ab cshene Cuban-American...page 10 The March 1964 FBI report listed Lopez's passport as #310162, which had been issued in January, 1960, ana his: Mexican tourist card as "M8-24553, issued November 20, 1963. in Tampa. 58/ It stated that Lopez entered Mexico by private ' auto at Nuevo Laredo on November 23, 1963 and departed for Havana on November 27 as the only passenger on a Cubana flight, carrying a Cuban courtesy visa. 59/ According to the FBI file, Lopez ' Ss” mother, Esperanza Rodriguez, was born in ‘Key West, Florida. 60/ The file | listed three cousins and four uncles who resided and worked in ‘the Key West area with their families. 61/ Lopez's FBI file contains a memo from the Tampa office dated October 26, 1964 which states: - ‘It is felt that information developed regarding the subject is not sufficient to merit consideration for the Security Index. 62/ . The only information transmitted by the FBI to the Warren commission, on Lopez concerned a check at the - Passport office. 63/. The information the Bureau did send to, the Commission a bout the Tampa chapter | of the ‘FPCC did not include any ‘information on Lopez! 5 activities. 64/ _The CIA apparently did not provide | any information on Lopez to the Warren Commission. As pointed out in the Senate report, this omission is made more egregious
Cuban- American...page 11 by the fact that sources had reported within a few days of Lopez's departure for Havena and of the assassination that the circumstances surrounding his travel seemed " suspicious” and that in March, 1964, while the Warren Commission was well | underway into its work into the investigation of the a assassination, Lopez had reportedly been involved tin the Kennedy assassination. , rsh iver epone In the 1977 ropent-et_the- inspector Genetal of the - Et the Agency. attempted to refute several "inaccuracies" in the Senate report regarding the reporting on Lopez" s ‘travel. That is apparently the only follow-up by the Agency on the lead after the Senate report appeared. | | Ee fe at ~En—the_first place, Ehe corrected the statement in the Senate report that sources | reported that Lopez appeared | "suspicious" when he was TR surveilled in Mexico. 65/ The I€-xepoee explained that the eyly , - internal CTA document of, December 1963, which characterized the man as suspicious was merely ' ‘cryptic ana impressionistic rather | than constituting) a ‘tangible basis for ‘aramatic- activity Or final conclusions. * “66/ 7 oes Phage oi | the report. ‘stated Additionally + ‘that, the March’ © om ee . 1964 cable €ron the ee recounted the’ de and claimed Lopez was involved in the assassination was.
Cuban-American...page 12 . incorrect on several points: Lopez's name was misspelled "Lopes"; it stated that Lopez entered Mexico on foot when the CIA repeated the FBI's conclusion that he had traveled by auto; it gave incorrect digits in Lopez's passport number; it stated that the Mexican tourist visa was issued in Nuevo Laredo ‘and not Tampa; and it. reported that. he “stayed at the Cuban Embassy. 67/ Based on these inaccuracies, Tr oe the fespector,Gerreral concluded that “the source patently was extensively misinformed. ' ' 68/ Based on that ee vations. “THE K, . the inspectercereral completely discounted ene, net by the Deputy Chief of Station in Hexico Ct iarch 20; 20, we ” with what had earlier been reported by the CIA's source. 69/ Presumably the discrepancies» ‘pointed out by the TER Inepeetor—Genexal, are meant. to explain the fact that. the » CIA did not take more aggressive investigative steps. to ascertain. whether there might. have been some connection between Lopez and the | “Assassination. “Th ‘that ‘regard, the TE 21977: “enepectom-Generel report explains that: the agency mS had no other means of investigating Lopez, at his. disposal ‘and had carried the lead as far as it was able by) questioning a Cuban defector about Lopez. ‘While the fact of the CIA's lack of access to further information about a
Cuban-American...page 13 ‘Lopez may well be the case, that fact does not explain either the failure of the CIA. to take more seriously the suspicions of the sources, or most importantly, to report whatever information it had to fhe Warren Commission. In that regard, the attempts of the enopectes General to denigrate the. value ef the information provided on Lopez ‘do not. | aikinish the apparent noes of the Agency = seriously pursu€se the information. as it was received. The Agency is not to be faulted for the strength of its intelligence gathering, but rather for the judgment which kept that intelligence from the governmental body, the Warren. Commission, which was mandated to pass on the strength of exactly that kind of information. | From the information collected by the FBI, there appear to be woe eapheiered reasons both for Lopez’ Ss desire to return to Cuba and his solicitation of the help of a local FPCC chapter for that travel. His contacts in Florida * appear, on their face to be innocent od-ronpotitioes and not ae 7 in any way connected with the assassination.” ‘Despite the | suggestion } by the Senate report of suspicion in the ‘fact that Oswald "may" have been in. ‘touch with that. _ sane FRC? hm x4 £encl | Chapter, ,no evidence appeaxs to suggest that. |. Oswald was actually in touch with the Tampa FPCC, or that Lopez was “connected in any way with Oswald or Dallas.
Cuban~-American...page 14 Despite what is now known about Lopez, the Warren Commission may well have wanted to lay to rest suspicions which would remain about Lopez, and satisfy ; cee itself that these circumstances in no way indicate ‘foreign involvement in the assassination... The CIA has contributed. to. those suspicions by not airing. the matter and explaining circumstances which could shed light on otherwise sinister appearing events. a The Committee has documented instances where the CIA decided to forego passing information ‘to. the Warren Commission out of a desire to not lay bare extremely sensitive sources and methods of intelligence. The LIFIRE operation certainly falls within that category and as soon as the CIA began receiving information that LEFIRE was the source of the information about Lopez! ‘s travel, the cables and messages reflected the desire to not reveal that method. _ It also “seems plausible that ‘the FBI Likewise chose not to divulge what it had. learned about Lopez because in doing so, it would have chad to reveal the sensitive ‘CIA operation ole , which generated the initial information on Lopez' s travel to- cuba on November 27.