13-00000 Ve Diseorer Lee OSWALD in Moxice City CIA ata prodnce one very significant piece of information on Lee OSWALD before ha shot President Kennedy. On 1 October 1963, our Mexico City Station intercepted e@ telephone call Lee OSWALD made from someplace in Mexieo City to the Soviet Eubassy there, using his ow nase. speaking broken Buseian and using his true name, OSWALD was talking te the Eabasay guard, OBYEDROY, who often anewers the phone. OGWALD seid he bad vieited _the Embassy the previous Saturday (28 September 1963) and epeken to a consul whose nae be bad forgotten anaes crete ety reed tae tre new." ws ur nt sv ue hw (ety Pants KOSTIROY. The guard checked with someone else and said that the message had gone out but no enever had been recaived. Be then bung up. Tais piece of information was proéuced from a telephone tap center which we operate It coceeanetietmmmmnrinmmeetemnn eathattiage ina ae eae TET OT Te é
opine Belee,s where St. wae omedin is highly secret and whe have their ow center. Our joint center produces creat messes Of telephone intercepts which are transeribed and reviewed by cur email, staff in Mexico City. wy 9 October, the OSWALD telephone conversa tion af 1 October had been transcribed and e sumary of 1t cabled to Washington. ‘The usme Lee OSWALD meant nothing special to our Mexteo City Station, bat in their report they did judge bim te be an American male. fae cabled report was received in Washington on 9 October end checked the Seviet Eubassy in Nexico City was probably the Lee OSWALD who bed defected to the Soviet Union in 1959 end returned to the USA in 1962. On 10 Octeber 1963, the day after the report from Mexico City, CIA Headquarters seat out a cabled report about Lee OSWALD's phone call to the Seviet Eubasay} the report went to the FRI, the Departmant of State (because a OSWALD was 0 US citizen), end to the Navy Department (because he vas a former Marine.) ‘The cabled report to these agencies hizhlichted the Coes i
13-00000 likiikeod that the Les OSWALD mentioned was probably the former defector. A copy Of this sane cable was delivered by hand to the Iuntigration and lintunel leatias Service, with which we have no ceble Link. The same day “a tons cable went out to Haxico City infummins our Station of the bask- ground of defector Lee OSWALD and asking for mare information. Our Station was instructed to pases ites information on the phone call to the Mexieo City efffiees of the FRI, the Eubassy, the Raval Attache, and the Inaigra~ tion and Returalization Sexvice. Tate was done. In its original report of 9 October, Mexico City hed said it bad e 1 october 1953, the gay OSWALD phone there. A very sensitive operation — | in Mexies City provides ug with secretly taken photographs of many but not Accordingly, we cabled the avy Departnent on 24 October 1963 asking for ae photograph of Lee OSHALD fron hie Marine Corps days 80 we could compare phetes. We hed not received this photegraph by 22 Rovember 1963, but in any event, it turned cut that the men photecraphed outside the Soviet
13-00000 "he ag t i i j 1 Eubossy was not OSWALD anyway. As chance woulé have it, none of our several. photo obsemtion points in Hextoo City hed ever taken an identd- fiable picture of Lee OSWALD, Our Mexico City Stetion very often produces information Like this on US citizens contacting soviet bloc exhaseies in Mexico City. Frequently the information we get is extremely incrimiuating, and on ome or two eceasions we have even been able to apprehend end return to the USA American militery personnel who are ettempting te defect. In all such  Petqastton on 4 8 asks citizen to other government agencies. Derogatory information on Americans is not treated routinely; in each case the DBP or his Assistant personally serutinise the infermntion, make eure it is credible, and decide whether and toa whom it will be passed. Only in absolute emergencies is the Hexico City Station authorized to pass auch information directly to the FBI office in , the U.S, Bubassy. At this writing (13 December 1963) we do not knew what action the FBI
13-00000 . Lee OSWALD was actually in Mexico City on 1 October. Indee@, leter in vestigation bas confirmed ell the details ef his trip, where he stayed, unlerteck no local investigation of its ete hes we now iuov, OIALD L9tt Mexico on 5 October and was no Lenger there when cur report was put out. Sinee thie telephone tap operation AEE pega Sk pts hk 8 Scot cote gh coh cae ans A aE Day er ck tag ac eb place. | - 22 Hovenber 1963 When vord of the shosting of President Kenne@y reached the offices bex 1963, transistor radios ware turned on everywhere to follow the — 8 tragedy. When the name of Lee OSWALD was heard, the effect vas electric. A phone meseage from the FBI came at about the same time, naming OSWALD
13-00000 cco paee on wt snow by ths Chief CI, Mr. Angleton, ta Mr. Birch O'Real of his . Special, Investigations Uatt. Mrs. Betty Egeter of this Unit imedintely recognized the naute of Lee OSHALD and went for his file. At the sane time, Kes. Bustos of the Mextes Desk, whe bad written our first feport on after the same fle. tr. Reficthartt, Mexte Desk Chief, who was home on Leave, heard the news and phoned in a reminder thet we kad somsthing on OSHALD, While ve were preparing a cable to Mexieo City asking then for Yotce of Aurion brvofeast and cabled to ws a rentnder of the inforwation Fey tha next week, @ docen people in the Agency ware continususly engaged in handling incoming messages on the case, writing veperta te be cabled out, tracing the names mentioned, and researching files. Within a g week, 27 cabled reports bad gone aut to the White House, the State Depart- ment, and the FRI. Many cablea of guidance and inquiry had been sent to ean BS RESET oH;