PHOTO OF UNIDENTIFIED INDIVIDUAL IN THE WARREN COMMISSION REPORT
Agency: SSCIA
Originator: ROCK
Document date: 5/2/75
Document type: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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Date: 09/07/94

Page: 1

JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : SSCIA

RECORD NUMBER : 157-10004-10289

Released under the John

RECORDS SERIES :

MEMORANDUM r

AGENCY FILE NUMBER :

Assassination Records

Collection Act of 1992

144 USC 2107 Notel.

Case#:NW 53244 Date:

06-13-2017

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

ORIGINATOR : ROCK

FROM :

TO :

TITLE :

PHOTO OF UNIDENTIFIED INDIVIDUAL IN THE WARREN COMMISSION REPORT

DATE : 05/02/75

PAGES : 40

SUBJECTS :

UNIDENTIFIED PHOTO IN WARREN COMMISSION REPORT

CHRONOLOGY OF OSWALD IN MEXICO CITY

MEXICO CITY

OSWALD, LEE HARVEY

ROCKEFELLER COMMISSION MEMORANDUM

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION : U

RESTRICTIONS : 1A, 1B, DONOR REST., REFERRED

CURRENT STATUS : X

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 09/07/94

OPENING CRITERIA :

COMMENTS :

CIA HAS NO OBJECTION TO

DECLASENFICATION AND/OR

RELEASE ON THIS DOCUMENT,

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED

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sensitive intelligence operation being conducted in October 1963 by the

CIA ang Nexi can security

authorities

against the Soviet and Cuban

Embassies in Mexico City.

3. Under the extraordinary press of effort to develop information

on the assassin and the assassination, copies of the photograph were

made available by CIA's Mexico Station Chief on the afternoon of

22 November to the local FBI representative, and later that day,

assertedly on the decision of the Ambassador, copies were conveyed by

an FBI representative by a special flight carried out by the U.S. Naval

Attache to the Dallas office of the FBI for possible use in the ongoing

investigation. One photograph, cropped by the FBI, was shown to

Mrs. Marguerite OSWALD (Lee Harvey OSWALD's mother) in Dallas on the

evening of 23 November 1963 by FBI Agent Bardwell D. ODUM.

4. The Warren Commission's report describes the sequence of events

at pp. 364-365 and 667 (Attachment B) which ultimately resulted in

Mrs. Marguerite OSWALD's allegation that she had been shown a cropped

photo of Jack RUBY the day before he murdered her son. (A further

complication compounding this erroneous conclusion was the fact that

when she had been shown a copy of the same photograph in her appearance

before the Commission, it had been cropped by the FBI in Washington in

a slightly different manner.)

5. No detail in the Warren Commission report illustrates more

vividly than this one the difficulties that beset simple truth in the

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CIA HAS NO OBJECTION TO

DECLASSIFICATION AND/OR

RELEASEOF THIS DOCUMENT

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1963 to about 8:30 a.m. 2 October 1963. His place of residence was a

small commercial traveler hotel, not frequented by "gringos"--the

Hotel Commercio--where he was registered under alias.

Exhaustive and

detailed interviews and interrogation by the Mexican authorities and

the FBI, after the assassination, established that in the recollection of

all hotel personnel. he left early, and returned late each day of his stay.

8. Assuming, and allowing for the fact of late arrival and early

' departure, that he slept one-third of the time of his stay (38 or 39

hours), there remain some 78 hours of activity to be accounted for.

Overall, CIA's information can account solely for very brief periods

during 27, 28 September and 1 October.

_All coverage by CIA during the

entire period was technical! The Station had no live source (living

agent) coverage et ther un laterall on trom Mexican Miaison

9. It should be noted that OSWALD was in no sense "under investi-

gation." None of the facts of his defection and stay in the USSR and

return to the U.S., 1959 - 1962, were known to Mexico Station files

before 10 October 1963, when the bare bones of his biography were

forwarded by Headquarters in response to a Station cabled report of

8 October which had forwarded, on a routine basis, what appeared to be

a contact by an American for a visa to Cuba in transit to the USSR. This

was indicated and deduced from technically acquired information on

1 October, which was the first and only occasion in which OSWALD

identified himself (partially) by true name.

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10. At no time during his stay in Mexico City did the CIA acquire

a photo of OSHALO. A careful review of all coverage, jorge interesti

as well as photographic of both the Soviet and Cuba's Embassies was

conducted by the Station on 22 and 23 November 1963 after the assassina-

tion, going back to materials from August 1963. It is, therefore, firm

that there was no CIA photo coverage of OSWALD at any time during his

Mexico trip or stay in Mexico City. Moreover, although it had made a

• cabled request on 15 Ortober, the Mexico Station had no photo of OSWALD

in its records, nor did it receive one from Headquarters--which did not

have one either--before 22 November 1963.

• 11. Escies this intensive review of voice intercept transcripts

by the monitor and other personnel on the basis of the 1 October

inter

cepts which had been reported to Headquarters and disseminated to the

interested members of the intelligence community (as an ex-Marine OSWALD

was a Navy and FBI case under the Delimitations Agreement, and potentially

of interest to the Department of State)--turned up matches based on

content with materials intercepted on 27 and 28 September 1963. These

matches were reported to Headquarters on 23 November 1963. Analysis

based on voice comparison (except for what could be recalled by the "

monitors and this was not an insignificant element because of

the

memorably poor Russian spoke by OSWALD) could not be made because the

tapes, in accordance with the normal practice, had been erased and re-used.

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12 It must be stressed that thei

and photographic

coverage was not (and normally is not) processed in "real time." The

means of acquisition and the volume of the information precludes anything

but the spot reporting of items judged

the monitorkto be of more than

ordinary interest and, therefore, noted in summary logs. Full texts of

selected items require consultation of the tape and either a full tran-

scription or full translation or both. Photo coverage tends to become

available in quantity Pots which requires scanning and selection on a

rapid and accelerated basis in. four or five day "peaks." One of the

"triggers'". that normally operates to focus and accelerate more speedy

review and reporting of this kind of raw intelligence is the mention of

a name.. This was precisely what occurred in the second of two conversa-

tions on 1 October with

the Soviet Embassy, during which the speaker said

he was "Lee OSWALD." It was this information reported by the Station to

Headquarters in its first indication on OSWALD on 8 October 1963.

13. The Mexico Station did one more thing in its 8 October report

on Lee OSWALD based on its 1 October voice

intercepts

it coupled the

data with descriptive information.it had acquired from a sensitive

collateral source--a photograph of a male individual, apparently an *

American, who was observed entering the Soviet Embagsy on 1 October.

The Station reported this detail on the 8th as a matter of coincident

fact. The Station did not assert or suggest that the data deduced from

the photo was in fact OSWALD, or indeed, was in any way related to OSWALD.

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Lee Harvey OSWALD - CIA Coverage of His Mexico City Stay

14. One additional element of background must be stipulated now as

the final precondition to understanding the relevance (or irrelevance)

of the photo of the unknown individual placed in the chain of, evidence

on 23 November in Dallas by FBI Agent Bardwell ODUM: what was the

totality of CIA Mexico's coverage of OSWALD's activity as of the after-

noon of the 23rd when all available coverage had been checked?

15. The totality of Mexico Station coverage on, or reasonably

inferable to be OSWALD, consisted

Five

(5) voice intercep

as follows:

a. 27 September 1963 (Friday), 1605 hours Mexico City time.

Silvia DURAN, a Mexican national, a local employee of the Cuban.

Embassy, Consular section, a receptionist, speaks with an unknown

male at the Soviet Embassy. Silvia DURAN tells the man that the

American citizen was there, the one who wants a visa for Cuba on

his way to the Soviet Union, and he wants to know with whom he was

talking there because she (Silvia DURAN) had sent him to the Soviet

Embassy saying that if they accepted him and gave him a visa, then

the Cubans (Embassy) would also give him a visa without further"*

paper work, only advising Immigration in Cubar The American, she

says, wants to know with whom he had talked there because he says

he was told there would be no problem. The man in the Soviet

Embassy says to wait a moment. A different Soviet speaks, and

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and I wanted to ask you if there is anything new? The Soviet says

I would like to ask you to call another phone number? Please write

it down: 15-60-55, and ask for a consul. Thank you.

e. I October 1963 (Tuesday), 1045 hours Mexico City time.

The same person who phoned a day or so ago and spoke in broken

Russian speaks to OBYEDKOV (a Soviet Embassy guard). He says:

This is Lee OSWALD speaking. I was at your place last Saturday and

spoke to a consul, and they said that they would send a telegram to

Washington, so I wanted to find out if you have anything new? But

I don't remember the name of that consul. OBYEDKOV says: KOSTIKOV.

He is dark (hair or skin - ?). OSWALD says yes. My name is OSWALD.

OBYEDKOV says, just a minute, I'll find out. They say that they

have not received anything yet. OSWALD says: Have they done

anything? OBYEDKOV says: Yes, they say that a request has been

sent out, but nothing has been received as yet. OSWALD says, and

what ... ? OBYEDKOV hangs up.

16.

Each of these items, including the texts of

were read by, discussed with, and examined by Warren Commission staffers

in Headquarters and at the Mexico Station during a stay from 8 - 13 April

1964.3 All were made available promptly to the FBI?

3

The Warren Commission group that visited the Mexico Station consisted

of Mr. Coleman, Mr. Slawson, and Mr. Willens. They examined not only the

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17. Summing up, we can state, or by free interpretation reasonably

infer from the untercept evidence, that OSWALD made or could have made

the following contacts with the Cuban and Soviet official establishments

in Mexico City.

a. 27 September 1968 (Friday). After arrival and check-in to

his hotel, OSWALD went first to the Cuban Embassy where he talked

with Mrs. Silvia DURAN. The time of his first Cuban Embassy visit

is unknown. The time of his second Cuban Embassy visit was about

1600 hours (i.e., just before closing). Sometime between the two

Cuban Embassy visits, at Mrs. DURAN's indication, he must have

visited the Soviet Embassy. We have no indication who he talked

with at the Soviet Embassy.

Lintercepts a

- e above, but others for the 27th and one for 3 October

that seemed to have relevance.

These have not been included in this

summary because they appear, on review, to be excludable from the OSWALD

matter on logical or substantive grounds, or both, bearing in mind that

the Soviet Embassy received many calls pertaining to visa matters.

On the 27th at 1037 hours the Soviet Embassy received a call from

an unknown individual speaking Spanish who said he wanted visas to go to

Odessa.

He was told the Consul was not in and to call, back at 1130.

Oh at circa 1000 hours or the at it cas, there oree possible tos

#516 at circa 1000 hours on the 27th.

him to have made this call. But granting this, it is unreasonable to

believe the calls were OSWALD's for the following reasons:

a. The caller wanted visas, and specifically for Odessa.

OSWALD was seeking a visa and never in any context did he specify

the Black Sea port of Odessa as a destination.

..y

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There was no photographic coverage of OSWALD's entries

into either the Cuban or Soviet Embassies on the 27th. The lack of

coverage on the Cuban installation is explainable: the camera,

based on the recollection of officers still in service in Head-

quarters, was down on the 27th because of mechanical malfunction,

which was in course of correction. Why OSWALD was missed in his

probable entry to the Soviet installation on the 27th is not yet

explained, but no technical operation of that kind is infallible.

b. 28 September 1963 (Saturday). [Note: Both the Cuban and

Soviet Embassies were closed to the public on Saturdays. Photo-

graphic coverage was normally suspended Saturdays and Sundays.]

b. The call was directed to the correct Soviet consular !

number: 15-60-55.

On 1 October, OSWALD first called the wrong

number, 15-69-87 (the MA's number), and had to redirect mis call to

the correct number, 15-60-55. It seems unlikely he would have made

what would have been his initial call, on Friday the 27th, to the

correct number, and called the incorrect number on 1 October.

There is every reason to believe from the context of the

interceptS y para 15, a-e above, that OSWALD's first destination-

after arrival and check-in to his hotel, was a visit to the Cuban

Embassy.

d. The use of the Spanish language would exclude OSWALD unless

he made use of an intermediary, which seems unlikely from what is

known of his modus operandi.

On 3 October at 1539 hours an individual speaking broken Spanish,

then English, called the Soviet Embassy and asked for a visa.

The Soviet

respondent says:

Call on the other phone. The requestor says: I'm

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OSWALD, notwithstanding the holiday schedule, went on Saturday

morning to the Soviet Embassy (his second visit) where he spoke to

a Consul. He apparently could not recall his new Texas address.

At circa 1151 hours he went to the Cuban Embassy--his third entry--

where he had registered it in his visa application the day

previously. He secured, the address from Mrs. DURAN and she called

the Soviet Consulate presumably to permit him to give them the

address over the phone. Instead, the Soviet with whom OSWALD spoke

over Mrs. DURAN's telephone invited OSWALD to come back in person,

and he said he would immediately. Presumably, thereupon OSWALD went

back to the Soviet installation (his third entry).

looking for a visa to go to Russia. The Soviet says: Please call on the

telephone of the Consul, 15-60-55.

The requestor says: One moment

please, I'll have to get a pencil to write the number down.

They issue

the visa there?

The Soviet: That depends on your conversation.

I don't

know about this business.

The requestor asks for the number again. The

Soviet gives him the number and tells him to ask for the Consul of the

Soviet Embassy in Mexico.

The relevance of this an

Ato OSWALD is excludable on three

grounds:

a. The use of broken Spanish. OSWALD throughout used broken

Russian or English.

He had no competance in Spanish to handle a

conversation of this kind.

The substance of the request indicates a visa request in

the first stages of initiation. OSWALD had developed his matter

with the Cubans and the Soviets the previous Saturday to a point

well beyond the stage indicated by the substance of this call.

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station, among all the persons photographed that day, appeared to be the

only person--a non-Latin, and possibly an American--who entered the Soviet

installation. On the chance there could be an association between the

identification data derived from

the voice intercept and the descriptive

data derived from the photograph, the Station reported the two elements

as separate facts in its cable to Headquarters on 8 October.

19. The Station's action was not unusual and really amounted to an

analytic "quantum leap," justified by the primitive and initiatory status

of the OSWALD identification. "Many examples of a similar kind of thing

can be found in the day-to-day record of Station-Headquarters correspon-

dence and reporting.

Developments from 8 October - 22 November 1963

20. Mexico Station reported to Headquarters on 8 October (received in.

Headquarters 9 October) the following initial information on OSWALD. 4

(1) On 1 October 1963, an American male who spoke

broken Russian and said

a his name Lee OSWALD (phonetic),

stated he was at SovEmb on 28 September when he spoke

4

Cablese has been rendered here, and throughout, into readable English,

without substantive changes or omissions.

Cryptonyms and pseudonyms

have been omitted or put into clear text.

-.7

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