• DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20223 3131 OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR March 20, 1978 * Mr. A. J . Weberman Independent Research Associates 6 Bleecker Street New York, New York 10012 Dear Mr. Weberman: Reference is made to your request under the Freedom of Information Act for records and files pertaining to the assassination of forme1• President John F. Kennedy and his visit to Miami , Florida on November 18, 1963. In that connection, almost all the documentation and physical evidence in the possession of the Secret Service has been transferred to the National Archives. That agency has been designated as the official depository of all material relating to the assassination of the former President. However, in response to your request, we have conducted an extensive search of the materials which are currently maintained in the records of the Secret Service. Attached hereto are copies of all documents currently maintained in Secret Service files which relate to your inquiry. Some documents have had information deleted from them because they contain investigative information compiled for law enforcement purposes. Pursuant to Title 5, United States Code, Section 552(b) ( ?)(C), they have been exempted since disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy to other persons mentioned in the requested file . The citation of the above exemption is not to be construed as the only exemption which may be available under the Freedom of Information Act. If you disagree with our dete~nation you have the right of ad­ ministrative appeal within 35C~s by writing to Freedom of Information Appeal, Deputy Director, U . s~ · Secret Service, 1800 G Street, N. W., Room 944, Washington, D. C. 20223. Sincerely, ~ ' ~ct {L /:%/71- b/y Thomas A. Trombly ATSAIC Freedom of Information & Privacy Acts Officer - ~~~:_ :? ~ ;.,> - - ~ '--' -- c_ ell.., Jr -. -,- , REPUBLICA DE CUBA 't' ['.r J ; .... :(' ..~· :.• ' ·) n d e \ ~ ,v11NISTERIO DE ESTADO 14 - CERTIFIED COPY OF A REPORT . A Record of DEPOSITION of Witness Jos~ Pelaez Mora. (Cont'd.) on ~he street, that, a few minutes bef ore he had seen an airplane up above·, . but -·quite far from ·that place·; that he could see .. how . , - · from. t~e ground _the p~ane w~s fired at_wh~).e i~ ~as flytng ~lo_ ng those pla.ces, and· that . ~OPJethThg like a spark or' fir_e 'lfJaS pitched overboard from the air vessel ; tha~ . ?~ _did not se~ _ any-automobile in transit by that site with its occupants "t hrowi'ng explos i ves or ~ r--- shooting; that, at that plaa-e several per s ons were wounded by r eason of the explosion; that his legal r epresentative i s his mother whose name is Laudelina Mora Mart!nez, who lives in t he .same home wit h · the deponent.· Thai--this· is all he k nows-.- ·Once t 'his -wa s re·a(i ·and .- . f ound of conformity, he ratifies; the pert inent l egal warnings wer e made to him, and he s i gns after t he Judge . I do Cer t i f y. (Sgd.) Dr. Cervantes Gut1~rr e z. Jos~ A. Pelae z Mora. A. Ribeaux. INVESTIGATION: Rep~~~ic of Cuba. Minist ry of National Defense. Army. Headquarters of the DIER (Department of Inve stigat ion of Rebel Arm~ ) . Ciudad Libertad. October 27, 1959. To His Honor the Judge of Investigations of th~ Sixth Section. Havana. Sir: The undersigned, ABELARDO COLOME IBARRA, Commander of the Rebel .Army, Chief of t he Department of Investigations of the Reb.el Army, has t h e honor t o inform you that, by r eason of the events which t ook pl a ce on t he 22nd of t his mont h i n the Ci ty of Havana , wherein ai r planes or small light aircrafts part icipated, which vessel s , according to supposedly existing news/came from s ome par t in the North American t er rit ory; said pl anes having dropped a manifesto and shrapn e~ over the defenseless people, I del egated on the Police Agents of thi s Body RAMON RODRIGUEZ AC UNA and LUIS CAHBRANA -~<~ho~ i n t he . course of t hei r investigation have succeeded i n learning the following : That on the s aid date , in the a fter noon hour s , two or more ai r plane s or .. =- • REPUBLICA DE CUBA MIN ISTERIO DE ESTADO - -15 - CERTIFIED COPY OF A REPORT INVES1IGATION: (Cont'd.) small light aircrafts dropped from -above the City some subversive propaganda s).ips whereby; c..d.efamation was made of the Cuban Govern- ~ : . -· ·- .. ment and its ffevo~utionary Laws·. -·· -Also they ·dropped shrap_nel on sites where the greatest concentr~tion of public ~as ~~und at the . - . - . said time; espec~ally upon sucn- places ·where the p~ople assemble · in order to get on or off the bu~~s ,_thus cau§i~g a sad balance .. of numerous persons wounded to different degrees, as also two dead, • I ... - -. -· about which occurrence the prope~ authoriti~s a~e already aware of through the actuations carried out at the various stati·ons· of the .I Natio_!lal RevolJltior:t9J'Y Police.-.- --Likewise,- the said Agents have known that the attacking planes were piloted by individua~ dis- . Revolutio-nary Government under the direction of Ex- Commande who was formerly, and until very recently, Chief of the FAR (Revolutionary Air Force; which fact t..........r..., ___ .___ ... •• • - .. can be very well appreciated through articles .and news. already- ·- - pub~ished in the local .press, in pronouncements of functionaries of the North American·Government, as well as through the very confession of the sa~ n:!a ·~ tanz, as appeared on the Cuban news- · ·-·-1 paper "Informaci6n", issue of October 23, ·1959, wherei-n there is ·I a paragraph which literally reads as follows: -"Diaz Lanz stated I to the informant, manifested to the investigators that he piloted - the plane and threw the slips of paper. He added, that h e was the inst i gator of the whole idea"o That carrying on further the investigations, they managed to know that as the site known as "Esquina de Te jas" was one of' the places most affecte-d by the throw- ing of shrapnel ~om the airplanes or small light aircrafts, t he result was several persons wounded and a man killed as a conse - quence of the wounds suffer ed, of which fact the Judge of Investi gat of the Sixth Section of Havana, is already informed, t his being t he Court where Case No. 3007 of 1959 was est abl ished, duly informed re- .. :-... -...::.:..-x:....;..=;:~-- · --~-- REPUBLICA DE CUBA 'MINISTERIO DE ESTADO - lp - CERTIFIED COPY OF A REPORT A Record of Events. garding the crimes of Imperfect Homicide, Infraction to Law 425-959, . .. Serious Injuries and . others. Inasmuch as Mr. Diaz Lanz, finds him- ..... sel£ offen<red. ~e~. ·auge· · -he -Was. dismisse~--f~om t~e positiQJ?-· he W?S ·--.. ~ _holding withit?- the ranks of the Rebel Ar!UL1'l_lllch latter ·he was he- ________ ... ---- . traying trom the post he was dischargiQg~- ~ has entered into ~ · - --- ..- .~:--.: -:.. - - .-:-- - - ~ .t L_ . >"'"·. -- -- ...~ - ~ plot wi~.lJ. tl?-~ enemies of ·the R'evolutionary Govermn·ent ·whq belonge-d to the deposed Regime of Criminals, and guilty of malversation, and such latter mentioned elements have charged him with the re c. sponsibility of carrying on insidious propaganda and sneaky attacks which are being perfo-rmed against our nation, such as the attacks I .. ·I on Central Niagara, Pinar del Rio, at Central Punta Alegre, Cama­ I giley, and others, in which, with t .he use of aircrafts, they have bombed, shelled and put on fire the said places, and also, carried • __attacks on railroad trains.... .. That it has also been known ..that Diaz Lanz, Rolando--Ma-sferrer, clP. s~ Eleuterio Pedraza and -other-s,-.who- are ~.. enemie-s -:of· GUba-, have devised a pact for. maintaiirl.ng. 9Ur country in a state of anxiety and do not s.:t'op in· projecting and carrying. t -out such criminal acts as the ones already cited. That there is such a series of evidences and proofs of~ the direct participation _.· of Diaz Lanz in the acts thus consummated as to render them aplenty; such as news published in the daily press and released as piece of news by the various cablegraphic agencies, as also through pho­ tographs, and the full knowledge of this by the public upon suffer­ ing the aggression jointly with the pamphlets signed and thrown by Mr . Pedro Luis Diaz Lanz. That the foregoing plus .the knowl­ edge and the experience of t he afores~id D!az Lanz insofar as it refers to public circulation of this Capital City, the hours of agglomeration of peopl e on the streets and the sites which are unprotected and thus permit him with impunity to carry out the abovementioned criminal acts, leave no trace of doubt that he , hi mself, availing himself of such inside knowledge has made the . - -··· --------· - ---··---.. -----·· - - --------- ---- ·· ·~ -- --- - - -·--- --- ·· . ... - ... ~---- -- ...... ---,-·--· · -~-- £ u.:.L' .I.:II\.Wl~ v .c SEARCH SLIP PAGE ~ 109-584-A "The Miami News" , (6~ 7/28/63 (Article entitled "Exiles Ready Infilitration Against Fidel"). \, ~' ~' ~ .~2b \ b~ reported to the Miami Office that was supporting Artime and the MRR, knowing that regarded Artime with great disfavor. He also furnished a three-page leaflet in the Spanish language entitled, b (_ as translated, "Open Letter to the People of Cuba and to the Exiles 1 in General from Commander Pedro Luis Diaz Lanz." This leaflet 670 consisted of a vitriolic attack upon Manuel Artime, Cuban exile ~~ leader of the MRR, and upon the Administration of Presi~ent John F.