404-10181-10183) ' 4 21 JAN 1977 . , LA/COG/021-77° MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Operations FROM - : Raymond A: Warren ‘ Chief, -Latin America Division és SUBJECTS : 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. xX, 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 em- bezzle Cuban government funds to finance anti-Castro causes. Mr. X 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 1973 for expenses, but was paid clA $253,000 in cash by Morris Bishop when he was terminated. AETURN TO : WARNING NOTICE ENSETIVE INTELLIGENCE SOURCES AND METHODS INVOLVED , “SECRET . E2 IMPDET “* CL BY 025231 4NX- 422F ws -~FAIMGE G ree ee nga ST ees as '  aF * eee Cie 8,
ole eee rae SECRET a 3. From the above deseription of Mr. XN, it is reasonably éelear that Mr. Vois Antenio Carlos VECEANA Blanch (201-312900), VECTANA, an assistant bank manager and past president of a public. accountants association in Havana, first contacted CL ays in December 100 when he asked the UOS, at that time 03 to help in an assassination plot against Castro. VECPANA asked for visas for ten relatives of the four men assigned to kill Castro, and also requested four ME rifles with adapters for gienades plus Cight grenades. The COS did not encourage VECEANA 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’ VECTANA to kill Castro. VECIANA reportedly had arranged to . : assassinate Castro and Cuban President Osvaldo Dorticos on $ October ~~ | oa 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 1908-72. VECIANA was repistered in ISR to the U.S. Army in November 1962 and he wis 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 mécting : with a senior CIA officer to discuss. Alpha-06's plans to assassinate Castro and to request CIA's assistance (U.S.$100,000; 10,900 Cuban $ pesos; 48 hand grenades}. . There is no indication that this request was ever acted upon by CIA, . 3 "5. .97in April 1906 a LA Division officer {——) using the alias\John Livingston} met VECIANA in New York City. he meeting wiS arranged by a retired naval officer, James Cogswell, who had informed Chicf, BIL Division that he had information of value concerning Cuba. When { Wrrived ia New York City for the meeting, he was introduced by Cofsw®ll to VECIANA, He immediately launched a discussion of the Cuban political situation and noted his strong fecling that the enly solution was the assassination of Castro. advised VECTANA that he was in no positicn to provide him with SsPStance or encourage him in an assassination attempt and was only interested in gathering information which he thought was the purpose of the meeting. VECIANA subsequently said that his roommate Felix ZABALA, a Cuban refugee, had excellent contacts in Havana. It was ; clear to lowever, YECIANA was attempting to use ZABALA poten- tially to get™Agency financial support for his organization. ' SECRET 2 ¢ - . . ed ne Oe rs e
a VECEANA suggested that $0, activities of f the ground, would took inte the ZAbALA ZABALA to be ‘contacted j 6. There is no indica in contact with VLCIANA eve no Morris Bishop listed in never any contractual relat paid CIA funds. ?. On 11 January 1977 was made available to staff Intelligence. Attachment DHO/C/LA/COG/OPS: WJDevine:js Distribution: Orig & 1 - Addressee . 1 - ADDO 1 - LA/COG/Chrono - C/LAD éb - 201-312966 1 - hold -A——bAf OPS 4 - ASST. TODCE G00 would be needed te get his igdicated to VECIANA that he ee would probably arrange for in Puerto Rico, tion in\the file that anv Agency officer roused an alias Morris Bishop. There is true name in the DDO rolls. There was ionship with VECIANA and he was not anitized copy of VECIANA’s 201 file from thé Senate Select Committee ‘on as ers a sicned Rayzond A. Warren Raymond A. Warren (9229) (21 January 1977) SECRET 3
ote a, : N v aa ce 5 i , &4,) \ ) na : : ‘ THE € as823c Tok Past TEPER ie fn th in’A anol guy! Me ” hima men he ¢ the secir Jack Andersoa and Les Whitten CIA Tied to False Oswald Story The Central intelligence Agency asked one of its Cubana operatives te help fabricate 2 story.dbout Lee Harvey Oswald during ‘the investyta- ton of the Joba F. Kennedy assassina- tion, the Cuban has told congressional investigators. fa an eartier column, we reported that the same witness claimed he had met the accused assassin in Dallas in the company of a CLA agent three months before Keanedy was killed. We idenufied the witness only as Mr. K because of attempts on his life. But we have studied his detailed, conf- idential statements to congressional in- vestigators. They interviewed him three times, crossexamining him closely. He gave them such specific in- formation that they concluded he was a“credibie™ withess. Bie told of meeting his CiA contact fn the lobby of 2 Dallas office huiding in August. 1963 “Thes time he brougat another guy.” recounted Mr. X. “The guy never talked” Mr. X explained that he had tramned himself, as an underground leader, to memorize the characteristics of people he met. He immediately recognized the CLA agents companion after seeing Oswald os television following the Kennedy assassination. Not long afterward. the CIA contact made a strange request of Mr. X. the § There had been a report that Oswald Ne rade Ther had met a Cubaa couple in Mexico. “You have a cousin working for Cuban intelligence in Mexico.” the CLA azent had said. “Why doa’t vou just ask him, say. “Vou ing we'll bribe hum Wf he said i was intell really bim that Osvald met.” sand. ane 8 realls ntm (nal (waa miet - ft isnt clear from the confidential oe ft isnt clear from the coafidential UL YL TUE ER peETD ee tee em uonship 442s ternunated i. transcripts whe the CLA would want to fabricate thes ewsdeace. Perhaps the CIA could have sought to he Ken- nedy's killer to the Castro government. Ia any event, the CLA agent called off the scheme. ant Mr. X “never did taik to his cousin.” accerdiag to 3 sum: ‘macy of thé wterewe. It should be stressed that the imtecview in 90 Way implicates the CLA = the Kennedy kill- ing. The mystery wires fst met his CLA contact m Hsvana before the United States brake off relations with Cuba. Nr. X had beiped to orgaalze a group of bank acecextants, whe em- bezzled funds from te Castro regime to finance anti Castre causes. The agent, who cast the name Mor- ris Bishop, recruned Mr. X to plan an attempt on Castro's kfe. Fhe plotters planned to fire a baccoka from a nearby apartment wice Castro was de- livering one of his marathon speeches. The plot was dixvcered by Castro's police, and Mr. X escaped te Miaini. He continued for a dora more years to work with Bishop 1 the antiCastro underground. During Castro's IZ visit to Chile, Mr. X tried again to treck bim off. The plotters included a Venezuelan se curity agent, named Luis Posada Car- tiles, who was suppsel to provide forged documents lasiaz the blame on the Soviets. This ploc. ww. fell through. Only a few weeks an. We same Po- sada was indicted ia Venezuela on murder charges in warechion with the crash of a Cuban wtiner. > Mr. X sand he worked (oc the CLA un. tut 1979 for expenses Whea the rela- tionsbip was terminated wn 1973, he in ISTa, he Ke ert Phursdas, Jeazere 6707S e said, Morris Exshep paid him a lump $7753.000 in cash fer past services. Catigixt Trade—Women uke take up the world’s oldest profession. like most other career seekers who want lo get ahead ia hfe. «are looting for “higher income and an independent, exciting hfestvte~ These are the “inajer motivating fac- tors” that tsad women inte prestitu- tion. So concludes a scholarly study of _aligiris and streetwalkers, which -has just been completed at the taxpayers’ expense. Two distinguished researchers from the University of Washington. Dr. Jen- olfer James and Jane Meverding. were assigned to find out ahy women be- come prostitutes. Their findings will be published shortly ia a Space docu- ment, which has bea bodtierged tv us before it goes to press. Not only do women becume prostr- tutes for the sume underlying moti es that “some people become lawyers.” according to the tearned ladies from Seatile, but the profession requires lit- le schooling. For the pay, there are “virtually no other occupatioas ava:lable™ ta women of modest skills, She researchers rote. They conclude that presuruticn will flourish as long as there is “4 cun- sumer demand.” As they put ®. “Eco nomics is the pervasne theme of prus- ttution.” : The study also dispels cld wives tale about “fallen women.” who seil sex be cause they hate men of have abnormal sex drives ur are forced inte the bust ness by “the coercios of brutal pumps.” e ness (the cucrem at brat epee