k 
22  April  1975 
MEMORANDUM  FOR:   Deputy  Chief,  Operations  Staff 
SUBJECT 
REFERENCE 
Interim  Reply  to  Questions  by 
David  W.  Belin 
Memorandum,  by  David  W.  Belin  to 
Mr.  E.  Henry  Knoche,  15  April  1975.  . 
(This  memorandum  sets  out  five  questions 
dealing  with  various  aspects  of  informa- 
tion possibly  heald  by  the  Agency  relating 
to  its  alleged  involvement  in  planning  the 
assassination  of  Fidel  CASTRO.) 
1.  This  is  an  interim  reply  based  on  a  comprehensive, 
but  as  yet  incomplete,  review  of  materials  held  by  CIOPS  in 
the  OSWALD  201  (58  volumes).   On  the  basis  of  this  material 
we  cannot  respond  for  the  Agency  to  Mr.  Belin' s  questions 
because  the  OSWALD  file  does  not  contain  any  significant 
proportion  of  WAVE  or  other  Agency  material  dealing  with 
emigre  activity.   Our  holdings  on  that  aspect  of  the  question 
reflect  solely* what  was  relevant  to  the  Kennedy  assassination^ 
as  an  act  performed  by  OSWALD.   It  will  be  necessary,  there-  / 
fore,  for  LA  Division  to  make  a  considerable  input  to  the    / 
finalized  responses. 
2.  At  this  point  our  tentative,  brief  answers  to  the 
five  questions  stipulated  by  Mr.  Belin  are  as  follows  (the 
responses  are  keyed  to  the  numbering  of  Mr.  Belin's  questions). 
a*   Question  1.   As  far  as  we  can  t 
materials  at  our  disposition,  no  one  discus 
[to  assassinate  Fidel  CASTROjwith  the  Warren 
far  as  our  materials  show,  there  were  no  su 
or  known  to  us  in  CI  Staff,  as  the  working- 
contact  with  the  Warren  Commission.   There 
anyone  known  to  our  records  made  a  decision    
Warren  Commission  anything  about  this  topic  or  anything  else 
ell  from  all  of  the 
sed   any  alleged  plan 
Commission.   As 
ch  plans  underway 
level  -.point  of 
is  no  evidence  that 
not  to  tell  the
{ 
r. 
Our  records  show  at  every   point  a  narked  intent  to  make  as 
much  available  to  the  Commission  as  was  consistent  with  the 
security  of  ongoing  operations. 
(^"  b.   Question  2.   We  have  no  evidence  in  our  materials' 
/  indicating  CASTRO 's  knowledge  or  the  possession  of  documenta- 
/  tion  of  alleged  assassination  plans  directed  against  him. 
^ —       .  •    ""■"*' 
c.   Question  3.   We  are  able  to  be  affirmatively 
responsive  to  this  question.   Daniel  MARKER  filed  a  report 
from  Havana  of  an  informal  interview  given  to  him  at  a 
Brazilian  Embassy  reception'on  Saturday,  7  September  1963. 
This  was  not  a  public  speech.   The  BARKER  item  was  variously 
played  by  newspapers  in  the  United  States  as  is  clear  from 
the  attached  transcriptions  of  the  gist  of  items  we  have 
located  in  two  newspapers,  The  Washington  Star  (which  played 
up  the  GOLDWATER,  political  aspects)  and  the  Times  Picayune 
of  New  Orleans  (which  emphasized  the  physical  threat  to  U.S. 
leadership) .   We  have  not  checked  the  Dallas  newspapers  . 
The  New  York  Times  published  a  UPI  item  entirely  different 
in  emphasis  from  the  AP  item,  omitting  any  reference  to"' 
CASTRO'S  warning  to  U.S.  leadership.   And  the  Washington  Post 
did  a  summary  which  also  omitted  any  reference  to  the  threat- 
ening  aspects  of  CASTRO1 s  interview.   We  have  been  unable 
to  secure  photographic  copies  of  the  Star  and  Times  Picayune 
coverage,  but  the  partial  transcriptions  attached  are 
accurate.   As  far  as  we  know,  CASTRO  made  no  other  public 
statement  of  that  kind  prior  to  22  November  1963.  ■ 
d.   Question  4.   Our  records  contain  no  direct 
information  that  any  foreign  government  or  foreign  group 
was  considering  possible  assassination  of  an  American  leader-.-   
["However,  it  should  be  noted  that    on        $   January  1964   // 
Guatemala  Station  forwarded  a  duplicate  copy  of  a  raw    J  / 
report  m  dated  5  January  1962 ,  dealing   •} 
with  a  year-end  CPG  coll  meeting. 
,_     _  _ 
      a  participant. 
^is   noted  as  stating:   "We  need  not  p  r  e  oc  cu  py ~ou rseT v e s  over 
^'the  politics  of  President  Kennedy   because  we  know,  according 
to  prognostication,  that  he  will  die  within  the  present  year 
[1962].-  ;.•--  • 
It  should  be  noted  that  this  item  of  raw  report- 
ing was  received  after  the  Kennedy  assassination...  We  have 
no  indication  thus  far  in  the  file  as  to  whether  any  action.  "
< 
was  taken  on  the  item  with  the  Warren  Commission.   This  will 
have  to  be  gone  into  with  the  Division. 
e.   Question  5.   We  have  no  indication  in  our 
records  that  there  was  any  communication  to  President  Johnson 
regarding  the  matter  dealt  with  by  this  question. 
3.   The  gist  of  these  replies  was  taken  up  directly  with 
Mr.  Belin  in  a  conversation  which  took  place  this  morning 
from  10:30  -  12:15. 
Raymond  G.  Rocca 
Counter  Intelligence  Operations 
Attachments : 
Gist  of  newspaper  items