REVIEW OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD 201 FILE FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST.
Originator: CIA
From: C/LA/MEXICO
To: LA/EICO
Document date: 1975-07-31 00:00:00
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

# DOCID-32346203

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Date: 12/01/04

JEK ASSASSINATION SYSTEM

IDENTIFICATION FORM

AGENCY INFORMATION

AGENCY : CIA

RECORD NUMBER

:104-10061-10393

RECORD SERIES

:

JEK

AGENCY FILE NUMBER

80T01357A

DOCUMENT

INFORMATION

AGENCY ORIGINATOR : CIA

FROM : C/LA/MEXICO

TO : LA/EICO

TITLE : REVIEW OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD 201 FILE FOR FREEDOM OF

INFORMATION REQUEST.

07/31/1975

PAGES : 2

SUBJECTS : OSWALD, LEE HARVEY

FOIA REQUEST

DOCUMENT TYPE : PAPER

CLASSIFICATION : SECRET

RESTRICTIONS :

CURRENT STATUS : RELEASED IN PART PUBLIC - RELEASED WITH DELETIONS

DATE OF LAST REVIEW

COMMENTS : JFK9 : F74 : 1993.07.12.16:11:13:000280

Heleased under the John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records Collection Act of

1992(44 USC 2107 Note]. Case#:NW

55924 Date: 10-21-2021

[R] - ITEM IS RESTRICTED

104-10061-10393

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31 July 1975

MEMORANDUM FOR: LA/EICO

Mr. William Sturbitts

SUBJECT

:

Review of Lee Harvey OSWALD 201 File

for Freedom of Information Request

REFERENCE

Request Number 75-105, 2 June 1975

1, A review of the Lee Harvey OSWALD file (201-289248)

has been completed by the Mexican Branch in connection with

reference Freedom of Information request. Most of

the

information contained, in

the file that pertains to Mexico

came from sensitive sources and methods, such as photo

surveillance, bilateral teltap and mail intercept

operations.

Although the mail intercept and photo

surveillance activities have been dicontinued, the

fact

that they were in operation in Mexico continues to be

considered sensitive. The bilateral teltap is still

active, and, therefore, is sensitive:

The Mexican information reviewed covered three

areas:

a. Sylvia DURAN Tirado. A Mexican female

employed by the Cuban Embassy in Mexico who provided

assistance to OSWALD in his attempts to obtain a Cuban

visa. Information regarding DURAN appears in the Warren

Report, however, it is not attributed to the Agency.

The Government of Mexico (GOM) did arrest and interrogate

DURAN re her connection with OSWALD, and a copy of the:

GOM deposition appears in the Report. The deposition was

turned over to the Commission by the GOM via State Department.

Since knowledge of DURAN's contact with OSWALD originally

came to both the GOM's and Agency's attention via the

bilateral teltap, all mention of Agency knowledge or

participation in DURAN's arrest and subsequent interrogation

has been marked

for non-release.

b.:

Photo of unidentified man taken in front of

the Soviet Embassy in Mexico.

This photo was taken by

Station Mexico photo surveillance of the Soviet Embassy

during the month of October 1963.

When news of the

arrest of OSWALD as Kennedy's assassin became known,

the Station immediately forwarded copies of the photo

to the FBI in the mistaken assumption that the photo

was of OSWALD taken while he was in Mexico that fall.

It was later determined that the photo was not of OSWALD

and in fact had been taken after he had departed Mexico.

(OSWALD was in Mexico from 26 September thru 3 October 1963)

Even though the photo was not of OSWALD it had been shown

to OSWALD's wife and mother, with the background partially

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cropped in an effort to disguise the place where the

photo had been taken.

The photo became somewhat of an

issue when the Warren Commission decided it belonged

in the Report as part of the exhibits since it had been

shown to the OSWALDs. The Agency finally allowed the

picture to appear in the report with the background

completely blocked out and with the agreement that no

mention would be made about where it had been taken.

As far as can be determined, the Agency has never

admitted publicly that the photo was taken in Mexico,

even though there has been a great deal of speculation

to that effect by several authors and journalists. As

a matter of fact,

one of the lawyers who worked with the

Commission later leaked information to an author regarding

the photo, but erroneously said it had been taken in

front of the Cuban Embassy in Mexico by CIA. Still,

the Agency has not revealed the actual location, only

saying it was taken somewhere outside the U.s.

A11

mention of the photo has therefore been marked to be

withheld, because of sensitive sources and methods

involved.

c .

Gilberto ALVARADO Ugarte, ALVARADO, a

Nicaraguan citizen,

walked in to the U.S. Embassy in

Mexico, claiming to have knowledge re Kennedy's assasination.

It was learned that. ALVARADO was an agent for the Nicaraguan

Intelligence Service (NIS), however his story re the

assassination was separate from his work for the NIS. Arter

lengthy interrogation, including a polygraph, it was

determined that ALVARADO had been fabricating a story claiming

he had seen OSWALD receive money from a Cuban official at

the Cuban Embassy in Mexico.: The ALVARADO story appears

in the Warren Report but it does not reveal his identity.

In

order to continue to protect ALVARADO and the Nicaraguan

government from possible embarrassment all mention of

ALVARADO has been marked for non-release.

2.

A list and copies of douments from the OSWALD file

have been forwarded to your office for review by other. LA

branches and possibly other Divisions.

The documents are marked

according to which volume they belong in the 201 file (there

are 57 volumes plus many bulky atachments.)

3.

During the review, it was necessary several times to

refer to the Warren Report and the exhibits to ascertain

exactly what was already known about the Mexican aspect of the

case.

It is doubtful that the other branches will find this

necessary, but in case they do, the

Warren Report is held

in the Library.

high

Jack

Mathews

C/ LA/Mexico

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