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DATE.: jUly 13, 19

SUBJECT: Further on Oswald and iliwni:dy Assassination

EWEILUCE: Maszerandum this 64bject of. Deecnber 25, 1965 .

PARTICIPANTS: lea Garr° do l'az, Noxicaa uriter Charles U. Thomez, Officar

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COPIES TO: • 1:13, DC::, Po PP: Lo =Do C.:V: (2)

1. &Ia.-Paz deacribad cone developaenta which may have. sone bearin5 on Dior that she saw Lee Harvey Gewalt at a party at the hor.:s of her.couoin, when Oswald was in 1•Imd.co prior to the ii.enned;, aozasainatioa.

2. She stated that her writer Solorzano, is quite well acquainted with Cuban A:-.*.-Jaseador• Joaquin_ _71r=1".n,1:z caid Solerzo:no V.:,;)c-rzatly not particularly leftist but that hi:, brother, Alfonso, vas a cor,m_Lnist. Pr:Das - sador Zarnendaz had told Soler's:no that he 1.ould very =eh li:ta to ...:.-eet3 2:13. Selorzano accoranzely arrxased a party at his .r.C.,.."13 on June 3:2)) 15 .:;6, r..."•ft fr.-. vited both of than. Also present were 2.itn • :”^.*1 el and his 11:.T.fa; avira Varzaz, the leftist journalist with ',.`ToircArle:3 the is a cloae personal friend of ?resident Diaz Ord z; Cerballo, the pre-Castro vritor; head of tha publiehinz firm called rditorial 11.ertie; caul Juan Soriano, the painter. She said Soriano war. prol-.,.n.bly invited to :a.T.2:3 her feel at ease, .s.inca, he is a friald of hers and was the only anti-am—:=0.e. there besides heraelr.

3. DurinG the avaninr,,, Ambaaaalor Hernaniez, whom she described as intallizoat and cultured, cencentrated his attention on her and did his best to flatter her by lauding her literary productions. In addition, ha expressed creat Interest in her friend C-rloa :.'-dr"-o a-issued. n"--O-^1 invitation to her to attend

• the annual literary festival of the C1r..:1 de.1n.1 .A_-.ric."..s in Havana.. he to him that she was not a Ioidelista and that oho woulda?t co to Havzza .Jue.n Soriano wAnt with her. Hernandez then invited Soriano to attend az wall, but the latter denounce :3. the Castro reciMe over the objections of the others present, who urz-ed then both to attend. the feotive1.

It.. Later, Iver friend, Victor Rico (.17_,16a, the pro-Castro journalist, she her ne d : to

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:et: Le-ars:ell v:‘11:u vhile z: .73 Vat of the he1.7.ze vbvat thri..a wana czo: She said that vith all the le2".:t.eta. is tom acculine her a beinf; ea agent of the 1J1 and the coveznment irritata with her 'of:nem:a of h;..:r support for Cv::ace Nadrazol she did not fa al entirely safe livinz alone with her dwehter. She cal her brothf:r was now sleeping at the house

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that the had recently. encountered her cousin, Lydia Dt...rn, ana that the lnttfas hna been vary friendly and wanted to meat hz.2. L;ain4 Sha zaid Lydia 't:44 v.---ry poor c...:,1 had a small job with Difunion CultnT-11 at tha Anthro::olozical nizeum. 4 , • —4—,

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Attsch::tent.s: As stated (to P/Ro Lo and CBD on! y)

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OOMNANDEZ, Amador -- Director of Education for the State of Chihuahuat

_of B- A friend of Elena. Garro de Paz who was cultivated for her

protection becaute of his memberShip in the political party of power.

C

AZCtE, Eusebio ---•r— A- Subject is the Cuban Commercial Pttache to Yexico. B- Attended the party given by Ruben Duran which Oswald

allegedly, attended. C- Reflects that Subject had contact with Oswald at the Cuban

Embassy and that an argument between Oswald and Subject occurred because Subject could not issue Oswald a visa to go to Cuba, at the direction of the Cuban Government.

HERNANDEZ Armass Joaquin - A- Subject is the Cuban Ambassador to Mexico. B- Subject is a close- associate of a communist friend

of Elena Cerro de Paz. t•

C- None - • -;•

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Information Obtained from Sources

A- Department of State Records

B- Mr. C.W. Thomas' Correspondence

C- The Warren Commission Report..

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Lee Harvey Oswald and Hannedy Assensination

Nemorandlia of Gonveisations Dacc±or 10, 1965

Elena Gorro do Paz, Maxtcan. vritor Charles Va. Thoazia, Political =icor

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' AUBj P (2) P/.74 Ls CHD, C11/1.? (2)

Cn.Dee.a.:bar 25, Sra. do Paz c.ZZliA ).1:1Ur...34 ct eonoldaza:;1.! 10117',.h oncountar with Oswald. Also •present: as they ware at the ori::isal con

versaUon on this subjcat, w..147,1 vife a:1d *Sr. de :ea...0 dau'a,hter, Z;e=a -further in:or.lation on this subject vas civen subseruantly on Janut,:.'y 9, 19.a3. Durin3 this latter conversation, Ora. de ?az aL4.mitted that she 117.A -;.ene to the L4bessy on an ;:al.lier occasion vith her dzu:hter mothr-in-lctli and ::rd tal!:cd to t7:o ar,bassy offic.Jra (prasu=bly from the lac7,a1 Attach5's CffIce) this matter.

caid since the Llbansy ofZicers hat ZiV3 rItch(b4c..:. to .. they aaidj they did not bothor to alma a vary co:Iplote story.' The fsllowin-:

sur)plaments and in ooze instances corrects that given in the mamorandur: of Docenber 10.

• 1. Lydia, Horaaio, and Rub On Durk^ ara cll cousins of Zra. de Paz. Silvia Duran is married to Horacio, who is a rather van% man. Horacio vas convertad cor=unisn by RIG=.10 G=rrse Sra. da ?az has never had anythinc to do with Silvia,

--than sh dctesta and corridors a uhore. RubLu'ves bora in tha United States and scrvad in the US Arzy during the var. He ctiil 1:0:.:G to the US iron to ti=o but has no relatives- or particular connactions thora. Lydia also tray.As occa-sionally to the US. The party in question vas held at the hone of Rub,la

7-t- . 2. She believcs that the date of the party vas about Septeahr 2 or 3, 1(;63. It was a few days before the visit of the Soviet astronaut, Gazarin. She ba- . ;,- .. - .1ieves it was a Zionday cr Tuesday because it was an odd night to have a party. fQ1'.

GEGur 3 Dolinzraded at 12-year intervalc. . \ \ • not automatically declassified.

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and 3 de, in fa :to fall an.:Tuesday.) con- viently reconstruct the dat:: fron her calendar beca:se it is in a des% Vaal is how stored away with a lot of other furniture blockins it.

• 3. At the party, the•mas uho assumea OslIald-were a blac% aweat4ry tend.21 to be :silent and stared a lot at the :14,er. OZ his t-.:e companions, one was very tall • and. slender.and had lona blond hair which hunc across h13 forehead. Ile had a caunt faea 11;,..d a rathfu. lonz.protrudiug chin. The other was also rather 1311 ana !,hey: hair, tu.t he haa no rez1 distincuizeinz.a14aracteristies. All thr2e .yrro obviously Anerican ana did not dance or mix with the other people. The T41X4.1 wcre evidently rriende, because she saw then by chase the next day walkinz down the street toLether.

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4. Althow;h C-a. de Paz ha.t.' fzc.n an 0z:tended atz:y in turope only in Juno or July, she had already 17.110'(73 positively that he vas at the party. On another occasion (it was not clear whether before or aftar the party in question), nho attandad a par*- where she sau, c. on;; others, Dazabio • Azeue; carhaliido, the pro-C=tro writal.; and a Latin with rod hair. (211ena last two wore not at tto Dur5n party as was mistalcenly ntatad in the Dcca.lber 10 mnraorcnd-na.) anciAzeua, alon;:; with co= others, wera in a heated discussion on that eccuzien about ProoieLent Kenne4and th,ey en:le to the conclusion that; the only n,7:lut4,7-, wr.o to hill C1.2 Pas said that Carballido is !clown ea a Castro ant ia ire • has bean to :;cd Chirm, the Soviet Union, and ul.a.n.y tilues to CA. rollowina 'the a3oaelnati(-41 or Kannee.,y, he spent about a year in Cuba.. 1,hen ha returneal ha zot a job taaohinz at Rutzers Univarnity throu;hz, T. '/1-.1_..2.z2,L.,_4•Fl who forlarly wit% tho Roc::e:alle14 Foundation in Nc:,7 Yorl: a:1Z is now a profscor at lido is pres=ahly otill there. T.la d:,,y a:ter t'ae anca3sinaticu, Llinia ?az encounter2 Era. do Az:cue in Canbor.an. 0n sa;::inz her, Zya. do is,7;CU2 tu:1-n,;.:d and . hurriad out of tha store. Atcua 1,-ar4 ir.=diately caled t6 havana a:tor the .aseassination, and his irlfe followed him shortly thereafter.

5. Others present at.tbe Duza party'in aLation to were 1:orzeio anl Zilvia 2u:/a; Lydia Luxin; 1-.;L:a. de Paz' philacc_ nister, .]Davy Guerrero; cisz=4170 Jazz:3 Ficre.Li and mietr'.:ns, a Cuat=alan vonam; a nedical doctor froLi Dalinda 2espit:J.; a young A:....erican coupla, both fat and blond, who were. spendinc their hmeyn:;en in ::::mico; a 40-ye 2r old fla:cican woman in a red dress; and -a rather, to be:-:axiccn •but did not look or talk like one. His first nEle Alajan(aro and ha sul.Jaauently wrote - Blenita several love letters. She alai= che to thaza in to the Anarican En- _bassy. Ric=do Guerra, a colzuniot, his wife Castellnnee ,,„. were both supposed to cone to the party but declined to cone, .accordina to Sra.

'dc Paz, when they learned that she would be there. •

6 nn Saturday, rover.iber 23, 1963, the day after the Kennedy assassination, Sr. do broth:: dre7e her and her dauc,hter at about 3:CO p.n. to the Cuban Elbesay. Her brother was uaSexrasscd by their.behavior and drove a block up the stroot to wait for thJn after lettinz th:z out. .The two 1:0:a2M. thsn want inside the gate n:1 •shoutild other ia%:lts. • •

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T. Lator that any, they 'A:Z:Z2 visit'zd by a Zriel'.11 :.:alln:::1 C:avillo, .4:a r.,:d that they vora in serious dancr frs'a the ce=anists 4.113. thr...,t he 1,oL:1:1

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to a :Loan hotel ulLere they uoula ba sz:o. for a f,:-..:. days. (I; :.-:::s not clear vbetherho said he wos actin;; unflor crters or not.) Cnlvillo •.-,7,s 17.1s1:a crounl town to 1):: an undereowr ,,.ant fc)r t71, ff..z2.::::!7:21 Vii;c-,' C-:.1=1.,.:1 7- .%1 to

Pc.,7nonfial fricnd 011702 ?_:22o.77.!.',an..1 Cnotavo Diaz CrUaz; aecOlin:iy t..-y Laic:vet.'

and trusted him. Azonz other' thi:v,-.7. he sai.d una-thes.Sylvia 1":.! h.7..a been'or- reatcd. This =.7., not public in:orion at that tizo.

8. Zinc,' she ce:ad not the o: tLe hotol, r,r-. Jo 7::s t00%

Ltd to the part of to= where she rone:ozred it to and v, folnd it. It is the Varnont locatai at Ver=nt It 4s ono - half lace=

♦woot Oi. A7eaida da 1')S I11sur3entos fvtst south stato.l that t113 hotel is owned by sora::ase iron :;an Putosi a:1d is used by buliinszr:2on from •that aroa. Sh3 and her dauchter did. sot perschaily rezister at the hotel. Sho

thin %:, Calvin() rec;istorad then a relatives or fri.:L.as of hi.3 frou San Luis

Postosi. Althou:h =last, it is a =Se= c.nd cc-72ortable-lco%inz hotel. They

stayed there until the follovin3 Yrid.cy 4nd h.:truly laft ro3:o. .

9. It was not until aftar they wore it the hota and so:: the newspapers and the photor7.rap:is of Osvall that she and hzr eLf=7.her both c=o to the itae7

pendent conzlits:Lon that he WQZ ono of. thl. "fiar.LI .;;.t-xty.

When Calvillo visitod them mt thl.hotel, she ton she w:,:toa to r.'nort to

tha Araerican 11:11)assy what oho :maw ahout coi.w.xtions vith con.-

=mists ana with Azeue. Calvin° said shoohoultln't co beev.Lie the L.Irican LA+

b;nsy full o: co:-.=nist spies. r.lon retw...nea to her heua: followlnz wok, cuardn pcot4 outoida

10. lih2a she saw her Deva Cu=era, after retur.lf.nz th3 latter

was terrified bse=se of Oswald's procnce at the Lur.'‘'.1 172 ce:..12 to

the conclusion indepontontly that it as Os.vald 1.hr:a she baJ seen there. Sra. de

Ou.errora vas also vexy an-ry Sit? tho 1:ur.f.n's bocause theu7ht they become

involv:41 in the. assazsination plot for .nenc. Dospita beinz a :..hilec=.11,sist,

she was aa allliror of Pros4dont IL:na,dy's b,-ca-e, oh, is -1:;‘) a ?.:.trf.e.lan ana a

raonarchist. Aheut tuo uontbs after thz asznzsintien, rrJ az. C..1.2r.r.::.) oallza

in by two co=unists, whoa sha refuses to 1.::.atify, nal ves wcxnea wi:.h throats

never to reveal to anyone that She hal boon to a p-_ .y with 0,-,17:10... SL':

so terrified that she would not accompany Sra..de ?az to the A.:.lorican II:La:say to

tell what she knew of Oswald.

11. A short tima after the aseasSinotion: Eiilio Carballial, the pro,Castro

writer) tool: the D1r6ns to Jalapa, Veraorull aat hopt thom cut cf tho wzyy for a while until the initinl shoe.: of tilt assnssinntion wore off. Csxbollido

hes connections with the University of Veracruz Press.

12. Also :hotly after the ass'azsinatioa, aa.ksxican voan.n=n1 Juno Cobb.

camo end spent sevzr.T1 days in Era. do Pas' .111=30. She was sent by thAr mutus.1

friens, 77n!.c1 C,Ilo a Costa Ziecn vhe is now J:zue Cobb's rocate anl •vho wno

:ornerly Qf 1:11en he Ilas,vith the

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trarul.:.tar z:t Jana Lo:JO zreat inter:.:st iu the azsaszination. in aattinz Zava Ca::rraro dim' s% CZQ a;:d the latter told all she hnw about Osvald and the party at the home of 2-abLu tur6.n. lUss.Cobb than- wasted them to . well rhat they know to the Azwrican authorities. Claiming to be a CIA alent, she edvised ac;ainst Coin to thelltlarican Lzbassy . and urvd tham te'co to Texas to , tell their_g;:ory. in.thiz. &ha-said ene vould . arranze a metina in a quiet co.:17:4

'- Thalleatia did not matcrialise,A3/41 bowaver, because she was asked to leave the Pao house. Hiss Cobb 1.1=1 kicked Sra. do Paz' cat.

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13. At about the end of Janudt-y, 1%4, DuzLn visited Sra.. de Paz. 113 said he vas aeing to visit the Uaited Stator. nud ranted her to protect him

ea much c posalble vhilc he vas away. Ha fevoid it ni:Itt be discoverad that Osvold had been to his :.l •„+ ♦3ince na had baen ,sorn in tha :;tataa, know it vould be cozy for the Menican Covar=alt to city:at him o2 his citizenship cad deport

hire. They both a.:;reed to say nothina scout it. Ha :said it vas Silvia Dun vho Cot

him involved with Oswald. Ea added that he was not really a coramunist and vas aaainst the assassination.

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14. About six means after the uh:.: vas tal!zin5 to Noe Palomares of tha Secretariat of Gobz.rxIciaa abaut anothor matter, she told the ••wr.....mo... • ••• •■••■• story of her enceunt..x vith n::t to co to the .,•..• .t and cu- ;.!sted that if che inalatad on C.:Ilk; aLythina at all,..cho meraly write the Embassy an anony=cus letter.

15. Sra. de Paz stated that it vas com=sn %aoviedae that Silvia Durin was

the miztress of OsIrald. The only .a '= she oculd rt:.neiber who told her tai:, howyer, was Victor Rico the pro-Castro joarualiot.

16. She al.sa stated that she underst,:od that Osl:ald haa db'.2e to ::exico'nora. than once.

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July 25, 1969

MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT: Investigation of Lee Harvey Oswald in Mexico

1. While serving as Political Officer in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico • City frai 1964 to 1967, I became quite,friendly with the Mexican play-

right, Elena Garro de Paz. An intellAgent, witty, and outspoken woman, I found her a very useful if sometimes biased source of political gossip and personal history on significant MexiCan personalities. She introduced my wife and me to many important people in Mexico. She was also.parti-cularly knowledgeable about agrarian affairs. A biographic report that I prepared on her on May 3, 1966 is attached (Tab A).

2. On one occasion, Miss Garro inadvertently mentioned to me that she had been at a party with Lee Harvey Oswald and two American companions when Oswald was in Mexico just before the Kennedy assassination. The party had been at the home of her cousin, Ruben Duran. 'The memorandum of that conversation, dated December 10, 1965, is attached (Tab B). I had not read the Warren Report, but I assumed that if Oswald had been to such a party in Mexico, it would have been well known to the Embassy. I also knew Miss Garro to be something of a professional anti-communist who tended to see a communist plot behind any untoward political event. However, the episode about her being escorted into hiding, at an obscure hotel intrigued me. Accordingly, I decided to report the matter in writing. I gave the memorandum of conversation limited distribution within the Embassy, and did not send dny copies to Washington..

3. A few days later I was called to the office of Mr. ston Scott, - who headed the Embassy's Political Research Sectiow T Also present A3/1 4:4 IT was Mr. Nathan Ferris, the Embassy's Legal AttacheLThey had noted ip, ec,3 with interest my December 10 memorandum of conversation. They p.iited out that there had been a great many rumors about Oswald at the time of the assassination and that some could not be verified and others had proved false. They asked me, however, to try and get a more detailed replay of Miss Garro's story. Mr. Scott made clear that the FBI had full responsibility for any further nvestigations of the Oswald case:

4. In a memorandum of conversation dated December 25, 1965 (Tab C), I provided a much more detailed and accurate re.ltatement of Miss Garro's alleged encounter with Oswald and subsequent developments. Certain errors in my original presentation were corrected. Miss Garro guessed that the date of the party at her cousin's house was. in early September, 196:L She admitted that she had gone to the Embassy,-to-report briefly- about this matter__ on an earlier occasion. 1

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5. I got no reaction to the second memorandum from Messrs. Scott and Ferris. However, the Deputy Chief of Mission, Clarence Boonstra, who had been Charge d'. Affaires at the time of the Kennedy assassination and subsequent Oswald investigation, told me that Oswald had not been in Mexico on the date given 'for the party. 'He stated, furthermore, • that the informant had changed her story. When I explained that she hadn't changed her story but that rather I now had given a more accurate account of it, he reiterated that the date was wrong and seemed to dismiss the whole affair.

6. Some time later, Elena Garro told me she had found her old calendar and had reconstructed the -dafe-81 the party at which she had seen Oswald. She stated it had been in late September rather than early September. (Oswald was in Mexico from September 26 to October 3, 1963.) I accord-ingly went to Mr. Ferris' office and informed him of this. He replied that she had given the late September date accurately when she had come to the Embassy and made her original report to the FBI. He added, how-ever, that someone who was at the party had stated that there were no Americans there. He did not reveal who had provided this information. I asked Mr. Ferris to tell me frankly if he thought I should continue pursuing this matter. He advised me that it was not necessary since he considered the Oswald case closed, stating again the he'fiad heard all these rumors before.

7. Although the date of the alleged party had been placed in the proper time frame, I was puzzled at the report that there had been no Americans at the party. I had assumed that Miss Garro could have .clearly been mistaken about the identity of the Americans she sawithere, but never doubted that she had seen some Americans. Although, I had met Elena Garro's sister, Deva Guerrera, I had never discussed the Oswald case with her. Mrs. Guerrero's grown son, however, told me that he was quite convinced that his mother had seen Oswald.

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8. Although I pursued the matter no further, I felt obligated neverthe-less to report in writing the developments described in the memorandum of conversation dated July 13, 1966 (Tab D). I thought it was particularly strange that the Cuban Government would carry as Miss Garro's address the small hotel where she was allegedly hidden away after the Kennedy assassina-tion by a man identified with the Mexican Ministry of Interior. I should perhaps add that it was I, rather than Miss Garro, who first noticed the address. At the least, the letters lend some cross confirmation to her story about the small hotel. 1kt the most, they provide a source of endless speculation about conspiracy and international intrigue.

9. In early 1967, in the context of the Garrison investigation of the Oswald case. which had opened in New Orleans, Allen White4( 8/ ) }X

1 made an interesting comment to me about the investi-gation or uswaia s activities in Mexico. He stated that the DSF (the security police attached to thecliiniqw9f TAtqr4.orX had interrogated the

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Duran after the assassination about a party which Oswald had reportedly attended, but that the transcript of the interrogation was entirely unsatisfactory by normal investigatory standards. Furthermore, the party inquired about was not the one at Ruben Duran's house, reported by Elena Garro, but at an entirely different place. This transcript may well be thii source of Mr. Ferris' belief that Elena Garro's story.had been • checked out and found to be untrue. 73 10. It would appear that whereas the FBI has discounted the Elena Garro allegations, the CIA is still considerably disturbed by them. The CIA may not have pressed for further investigation, however, for a number of reasons: 1) considering the sensitive overlap and subtle competition between two intelligence collecting agencies, it had to yield to the FBI's clear jurisdiction; 2) there are obviglip complications in conducting such an investigation in a foreign countrv:i

Under the circumstances it is unlikely that any further investigation odhis matter will ever take place unless it is ordered by a high official in Washington.

11. If all the allegations in the attached memoranda were true, they would not, in themselves, prove that there was a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy. However, if they were ever made public, those who have tried to discredit the Warren Report could have a field day in speculating about their implications. The credibility of the Warren. Report would be damaged all the more if it were learned that these allegations were known and never adequately investigated by the competent American authorities.

12. Reference is made again to the biographic r...port (Tab AY on Elena Garro. She is hardly an ordinary or average person. Her strengths and weaknesses become exaggerated precisely because is not. It would be easy and convenient to sweep this matter under the rug by claiming . that Miss Garro is an unreliable informant since she is emotional, opinionated, and "artistic." I have been affected at times by that temptation, myself. No American official, however, knows her better than I do. On the basis of the facts that I have presented, I believe that, on balance, the matter warrants further investigation. 13. Finally, the record should show that a represent tive of a major American publication has at least some knowledge of t1 is story.

(* / Chirles William Thomas July.25, 1969

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DiPAFi*MiNfbOiYATE. Wathington, D.C. 20520

August 28, 1969

MEMORANDUM

. TO : The Honorable J. Edgar Hoover, Director Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington, D.C. Attention: Mr. Bernard Rachner

FROM : Bert M. Bennington Acting Chief, Div ion of Protective usec ity

r:d/ve?

In a letter addressed to the Secretary of State dated July 25, 1969, with accompanying related documents, Mr. Charles 'William Thomas, a former employee of tha State Department, reported certain events and speculations, which tend to suggest that a conspiracy applicable to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy may have existed involving representatives of the Cuban Government. The author reflects that the events dis-cussed in his writing were previously reported to representatives cussed in

4 who were assigned at the time to the American Embassy in Mexi . Details relating to certain portions of the same information are included in the Warren Commission Re-port . . (cite pages 299-310, 658-659, and 730-736). Enclosed as Attachment "I" for your information and any action deemed appro- priate, is a copy of Mr. Thomas' letter with accompanying material. 1 The names contained in the material accompanying Mr. Thomas' . I letter were examined against apprt_ mate records within the State Department. Enclosed as Attachmeiit: "II" is the results of the aforementioned file review, which is set forth in a comparison format with respect to information contained in State Department records; that furnished by Mr. Tho

Warren Commission Report.

SUBJECT : Charles William Thomas

2i.cc St-z

r4QP4114641.14^01411Okopia.MOW.411,..Milj

It has been reported that Mr. Charles William Thomas officially

severed his . elployment with the State pepartient effective July 31, 19f4. • . '

At letter reply to Mr. Thomas, acknowledging receipt of his correspondence will be initiated by this Office.

It is requested that this Office be apprised of any action

your Bureau initiates in this matter. . • •

For your information simi ar written notification of this

matter has been made to he United States Secret Service.01 -

Attachments: 44,

As stated

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