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Doc ID: 6878908

UMBRA

DATE: 03/26/9/

PAGE: 1

JFK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : NSA

RECORD NUMBER : 144-10001-10093

RECORDS SERIES :

AGENCY FILE NUMBER :

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

ORIGINATOR : NSA

FROM

NSA

TO : HCF

[R]

3/0/P0D/T1463-03:F PORTUGUESE COMMENT ON CASTRO'S REACTION TO DEATH OF ERI

JATE

AGES: 52/05/6.

SUBJECTS

PORTUGAL

DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITY

CUBA, REACTION TO ASSASSINATION

[R]

[R]

DOCUMENT TYPE : REPORT

CLASSIFICATION

RESTRICTIONS

: 1B

CURRENT STATUS

X

DATE OF LAST REVIEW

08/10/93

OPENING CRITERIA

ORIGINATING AGENCY'S DETERMINATION REQUIRED

OMMENT.

ONTAINS SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED INFORMATIOI

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED

LIMBRA

TOr

Released pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JEK, SEN.

RFK, AND

THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

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Doc ID: 6878908

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Portuguese

PODH

WS 9776

3/0/POD/T1463-63

IS 05 Dec 2155Z P

Dist: HCF

ST 300

PORTUGUESE COMMENT ON CASTRO'S REACTION TO DEATH OF KENNEDY

FR Havana: [M]

27 Nov 63

TO _ Lisbon: Foreign Ministry

Msg Nr: 17

Late Friday afternoon and through the night a large movement

of troops began here. They were sent to take up positions

and reinforce strategic positions around Havana and the northern

coast of the island because of the assassination of President

KENNEDY. Saturday evening FIDEL CASTRO appeared on television

and spoke about the death of KENNEDY and tried to refute charges

which had already appeared in the United States that the assassin

was a Marxist and a Communist Castroite. Although it was only

the third time that I had witnessed a speech by FIDEL, I got the

immediate impression that on this occasion he was frightened, if

not terrified. Other chiefs of mission, however, confirmed that

impression and indicated surprise at this hasty jump into

the arena to denouce insinuations which were merely from

news and nongovernmental agencies. In fact, it is the general

opinion in diplomatic circles that CASTRO feared that the

assassination would be the spring which would unleash passions

and violent and blind hysteria of the American people against

Cuba and Russia and provide the excuse which up to now was

lacking to justity internationally an invasion of Cuba. There

is talk again abat the coincidence of rumors concerning a

crisis at the end of the year (my letter Nr. 224).

FIDEL, emotional and uneasy, tried through the same

telegrams of the American news agencies to refute the accusa-

tions which were then appearing and to twist them so that the

assassination would appear as the work of the Ultra Reaction,

of the extreme racists of the Pentagon,, who are fanatical

supporters of war against Cuba and the Soviet Union.

Portuguese

3/0/POD/11463-63

THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS 2 PAGE (S)

Released

REK, AND

TOP SECRET DINAR

pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK,

SEN

THE REV.

DR. MLK, JR.

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Portuguese

3/0/POD/T1463-63

He (B val sketched) the life of LEE OSWALD and showed

with these telegrams that after his trip to Russia OSWALD

seemed to be supported by forces of the Right and that even

counterrevolutionary circles suspected that he was an agent

of the CIAror the FBI. This caused CASTRO to wonder whether

the assassin was not the mere instrument of a monstrous plot

of American militarists who, by eliminating KENNEDY, would

put JOHNSON in a postion from which there would be only one

way out: to drain off anti-Cuba: hysteria by an action of

declared war.

Be that as it may, CASTRO tried to bring forward any

possible formal accusations against Cuba, clamoring that all

people should demand that the death of KENNEDY should be

clarified and harping on the theme that: KENNEDY was being

ferociously attacked because of his weak policy against Cuba

and Russia and therefore, his death could not be the work

of Leftists, since it would only benefit the intentions of the

Ultra Reaction and the Rightists.

I must inform you that the assassination did not cause

a great deal of consternation in counterrevolutimary circles

in the interior, disillusioned as they were with the

"weakness" of KENNEDY, especially after his speech in Miami,

from which they expected measures or decisions to intervene

in Cuba which would presage the forthcoming end of the

Communist regime of FIDEL CASTRO.

MS 974

CN ILC

TI --

- 2-

TOP SECRET DINAR

Released

pursuant to Executive Order 14176, DECLASS. OF RECORDS CONC. THE ASSASSINATIONS OF PRES. JFK, SEN.

REK, AND

THE REV. DR. MLK, JR.

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