HEADQUARTERS,
GUARDIA NACIONAL DE NICARAGUA
MANAGUA, NICARAGUA.
 

14 May, 1929.
 
GN-2 MEMORANDUM
 
1.   The following is a statement of Alejandro Molina, who was with Sandino from December 1927 to February 1929:

"At a place called El Rempujon, jurisdiction of Nueva Segovia, in the mountains of Murra, there is hidden a Colt machine gun, a large amount of rifles and ammunition and a quantity of dynamite. These arms and ammunition can be found by capturing Rafael Altamirano and Yamario Rocha, as they are the guardians and know the place where they are hidden.
 
Claudio Blandon and one of his sons are and live between Plan Grande and Guapinol, jurisdiction of Ocotal. These men know where Sandino is and his general camp (Rumbo Perdido, between Murra and Oconguas) is. Claudio is the runner of Sandino for the Republic of Honduras. Antonio Salgado and Gregorio Salgado are in the place named Guapinol and know and can give information about the mountain where Sandino is situated. Sandino is furnished salt and foodstuffs from Yali.
 
By placing a guard at the hacienda La Palmera, formerly called Gulke, the passage will be cut for Sandino's forces, as all his troops leaving the mountains pass thru this hacienda at about one kilometer from the banana plantation of Panali.
 
I was with Sandino from December 1927 to February 1928, [sic - should read 1929] then I quit the forces and went to work on a coffee plantation picking coffee. As the forces of Sandino were pursuing me I had to leave for Honduras with my mother, returning again by Sandino's camp to ask for a passport, remaining there until the 10th of April 1929.  My mother lives in Pespire, Department of Choluteca [Honduras], and my father is in Jinotega. (Molina is the illegitimate son of Blas Miguel Molina of Jinotega).
 
The Agents of Sandino in Honduras are: -- Antonio Lacayo and Constantino Tenorio; on the 26th of April, the date I left Tegucigalpa, a Dominican named Gregirio Gilbert also left carrying mail for Sandino and accompanying him were three Mexicans to join the Sandino forces.
 
The columns of Sandino are under the command of the following persons: Pedron, Jose Leon Dias, Sebastian Centeno, Francisco Estrada, Pedro Irias, Ismael Peralta, Carlos Salgado, Miguel Angel Ortez, Pedro Blandon, Abraham Centeno, Coronado Maradiaga, Ramon Uriarte -- any of them have at least thirty men under his command. There are other chiefs who operate with Salgado and Ortez but I don't know them. / p. 2 / Sandino's forces number from 1,000 to 1,500 men -- Ortez has 250 men, Salgado has 300, Pedron has 100, Peralta has about 60 and thus successively.
 
Many refugee families are at Guapinol, the place where Gregorio Salgado is at, two kilometers from Plan Grande, headed for the mountains.
 
Most of the arms possessed by Sandino have been captured from the Americans and Guardias.
 
The Government of Honduras apparently does not favor Sandino, but the Sandinism has guarantees in that country because the authorities are partisans of Sandino.
 
When I went to the Honduras authorities and confessed that I came from Sandino they gave me all the guarantees; furthermore they advised me to tell any guards that I should meet on my way that I was a Sandinista in order to get the guarantees -- they further told me that Moncada and the Yankees commanded in Nicaragua but the Hondurans commanded in Honduras.
 
The neighbors from Honduras take salt, medicine, cigars, biscuits, and clothing to Sandino.
 
If a consecutive attack is made against Sandino he would get away, but it happens that the Americans and the Government forces occupy the towns leaving the mountains free and unwatched; Sandino communicated with his wife frequently until she was sent to Managua and he has always sent her money, etc.
 
Sandino's followers are composed of Hondurans and Salvadorans but also has Mexicans, Colombians, Venezuelans, and Dominicans. Sandino is glad because of the proximity of winter. Sandino would make agreements with Moncada but never with the Yankees; he issues orders to his troops that if the Guardia pass to let it pass on but to fire only upon the Marines as it is his desire to finish them.
 
Jiron was opposed to the blowing up of the mines, and it was Porfirio Diaz who ordered their blowing up as he was compelled to do so by his troops -- Pedron was the third chief.
 
Sandino sent his lover, Teresa Villatoro, to Tegucigalpa to be treated by a dentist; she lodges at the Hotel Union and she received correspondence from him on the 26th of April and she sent a reply by the same mail. She has instructions from Sandino to await him in Tegucigalpa."

2. When Molina was permitted to look over some photographs in the files of this office of bandit activities, he immediately recognized the leaders, individuals, and even the places where the pictures were taken.
 
3. This information is strictly confidential and will be kept under lock and key or destroyed.
 
J. M. Bain
Major, Guardia Nacional
GN-2.
 

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HEADQUARTERS, 2ND BRIGADE, U.S. MARINE CORPS
MANAGUA, NICARAGUA
INFORMATION FROM ALEJANDRO MOLINA, SANDINISTA
 
16-17 May, 1929
 

Identified picture of Sandino shown him as being taken during last revolution when he was with Moncada.
 
Joined Sandino at Chipote in December, 1927, because the Guardia Nacional and President Adolfo Diaz were persecuting him without reason, because he was a Liberal. The messenger who told him where to find Sandino was going to Mr. Abraham Centeno in Yali.
 
He quit Sandino when Moncada took charge because he had no reason to fight a Liberal Government.
 
Jose Lagos, Porfirio Sanchez, and his woman, Leopolda Tellez, Lorenzo Blandon (a Mexican), Adan Gutierrez, altogether about twenty-five went to Honduras after quitting Sandino for the same reason -- that of being Moncadistas.
 
Teresa Villatoro (Sandino's mistress) was with Claudio Blandon, living in Guapinol.
 
From Los Terreros, his mother, Lagos and himself passed to La Rica, where they were joined by about twenty-five others who had been with Sandino.
 
Lagos is now Commandant at Perspire, Honduras -- Porfirio Sanchez is waiting for a job.
 
Mr. Westing gave him a free ride on his gasoline boat from Ampala to Tempisque.
 
He knows where Claudio Blandon lives in Guapinol, and Antonio Salgado also in Guapinol. Also Gregorio Salgado can be located through somebody he knows.
 
All people in Guapinol help Sandino by bringing to him supplies and food.
 
Luis Frenzel, a German who lives in Yali sent medicines and some other supplies to La Constancia in November, 1928. He was under Peralta but a civilian who brought the supplies stated that Frenzel was sending them.
 
Lagos was a chief, jefe at Yali, and Peralta was his subordinate.
 
Centeno was an aide of Sandino's, to gather supplies, act as his messenger and intelligence agent.
 
Peralta did not operate far from La Constancia, he only went as far as La Pavona and San Antonio.
 
Forces of Sandino pass a hacienda called La Palmero, between Santa Cruz and Quilali, at night.
 
Antonio Lacayo and Constantino Tenorio are Sandino's message center jefes in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
 
Juan Colindres is his financial agent in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. / p. 2 /
 
Among Sandino's men it was said that money came from Mexico, sent by an organization known as "Hands Off Nicaragua," and "Asociacion Pro-Sandino."
 
General Simeon Montoya is living in Armenia, Honduras, where he owns a house.
 
While he was with Sandino he participated in about six engagements, the largest one being at Zapote, where Sanchez, Montoya, Jiron, and Sandino took part. (This contact is known to us as the Hunter contact.)
 
He was at Las Cruces under Francisco Estrada on January 1st when Lieutenant Bruce, G.N. was killed.
 
His ideas since childhood made him a Liberal. His father was a Conservative, enemy of Sandino, and he got on bad terms with his father because of politics.
 
Sandino got from Padre Morales cattle and medicines that Father Morales had; also pants and some cheap cloth.
 
Last day Molina was in Tegucigalpa he saw an article of Constantino Tenorio published in the newspaper "El Caduceo," supporting Sandino.
 
Abraham Centeno lives in La Pavona, where he has a few coffee trees and some sugar cane.
 
Antonio Lacayo's office is located at the Union Hotel in Tegucigalpa, of which Lacayo is the owner.
 
Tomas and Emilio Blandon were in charge of spying at La Constancia.
 
Sandino's pre-election instructions to his lieutenants were to disturb the electoral proceedings as much as possible; to advise people not to pay any attention to electoral matters; and to capture and bring to him any propaganda men of any party recognizing the election.
 
Early in April Tenorio told him that Sandino was going to Buenos Aires and that rumors about his going to Mexico were not true. Then he advised him to wait for Sandino in Tegucigalpa. Molina replied that he wanted to come to Nicaragua to help Moncada.
 
Molina went to Choluteca with Lagos, on Lagos's official business from Perspire, where he is commandant. In Choluteca he saw Dr. Hernandez (Mairena) [Dr. Domingo Mairena Hernandez] who is there with the Health Department.
 
(Note: Mairena is a Nicaraguan from Leon and was formerly Sandino's doctor.)
 
From B-2.

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Centro penal Managua       6 de Noviembre de 1929

     Sr Jefe director de la guardia Nacional.

     Muy Sr mio

El objeto de la presente es de manifestar a Ud., que tengo 6 meses de ser prisonero, y no se cual séa mi delinto; es berdad yo andube con Sandino, pero cuando resibio la presidencia el Gral Moncada, me separe de Sandino; y me fui para Honduras, en Tegucigalpa me encontre con él ex Ministro de Nicaragua, Sr. J. Francisco Moncada, le comunique mis deseos de regresar al pais, y él me contesto que no havia inconbeniente, que me daria un salbo conducto, y que me respondia con su cuello que las garantias dadas en nombre de su govierno serian atendidas y respetadas. 

Sr suplico a Ud. sea juez de su conciensia y jusgue me delito, talvez crea Ud que sea sufisiente me castigo, o me designe cuanto tiempo mas me falta.

Si Ud me da me livertad, yo le prometo servirle en o que Ud crea conbeniente, haria mas dandome me libertad que con tenerme prisionero.  Esperando que la present no será en bano, quedo de Ud.  Con todo respeto, muy Atto y S.S. 

/s/  Alejandro Molina

            S-18

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     Yo Alejandro Molina, de diez y nueve años de edad, soltero, agricultor, vecino de la ciudad de Estelí y nicaragüense, por el presente documento me compreto a no tomar participación de ninguna clase de ningún movimiento revolucionario contra el Gobierno constituido ni menos formar parte de las columnas de bandoleros que infestan el País.  Esta declaración la hago de mi espontánea voluntad y me sujeto a sufrir los castigos legales por quebrantamiento de la presente promesa.  También prometo salir de terretorio de Nicaragua por el periodo de un año.

     Managua trece de Mayo de mil novecientos treinta.

     /s/  Alejandro Molina

              witness  James L. Dea---

                   Comandante de la Penitencia

    Me constituy fiador de mi hermano Alejandro Molina para el cumplimiento de la anterior promesa.  Managua trece de Mayo de mil novecientos treinta.

      /s/  Mig. Molina H.

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