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continue through D-Day. The actual opening of JMTIDE, however, was delayed until 2 April 1961 because leaders of the recently organized Consejo Revolucionario Cubano (CRC), Jose Miro Cardona, Antonio de Varona, Antonio Maceo, and Manuel Artime were still visiting in the MADD/TRAV area; and rather than begin the airlift out of MADD while these people were still present, the operation was delayed for 24 hours. 95/* Once the political representatives of the Cuban exiles had departed the base at JMADD, operations at TIDE went into high gear. By 2 April, a gunnery, bomb, and rocket range had been located some 45 miles north- east of Puerto Cabezas in the vicinity of the Cayos Miskito Island. In a three hour' period on 3 April, 11 aircraft had arrived at JMTIDE -- six B-26's, three C-46's, and two C-54's -- with the transport aircraft scheduled to return to MADD for additional cargo and passengers. ,These aircraft brought in 169 Cuban personnel; and on that same day, two of the B-26's were sent out to inspect the bomb and gunnery range * Eduardo Ferrer stated that this visit of the Consejo took place at the end of February 1961, but he was a month early in his recollections. 96/ - 163 -