I’ll just state the obvious...Hemmingway probably failed on the ‘secret-agent’ business because he consumed way too much alcohol and was never coherent enough to remember any information told to him. It’s not an insult over the guy...it’s just the way he was.
Batista’s troops once raided his farm, looking for weapons. They shot one of his favorite dogs. I think he’d have probably put a few of them against a wall, himself, if given the opportunity.