104-10422-10275 , Lo . - weg a oo tintoree CCL BRO mot De | ~" “- - rrp bY SP LA/COG/021-77 MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Operations FROM , : Raymond A, Warren Chief, Latin America Division . o. , z. . SUBJECTS ot A. Jack Anderson 20 January 1977 Column . Titled "CIA Tied to False Oswald Story" B. Identification of the Mr. X in the Anderson Column 1. The attached column, citing the testimony of a Mr. X, alleges that a CIA agent tried to link Oswald to Cuban intelli- gence officers in Mexico. There is, of course, no substance to the column's allegations. The column identifies the source as Mr. X because of attempts on his life, but subsequently gives enough information on Mr. X to establish his identity. 2. According to the Anderson column, Mr. X was first met by his CIA contact in Havana before relations with U.S./Cuba were severed. Mr. X had helped to organize bank accountants to en- bezzle Cuban government funds to finance anti-Castro causes. Mr. K was reportedly recruited by a Morris Bishop (CIA contact), to ‘plan an attempt on Castro's life. The plan was to fire a bazooka From a nearby apartment building while Castro was deliver- ing one of his marathon speeches. According to the Anderson column, the plot was discovered by Castro's police and Mr. X escaped to Miami. Mr. X also reportedly tried to assassinate Castro in Chile in 1971 in league with the Venezuelan Luis Posada Carriles, who is now being detained in Caracas for the 6 October Cubana airline bombing. The Anderson column ends with the report that Mr. X worked for CIA until 1975 for expenses, but was paid $253,000 in cash by Morris Bishop when he was terminated. { Xe rr ror’ an VARNING NOTICE vi eae “SENSITIVE (NTELLIGENCE SOURCES AND METHODS “INVOLVED 4s SECRET £2 IMPDET oF . CL BY 025251
13-00000 - oe t . i “a ae y 3. From the above description of Mr. X, it is reasonably i clear that Mr. X is Antonio Carlos VECIANA Blanch (201-312966). VECLANA, an assistant bank manager and past president of a public accountants association in Havana, first contacted CIA in Havana in December 1960 when he asked the COS, at that time , to help in an assassination plot against Castro. VUCtTANAas5Kea ‘for visas for ten relatives of the four men assigned to kill Castro, and also requested four MI rifles with adapters for grenades plus eight grenades. The COS did not encourage VECIANA and subsequently checked. with an Embassy officer who reported that VECIANA had made similar "wild-eyed" proposals to him. On 23 November 1961 the Miami News published a report of an unsuccessful attempt by Antonio VECIANA to kill Castro. VECIANA reportedly had arranged to assassinate Castro and.Cuban President Osvaldo Dorticos on 5 October in. Havana, but the bazooka he was using failed to fire. 4, There has been no Agency relationship with VECIANA. A POA, which was granted for his use in para-military affairs in January 1962 expired in November 1962. VECIANA was born on 4 October 1935 in Havana. He was a member of the People's Revo- lutionary Movement, an anti-Castro group. in Cuba during 1960-61, and was one of the founders of Alpha-66. A certified public accountant by trade, VECIANA was with A.I.D. in La Paz in 1968-72. VECIANA was registered in ISR to the U.S. Army in November 1962 and he was terminated without prejudice in July 1966. On 23 July 1962 VECIANA was interviewed, at his request, by Mr. Harry Real from the DCD New York office. VECIANA asked Real to arrange a meeting with a senior CIA officer to discuss Alpha-66's plans to assassinate Castro and to request CIA's assistance (U.S.$100,000; 10,000 Cuban pesos; 48 hand grenades). There is no indication that this request was ever acted upon by CIA. “S. In April 1966 a LA Division officer, | bs using the alias John Livingston, met VECIANA in New York City. The meeting was arranged by a retired naval officer, James Cogswell, who had informed Chief, WI Division that he had information of valuc Concerning Cuba. When Karrived in New York City for the meeting, he was introduced by Cogswell to-VECIANA. He imuediately launched a discussion of the Cuban political Situation and noted his strong feeling that the only solution was the assassination of. Castro. advised VECIANA that he was in no position to provide him with assistance or encourage him in an assassination attempt and was only interested in gathering information which he thought was the purpose of the meeting. VECIANA subsequentiy said that his roomnate Felix ZABALA, a_Cuban refugee, had excellent contacts in Havana; It was clear to - however, VECIANA was attempting to use. ZABALA poten- tially to #@t Agency financial support for his svpanization. . “o¢
13-00000 VECTANA ssuggested that $50,Q00 would be necded ta get his i activities off the ground. | “indicated to VECIANA that he would Look into the ZABALA matter and would probably arrange for ZABALA to be contacted in Puerto Rico. 6. There:is no indication in the file that any Agency officer “in contact with VECIANA ever used an alias Morris Bishop. There is no Morris Bishop listed in true name in the DDO rolls. There was never any contractual relationship with VECIANA and he was not .paid CIA funds.: , 7. On lil January 1977 a sanitized copy of VECIANA's 201 file was made available to staffers from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. | Raymond A. Warren Attachment DDO/C/LA/COG/OPS:WJDevine:js (9229) (21 January 1977) - Distribution: Orig §& 1 - Addressee ; 1 - ADDO. 1 - LA/COG/Chrono 2 - C/LAD 4) - 201-312966 1 - hold - ob EAS OPS f - ASST. TODOE SECRET &
13-00000 a Jack Anderson ane ad Les Whitten | Iiyste: ey. iA mystery witness io sworn ‘to con. - “gressional i investizuiors that 2 Central telligence. Agency agent introduced '* him to Lee Harvey Oswald a Dallas “The witness, whom we have agreed : .three months before Cswald gunned ‘down President John F. Xeansdy.-. .- “to identify oniy ag Mr. X because of at- _tempts of his life, is the founder of a- "Cuban terrorist group Tat. ‘worked > on tha Casiro government; and the call : clesaly with the CLA. . |. told by an informant that Oswaid had ” : been associating with some Cubans at.: = "318 Harlendale.” at - aos daughter of a wealtay opponent of Cu- ' vhban Premier Nidal Castro, told to the. - - FBL Two months before the Xeanedy - killing, she related, she was visited in -: | : hee Dallas apartment by three men- - who identified themselves | a3 friends The group held secret meetings at : 3126 Houandale in Dallas betore the as- .~ “gassination. Not long after Kennedy ~ ‘wag shot, a Dallas deputy sherlff was Mix. <’s dramatic testimony: ‘casts of her fatzer. One was i introduced to her ag “Leon - ‘ Oswald.” When she saw the picture ia _ tha newspapers of the man who had ~ shot Kennedy, she fainted from snuck. “It was the same Oswald, she was cer- - ‘tain, who nad visited her apartment . Congressional investigators have '.. now learned that the late J. Edgar ‘.Hoover deliberately misled the War- - _ , Ten Commission about Odio’s mysteri- : ous visitors. She was such a persuasive “witness that the commission staff was . - - preparing to investigate her story thoroughly. . . cording to one internal memo, that the ra Witte “ ¥ ° .,, Odio's callers. Ha os Loran Hall, Lawrence Howard and. _, William Seymour, all anti-Castroites. new light on the story Sylvia Cdio, “< Hoover even suggested that Odie could - have confused ihe names “Loran Halt” .. and “Leon Cswald.”. te - Now the congres sional investigators have uncovered evidence that all three . ' denied visiting the Odio apartment - - and thai the }'BI had obtained their... deniais before Hoover wrota his letter ‘THE WASHINGTON POST real 2 SAG WH anti-Castro. forces ° “Wight activist to will Kennedy. . “The motive on this,” statas the me mo, “would of course be the exnecta- ', Hoa - - killed, Oswald would be caught or at : least his idantity ascertained; the law . . enforcement authoritias and the pub--. “Hic would then blame the assassination - that aftar the fresidsnt was : for a forceful overthroty would bei irre- oo so) teers: = But Hoover: ‘abruptly bl ocked ‘this - line of incuizy by notifying the War- . sistible.” rea Commission on Sept. 21, 1964, that the. FBI had Iecated and identified named them as to the Warren Commission. The investigators have alsu obtained , _ the tape of a fascinating conversation, - predicting two weeks in advunce that Renaedy would be shot “froin an off- - _dce building With a high-powered ri- fle.” The prediction was made by the late Joseph dlilteer, a right-wing rab- ble rouser, who also happened to have close - connections with. antiCastro leaders. the tape over to the rBl the next day. have re _eruited Oswaid, a known; pro-Castro The conversation was ‘taped on Nov. ° . 9, 1983, in Miami by an FBI informant cnamed. Willie Somersett, who turned Staff members even speculated, “at . Milteer is heard on the tape describing . Wedneviay. January 29, 1977 '. the mystery witness clesely on three - cluded that “his credibility is strength-~ . Oswald sighting.” : nedy’s Biller. “Mr. X on how he could be sure that . man was Oswald. hir..X replied, ace “*c cozding to the memo, that he had“ ‘ing whether he had known about it ia : - advance or had merely been guessing. © wald, his exact double. “how Kennedy would die. ae the rab. ; bis rouser added Knowingly that Xen: *- - nedy “knows heisamarked man.” - 77 Milteer later admitted to the FBI7- that he had been in-Dallas in June,-°2-- 1963, but denied having any knowl. #-:: edge of the Kennedy assasssination. 4°" Ho-vever, the ingormant told the FBI. 4-°:. that he asked Milteer after the saoote-: 9.°: “T don’ t do any guessing,” replied Mike. . But the ‘most axplesive ‘devel lsoment - is Mr. X's statement that he met Os-.. “wald in the company of-a CIA agent... q--: Congressional investigaters questioned: } separate occasions. They finally con. 4-.- ened by the dataiis‘he provices consist. £ oo ent with what he told us before. Signif-- qo icantly, he remains very strong on the "97 The encounter occurred in a dom town Dallas building, where Mr. X had. an anpointment with his CLA Codtact The agent was accompanied by a man- whom bir. X later recognized.as Ken" “Wheo he saw it was Oswald that’ - Killed Xennedy,” the investigators re-- #--! ported in a confidential memo, “he. § : nearly freaked out, but he never said - “3 anything.” a: i The investigators tried to pin down aie: learnea “how to retain the character-:: ies of a person; he had trained himself 7:1). to do that. And if it wasn't Cawald, ite. 3 \+-. was someone who was exactly like’ Oe : 2