gave our promise that we would be responsible for my crewmembers.

The

After they took a statement from me, the captain of the port decided that they should have a fish inspector from the Fishery Department at San Salvador, because they claimed that we had been fishing in their waters. This fish inspector was to determine where our fish were caught. How he was going to do this I don't know. On May 1 the fish inspector and two other men from the Department of Fisheries came out to the boat and had what they called a fish inspection. I was also present with the American consul. So after looking at the fish, this inspector and his aids told the captain of the port that the fish in our wells could not have been caught where they said we were fishing. They said that the water was too shallow to use our net. After the inspection they told the captain of the port that it was his decision to see if the charges would be dropped. This was May 1 and a holiday, and so I had to pay this inspector $200 for coming down from the capital city, San Salvador. Then we had to wait for word from the Ministry in San Salvador to see what was going to be done, whether they were going to release us or hold us for further investigation, and they didn't get any word back; this happened on May 2. On May 3, the captain of the port said that they had left this decision in his hands to decide if we were guilty and he said that he would release us without any charge because he didn't have any evidence of our doing anything wrong. He said that probably our clearance papers (which we had to pay for also) would be ready about afternoon and we left at 4:50 p.m., May 3, 1962. LOU GUIDI, Master-Part Owner, DV "Lou Jean." Subscribed and sworn to before me this 22d day of August 1962, by Lou Guidi, to me known. [SEAL]

AUGUST J. FELANDO, Notary Public in and for the County of San Diego, State of California. My commission expires April 5, 1965.

88007-62-5

AFFIDAVIT

STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

County of San Diego, ss:

Manuel Neves, being duly sworn says:

That I am the master of the American fishing vessel DV Constitution, official No. 263,476.

That on or about April 16, 1962, I was in command of said DV Constitution when it was stopped and boarded by an Ecuadoran patrol vessel President Valesco, under the following circumstances:

On April 16, 1962, I ordered a fishing license by radio for Ecuador. On the 19th of April, in the morning, I got an answer from Shreve & Hays, customhouse brokers, in San Diego. They wired me the number of the matricula and my license. On the same day at 6:30 p.m. zone 5, west time (eastern standard time) our vessel was stopped by an Ecuadoran patrol vessel named the President Valesco, 20 miles northwest of Punta Galera, Ecuador, or latitude 1° 05′ N., longitude 80° 21' W. Using their public address system, they ordered us to stop and then ordered me to come aboard their vessel twice. I refused to leave my vessel after they so ordered. At the time they ordered us to stop, I was traveling and not looking for fish. It was just getting dark. The President Valesco was following us, and giving us signals about 2 miles from our stern. The President Valesco is a gunboat; British made, smaller than a destroyer, something like a Corvette. After they ordered me to leave my vessel on the second occasion, they drifted alongside and asked me to send a small boat to them for a boarding party. I put our big skiff over at their request. One J.G. officer, he spoke fairly good English, and five sailors armed with rifles came over to the boat and boarded us. I asked the J.G. what were the guns for. The sailors had their rifles strapped over their shoulders; the J.G. had a pistol. The J.G. was kind of embarrassed at my question. So, I repeated my question, and he said not to worry about the guns. Meanwhile, as though the procedure had been preplanned, the sailors took positions on the bow, the radio room, the galley, and the pilothouse. The officer told me that they had an agreement with the Chilean Government to stop all boats within 200 miles of the coast. In answer, I said that our Government did not agree with this and that we could fish outside 3 miles of the coast. Then I told them what they were doing is piracy. He didn't say anything. Then he wanted to see my papers. I showed him the Costa Rican clearance papers. Four days before, on the 16th, we cleared the port Puntarenas, Costa Rica. I also showed him the telegram with our matricula and license numbers, along with the actual matricula for Ecuadoran waters. I emphasized, at this point, that the reason I had these papers aboard was just in case we decided to fish within 3 miles. After inspecting our papers, he left the vessel. This was the only time we were boarded. I had heard about a lot of other stoppings and boardings. Nearly every American tuna vessel was boarded in the area prior to our arrival, and prior to this date, the 19th of April, for about a month before, all the other tuna boats had been boarded. After our boarding incident, I didn't hear of anyone being boarded.

One hour and fifteen minutes later we were on our course again proceeding down to the fishing banks.

MANUEL NEVES, Master/Part Owner, DV "Constitution."

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 5th day of June 1962. [SEAL]

AUGUST J. FELANDO, Notary Public in and for the County of San Diego, State of California.

My commission expires April 5, 1965.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

County of San Diego, ss:

AFFIDAVIT

George Cabral, being duly sworn says:

That I am the master of the American fishing vessel DV San Joaquin, official No. 270,154.

That on or about February 12, 1962, I was in command of said DV San Joaquin when it was seized by the vessel identified as the Arc Gorgona, a Colombian naval vessel, under the following circumstances:

As

The per

That at sunrise on or about February 12, 1961, the DV San Joaquin was drifting approximately 18 miles off the coast of Colombia, SSW of Pt. San Francisco Solano. That at approximately 7 a.m., I was in radio contact with the American fishing vessel DV Alphecca who advised that they were on fish and that their position was approximately 15 miles off the beach, near Pt. San Francisco Solano. That upon receiving this information, we headed in that direction. That on the way to such location, we set our net on a school of fish. This set was made at 9 a.m. We completed this set and continued toward the DV Alphecca. At about 10:30 a.m., we set the net for a second time. We missed the school of fish. we were nearing the completion of the set, I noticed an approaching vessel. It came alongside, and drifted seaward of our vessel, about 75 yards in distance. I recognized him as a Colombian vessel; it was named Arc Gorgona. sons aboard this vessel made no attempt to communicate with us until we had finished our work of putting the net aboard. It was then that I noticed a few men waving their arms and shouting on the Arc Gorgona. These men were in uniform, and it was then that I realized that the Arc Gorgona was a military vessel. The managing owner of the DV San Joaquin, Machado Medina, and I decided that the Arc Gorgona must be in trouble, and desired assistance. I ordered our power skiff to the Arc Gorgona, and instructed our men to find out what the Colombians wanted. At this point, I did not suspect a seizure of our vessel. Two Colombians returned in our power skiff. One of them asked me if I had a Colombian fishing license. I answered that we had no license, and explained that to my knowledge the Colombian government did not issue licenses to the American tuna fleet, and that since our vessel was in international waters, there was no need for a Colombian fishing license. At the request of the Colombians, I went to the Arc Gorgona for the purpose of talking to its master. The master of the Arc Gorgona told me that we were 4 miles off the beach. I told him that this was not true. He explained further that under such circumstances he was obliged to place us under arrest and proceed to the nearest port of call. I asked him by what right he could place us under arrest. He stated that we were fishing within Colombian waters. I told him that we were presently drifting within international waters, and that we were from 8 to 10 miles off the beach, and not 4 miles as he charged. For purposes of confirmation, I went to the wing of the bridge of the Colombian vessel, the height above the surface of the sea was about 30 feet. I could see no ocean breakers on the coastline.

On the basis of this observation, I reaffirmed my belief that we were about 82 miles offshore. The master of the Colombian vessel then asked me to return to the DV San Joaquin and discuss his request with Machado Medina. I and two guards returned to my vessel. Machado and the two Colombians accompanied me to the pilothouse. They were with me when I turned on the radar. I took a compass bearing of Pt. San Francisco Solano and of Pt. Arasi. These bearings gave me a cross fix of my position. It was 7.9 miles off the nearest coastline. The current was running north and east, directing our vessel toward the beach. It was fairly strong in force, about 2 to 21⁄2 knots per hour. It is my opinion that when we set our net, the DV San Joaquin was about 9 to 10 miles offshore. From the time the Colombians boarded our vessel to the time I established our position by radar, approximately 45 minutes had elapsed.

After fixing the ship's location, I entered it in my ship's log. I also wrote in the names of the two Colombian seamen. I was then ordered to proceed to a port called Nuqui, and await further instructions. I was advised that the Arc Gorgona was proceeding to El Valle, and that they were going to wire Bogotá as to our disposition. We anchored at Nuqui for the night. The next morning, a small boat was sent to our vessel from the Arc Gorgona. At about 8 a.m., the commandant of the Arc Gorgona ordered us to proceed to Buenaventura. When I objected, he refused to discuss the matter any further, explaining that he was following orders. We proceeded towards Buenaventura with four armed men. They all had submachine guns and sidearms. The other two guards who accompanied us to Nuqui were relieved of their duty. While they were aboard, they were armed with army carbines, each gun with a full clip of 16 rounds.

The Arc Gorgona entered into a port just south of Cape Corrientes; we entered Buenaventura on St. Valentines Day.

We arrived in Buenaventura at 8 a.m.; upon docking the vessel, we were boarded by the commandant of the Navy, the captain of the port, and Robert Early, American Consul. My chart, which indicated my signature next to the