-~ 10 - Oswald returned at approximately 1:00 p.m. with four photographs. (Ibid., p. 526.) Ms. Tirado typed the application in dupli- cate, stapled a picture on top of each and had Oswald sign each in her presence. (Ibid., p. 527-8.) As identification, Oswald showed her documents he had brought: his Russian Labor card, marriage certificate with the name of his Russian wife, his American Com- munist Party membership card and his "Fair Play for Cuba” membership card. (Ibid., p. 531) Ms. Tirado found Lee Harvey Oswald's be- havior suspicious because normally a Communist traveled only with his passport as belonging to the Communist Party was illegal in Mexico in 1963. (Ibid., p- 533.) There was a procedure whereby the American Communist Party would arrange visa matters for their members with the Cuban Communist Party. (Ibid., p. 532-533.) The American would then come to Mexico, visit the Cuban Consulate, and receive his visa immediately. (Ibid., p. 533.) When Tirado asked Oswald why he did not have the American Communist Party arrange his trip to Cuba, he stated’ that he had not had the time. (Ibid., p. 532.)
-~- ji - After explaining to Oswald that he had to ac- guire a Russian visa before he could receive a Cuban visa, Tirado jotted her name and business phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to Oswald who then left to get his Russian visa. (Ibia., p. 549, 534.) Oswald returned to the Cuban Consulate between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p-m.-, which was after normal working hours, (10:00 to 2:00 p.m.) (Ibid., p. 543.) The guard — called Tirado, stating that someone who did not speak ‘Spanish was at the gate inquiring about a visa. (Ibid., P- 543-4.) As routine procedure, she asked the guard to escort the individual to her office. (Ibid., p. 544.) Oswald told her that he had acquired a Russian visa. (Ibid., p. 544.) Since he did not produce it when asked she called th Russian Consulate. (Ibid., p. 545.) The Consui tola Duran that Oswald hed been to the Consulate requesting a visa and had been told that the reply would take approximately four months. (Ibid., p. 545.) When she relayed the message to Oswald, he got very excited, insisting that as a person who had been in jail because of the Cuban Revolution he should receive a visa. (Ibid., De 546.) Oswald stated that he could not wait that long because his Mexican visa expired in three days. (Ibid., ‘p. 546) At this point, Ms. Tirado informed Consul,
Eusibio Azcue, of the situation. (Ibid., p- 546). Azcue had been in his private office which he shared - with his upcoming replacement, Alfredo Mirabal. (Ibid., p- 546) Azcue politely explained the requisites for an intransit visa to Oswald. (Ibid., p. 546, 554) When he noticed that Oswald was a stubborn man he told Os- wald that he was obviously not a friend of the Cuban Revolution, because he would otherwise understand that Cuba had to be extremely careful with the people it al- lowed in the country- (Ibid., p. 554) Azcue and Oswald yelled at each other. (Ibid., p- 551) Then Azcue went to the door, opened it and asked Oswald to leave. (Ibid., -p. 554) Oswald did not revisit or telephone the Consu- late. (Ibid., p.- 554) Ms. Tirado described Lee Harvey Oswald as approximately five feet six, with blonde hair, weighing about 125 pounds, and with very little hair. (Ibid., p- 96) B. The Cubans When Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly visited the Cuban Consulate, Eusebio Azcue Lopez, a Cuban citizen, was the Cuban Consul. Because he had diplomatic immunity, the Cuban government had never been asked to make him available for questioning. (Azcue traveled from Mexico to
_ 13 _ Cuba on November 18.). In an effort to investigate con- tact with the Cuban government ‘the Committee asked the Cuban government to make Eusebio Azcue available for Committee and staff interviews. (Letter from HSCA to Cuban government, , JFK Doc. # _ The Cuban government complied with the Committee's request on April l. ‘During that interview Mr. Azcue alleged that the man he saw Jack Ruby shoot at the Dallas Police Station was not the same individual who visited the: Cuban Consu- late in 1963. (HSCA Interview of Eusebio Azcue, April 1 , pp. 12-21, JFK Doc. # ) In addition, Mr. Azcue stated that Alfredo Mirabal, who in September 1963, had recently arrived from Cuba to assume the Con- sul's duties, had also been present during Oswald's visit. (Ibid., p- ) The Committee traveled to Cuba a second time to interview Alfredo Mirabal. (See Cuba procedural write-up trip 2.) Subsequent to this second trip to Havana, the Committee asked the Cuban . government to make Eusebio Azcue and Alfredo Mirabal available for the public hearings on September 18, 1978. (Letter HSCA to Cuban government, , JFK Doc. # -) The Cuban government complied with the Committee's re- quest.»
- 14 - L. a Fusebio Azcue Lopez told the House Select Committee on Assassinations at the Public Hearings on 9/18/78 the following: An individual who gave the name Lee Harvey Oswald visited the Cuban Consulate on three occasions in late September and early October 1963. (Mr. Azcue could not pinpoint the exact dates of the visit.) (Public Hear- ing Testimony of Eusebio Azcue Lopez, 9/18/78, pp. 30-31.) The individual first visited the Cuban Consulate during workings hours, re- questing an intransit visa to Cuba with Russia as the final destination. The man showed the secretary, Silvia Duran, some documents. (Com- munist party membership card, Fair Play for- Cuba membership card, Soviet Union residence card, marriage certificate with the name of his Russian wife) which he believed would be sufficient to obtain a visa. (Public Hearing Testimony of Fusibio Azcue Lopez, 9/18/78, p. 5-30) When the secretary would not grant him a visa, the man asked me to see whether upon examination of the documents Azcuve could grant him a visa. (Ibid., p- 29-30) Azcue answered negatively. (Ibid., p- 30) The indi-
~ 16 - Cuba and called Cuba a bureaucracy. (Ibid. p. 38) At that point, Azcue became upset and asked the individual to leave the Consulate (Ibid. p.- ) Oswald did not revisit the Consulate. (Ibid. p. 38) Mr. Azcue described the man who visited the Con- sulate as follows: a white male, between 5;6" and S'7", over 30 years of age, very thin long face, with straight eyebrows and a cold look in his eyes. (Ibid. p. 50-51) Azcue alleged that he would never have identified Lee Harvey Oswald as the man who visited the Cuban Consulate in 1963. Ze Alfredo Mirabal piaz told the House Select Committee on Assassinations at the public hearings, 9/18/78, the following: Lee Harvey Oswald, seeking a visa, visited the Cuban Consulate_twice in September 1963. {Public Testimony, Alfredo Mirabal Diez, 9/18/ 78, p- 117) (Mr. Mirabal could not pinpoint - the exact dates of Oswald's visit but opined ‘that the second visit occurred on September 27, 1963.) Since Mirabal could not speak English though he was. the new Consul, ex-Consul Azcue handled the matter. (Ibid. p. 117) On both
occasions there were such loud arguments between Oswald and Azcue that Mirabal thought that the man's visit to the Con- sulate could be a case of provocation. (Ibid. p. 118) Though Mirabal caught only glimpses of the man, he opined that the person whose ‘picture appears on the Lee Harvey Oswald visa application was the same Lee Harvey Oswald who visited the Consulate. (Ibid. p. 120) 2. CIA Information not available at time of Warren Commission a. LIRING 3 Allegation In 1967 a report that Silvia Duran had had intimate relations with Lee Harvey Oswald came to the attention of the Central Intelligence Agency's Mexico City Station. (Write-up: Wallace B. Rowton meeting with LIRING/3, May 26, 1967.) The source, LIRING 3 (an extremely reliable source) stated that he had recently received a call from Silvia Duran (LIFEAT coverage for May 22, 1967, verified the phone call ) and that he had visited her to renew acquaintances. (Write-up: Wallace B. Rowton meeting with LIRING/3, May 26, 1967) During the visit, Duran told LIRING/3 that she had met
Lee Harvey Oswald at the Cuban Consulate when he applied - for a visa and had dated him on several occasions. (Ibid.) Duran admitted that had had intimate relations with Oswald but insisted that she had no idea of his plans. (Ibid.) In addition, Duran told LIRING/3 that when the news of the assassination became public knowledge, the Mexican government arrested her and during the interro- gation beat her until she admitted that she had had an affair with Lee Harvey Oswald. (Ibid.) In a subsequent memorandum, Headquarters wrote: "First that Silvia Duran had sexual inter- course with Lee Harvey Oswald on several occasions when the latter was in Mexico is probably new, but adds little to the Oswald case. Second, the Mexican police did not report the extent of the Duran- Oswald relationship to this Station." (Dispatch Chief of Western Hemisphere to Chief of Station, HMMA-32243, May 27, 1967, p. ) | ‘ That the Mexican government did not disclose all the information in their possession to the Central Inte telligence Agency raises one of two possibilities: 1) the Mexican:-government did not want to disclose that one of their citizens had had intimate relations
- 19 —- with the assassin of John FPF. Kennedy; or 2) Silvia Duran was a Mexican penetration agent in the Cuban Consulate and the Mexican government was protecting their informant. C. Elena Garro de Paz On October 5, 1964, eleven days after the publica-~ tion of the Warren Commission Report, a story alleging Lee Harvey Oswald's presence at a party in Mexico City . attended by Cuban government personnel came to the at- tention of the Central Intelligence Agency (wx742,+ p. 94, entry #430, CIA #721; Blind memo dated 10/5/64, CIA #576.) Elena's Story as Reported October 5, 1964 Saeee 2 Pky 2s REpoteea “vCctoner yo, 1904 — Elena Garro de Paz* and Deba Garro de Guerrero Galvan, first cousins of Horatio, Ruben and Lynn Duran, were invited to a twist party at the home of Ruben Duran in the middle of the week in the fall of 1963. Lee Har- vey Oswald was alleged to have been at this party in the company of "two other beatnik-looking boys." (Ibid.)
~ 19 A - b. The Possibility that Silvia Duran was an Intelli- gence Agent for Either the Central Intelligence Agency or the Cuban Intelligence Agency Since the publication of the Warren Commission in September 1964, its major critics have written about the possibility that Silvia Duran was an intelligence agent for either the Central Intelligence Agency or the Cuban Intelligence Agency. i) Was Silvia Duran a Central Intelligence? In an effort to resolve this question the House Select Committee reviewed the United States’ investga- tive agencies files on Silvia Duran. The Committee found no evidence during its file review that linked Silvia Duran to the Central Intelligence Agency. In addition, the House Select Committee on Assas~- sinations interviewed most of the Mexico city Station's employees about the allegation. Only David Phillips : (Chief of Covert Action in the Mexico City Station in \ 1963) considered the alledation possible. ‘Mr. Phillips stated that "at one time the agency pitched /pitched is a term used by the CIA to designate an attempt to re- cruit an individual/ almost everyone at the Cuban Em- bassy."  (HSCA interview of David Phillips, 8/3/78, p- 8) put that “it was possible that she (Silvia Duran) was