14-00000 of President Kennedy, his wife had recognized the name ond recalled she bod vated on OSWALD when he came to apply for a Cuban transit visa3 he enenberea she had pala she dealt with the Soviet Consulate as well to find out whether he bad a Soviet viss. Horacio DURAN recalled his wife had sat OSUILD decane angry wad che hed to call out the Cubaa Consul, Busedio AZCUR, to quiet hin. Silvia DUBSAN told the same story. She was a leftist syomathicer with Waba and hed vorkea for the Mextean-Cuban Institute of Cultural Relations. She recalled OSWALD well, deseribed bin accurately, related how he had wanted a Cuban visa but could not set one without the assurance of a Sovtat - vies, end remembered his tiff with the Consul. Ske admitted she had phoned the Soviet Enbassy about bin. : > “The soa total of the stutements of Silvia DURAN and her husband was. a to confirm that OSWALD was in Hezico to set a Cuben visa so he could watt in Cuba for his Soviet visa. ‘the Soviet Consular file passed to the State Department in Washington by the Soviet Enbasay confirms a long exchange vetween Tirst, Mes. Marina COWALD, and later ber husband, end the Soviet proces gee erty oy .. and
14-00000 Consulate in Washington about their remests Por permission to return to the Eoviet Union. OSWALD was still writing to the Soviets in Washington exbout this as lete as 9 November 1963. . Silvia DURAN was arrested again on 27 Hoveaber and held watil 29 Yelleplaced sources within the Cuban Enbasay in exten City stated that when eivta DURAN vas released from police arrest the first tine on 25 Novenber; she vas quite pleased with herself. She tora ber colleagues the same story set out above, aiding only that the Mexienn nolice had threatened to extradite her te the United States to confront Lee Harvey OSWALD, ‘The resetion within the Cuban Eubasay to the neve of Presdéent Kennday’s death was eosbre. To date, there is nol credible information in CIA flles which would appear to Link Lee OSWALD with the Cuban govermens cr the Cutan Intelligence service. The vhole question of whether Les CSWALD had any secret comection with the Sovlets or Cubans in Mexleo cannot yet be ansvered, but certain parts of the evidence inilecate to the contrary. Silvie DURAN and the &
14-00000 Soviet Consular officials spoke of him as a mam with “no friends in Cuba” on the ong hana, and as a man not “known” in the Soviet Eabassy, on the other. The very openness of his visits and the phone calls. speak ageinst any secret role. His trip to Hesice was not itself a secret aety he traveled under is real name or @ close variant of it, Lives openly fa Mexican hotels, and corresponded with the Soviets through the open mall§ about _ _ dt whea he got tack to the US. His trip to Mexico was apparently made necessary because i+ waa the vearest Cuban diplematic installation where he conld apply for a visa. A perplexing aspect of OSHALD's trafficicing with the Cubans and - Soviets in Mexico City is hia assertion in his call of 29 September that he aid not know his address when he vas at the Soviet Consulate end cane te the Cuban Consulate becanse they kad it. It is hard to explain just wat he meet, but it should be remewbered that he was talking in Russian, a - language he could not manase, and that when be came to Mexico he was in the process of moving from Hew Orleans to Texase He may not have macerized his new sdéress in Texas, whatever 1t was, and may not have been able to ap aey ‘ i es . # intd oe a2
14-00000 isy bands on it vken he was im the Soviet Consulate that aay Parzaya he had earliar given the addresa to Silvia DUSAH and wanted to lock it up on her card. A particularly sinister aspect of CEWALD's dealings with the Soviets in Mextes City arises from the likiihooa that he net with Sovlet Consul Valeriy Vladindravich KOSTIKOY, In his 1 October phone call to the Sovist Enbassy, the guard — suzsests that “whee Consul, coun bad talked to was KOBTIXOY if he was dark. OSNALD seems to agree wate this, but the identifleation is very casual. In his 9 November letter to the Soviet Consulate in Washington, OSWALD gives the name of the man he’ dealt | with as "KOSTIN,” but there is no person of that exact nase in the Soviet Embassy in Mexleo City. KOSPIKOY is accredited as e Consular Attache ena does ectually do a lot of consular work, but he is believed to be a Bovlet KGB officer, and it is believed that he works for Department 13 of the KGB, the Depaxtment charged with sabotage and assassinations. ‘The suspicion that KOSTIKOY 1s a KGB officer arose frou his vork habits, and his nasociation with other KGB officers. It was hardened when it was Ne moe cf
14-00000 founda that ke handlea a Soviet agent who vas trained to do sabotaxse work and that he turned this agent over to another KOS officer who is agefinitely known to work for the 13th Department. It is generally true in KGB work that sabotage agents are handled only by 1)"Department _ offleers. | Enbassy guard Ivan Ivanovich ORLEDZOY Is hinself believed to te a _ KGB man fron previous assignments as a bodyguard and sureillant. But unless sense G@irect evidence of Soviet complicity 19 discovered, it is most likely teat OSWALD's dealing with KGB men OBYSDKOY and KOSTIKOY was nothing more than a aris coincidence, a coincidence due in part to the Soviet habit of placing intellizence men in the Esbagsies in poslticns where they receive a large portion of the visitors ana phone calls. ALL of the Pive consnlar officers ln the Soviet Embassy ars known or susyected | , intellizence officers. Certainly if OSWALD baad been a Soviet ayent in — training for an assassination assigrment or even for sabotase vork, the Soviets would have stopped him from waking open visits and phone calls to the Eoviet Exbassy in Mexico after he tried it a couple of times. Our
14-00000 experience in Mexico, studying the Soviet Intelligence service at close range, indicates that they do make some mistakes and are sozetimes insecure | in their methods, but that they do not persist in such slering errors. ne at fone insight on the Cuban attitude toward the arrest of Silvia DURAN ~~ and the involvenent of the Cuban Consulate in the OSUALD case can be gained frou tvo intercepted phone calls made between Cuban President Osvalde DORTICOS and Caban Ambassador to Mexico Joaquin US RHADESS Armas on 26 iovenber 1963, the day after Silvia DURAN was relensed from ner first arrest. At o9:ho Aw that nernins, President DORTICOS phones the Anbassador fren Eovana and asked him several questions abouwt a report which the Anbassagor had sent in on the arrest of Silvia DURAN and tre Lee OSWALD ' Case. The whole conversation is consistent vith the theery that OsNALD merely wanted a visa. ‘The Apbessador did mention the altercation which OSWALD bad with Consul. AZCUB, end he says that Mexican police bruised Siivia DURAE*’s arms o Little shaking her to impress her with the importance — of their questions. They had asked her if she haa been intizete with OSWALD end she had denied it. President DORTICOS twice asked Ambassador ‘%
14-00000 HSRWALOSZ whether the Meorican police had asked Slivia DURAN questions about “money,” end the President apparently wanted to know whether the Mexicans thought the Cubans hed paia CSHWALD money. USRRAAHDEZ insisted the Mexicana kad not offered Silvia DURAN money, and DOSTICCS gave up trying to pub acrose bis point. President DORTICOS instructed to keep on questioning Stivie DURAS and to phone hiss beck. Ae 7:39 PM that evening Ambassador HSRNAIDSZ aia call Presigent DORTICOS back, saying he head questioned "that person” asain and she hss nothing ney to ada. Presidont DONTICGS returns to the issue of whether “they had threatened her so that ske vould mabe a statement that the Consulate hea given money to the manti"that Amertean.” But Aubassador EERRARDEZ persists in misunderstanding DORTICOS, answea in the negative, ard says: "Absolutely nothing vas given to her.” DORTICOS seems te give | up, and the conversstion dies out after a few more general remarks. We do not know for snore what mage President DORTICCS press for inforra- tion about Cuban uwoney passed to OSWALD, but rumors were current in Mexico — end even, we understand, in the USA, that OSWALD had returned rom Mexico gD ae re ae nee ee ee et rt tases
14-00000 aed OP poy pete ‘girs ws i * or Sante lad & G Prod City with about $5,000. Perhaps DORTICOS was trying to learn whether the Hexican police believed that the Cubans had Financed COVALD. In any event, the Cuban Goverment sent the Maxteans a stif? note of protest over the arrest and detention of Silvia DURAN, but ths Hoxtoans rejectaa the note. a | eranry | — ORUTE —_