Luis Posada Carriles

[John Simkin]

The Granma website includes an article on Luis Posada Carriles.

http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2005/abril/vier29/19kennedy.html

Wim Dankbar, a Dutch specialist on the assassination of John F. Kennedy, suspects that Luis Posada Carriles has highly discriminating evidence against Bush Sr. that could be divulged if the terrorist should die a suspicious death.

In an interview with Granma International, Wim Dankbaar, who financed a new investigation into the death of Kennedy in cooperation with retired FBI agents, is not hiding his shock at the “reappearance” of international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles in Miami, which: “I cannot understand.”

"This is just astounding. The apathy of the media even more so", he continues, "Why isn’t any media source writing that the man was not pardoned from his sentence for killing 73 people, but that he escaped and is still a convicted terrorist on the loose?"

Dankbaar, also a Dutch businessman, who has made a documentary on the assassination of Kennedy titled Second Look, has shown how one of the three individuals arrested by Dallas police shortly after the crime placed Luis Posada Carriles in Dealey Square in that same city at the moment of the assassination.

He affirms that Chauncey Holt, one of three supposed vagrants arrested - in truth, they were Mafia hitmen in disguise - testified on the facts in a two-hour video recording made shortly before his death and which was never transmitted. “In this recording,” said Dankbaar, ”Holt names a few Cuban-Americans, including Luis Posada Carriles.

"He identifies the other two vagrants as Charles Rogers and Charles Harrelson. Harrelson is a convicted hitman serving life for another murder, and also father of Hollywood actor Woody Harrelson."

Chauncey Holt was working for Meyer Lansky, notorious chief of the Havana mafia during the 1950s, and Pete Licavoli, another U.S. mafia leader.

But Holt, according to the expert, was also a CIA operative. His instructions for Dallas came from his undercover CIA supervisor Philip Twombly of the Fullerton Bank in California. Those instructions were specifically to make and deliver secret service credentials to a rabid anti-Castro militant called Homer Echevarría, who was a close associate of Cuban exile leader Paulino Sierra. Holt further relates that he made ID cards in the names of Lee Harvey Oswald, Lee Henry Oswald, Leon Oswald, Leon Osborne and Alek Hidell.

Furthermore he drove to Dallas from Licavoli’s Arizona ranch in the company of Leo Moceri and Charles Nicoletti, both hitmen for mafia moguls Giancana and Licavoli. Holt’s testimony on the Kennedy plot is therefore clear evidence of collaboration between the CIA, organized crime and the Cuban exile community, with the consent of high-level officials in the US government. Dankbaar points out that mafia boss Sam Giancana’s biography - edited by his brother - discloses the role played by two buddies of former Havana chief Santos Trafficante, one of which could perfectly be Posada, according to the description given.

The research financed by Dankbaar was led by retired detective Zack Shelton, who worked for the FBI for 28 years, principally in Chicago and Kansas City. The film entitled Second Look presents the results of his investigation.

According to Dankbaar, the presence in Dallas of several small groups of individuals linked both to the Cuban-American leadership of the Batista faction and the Italian mafia could be explained by the CIA’s compartmentalization of its operations. In addition to Posada, the film reveals the presence in Dealey Square of other known Cuban-American CIA operatives, such as Frank Sturgis and Orlando Bosch.

Dankbaar does not discount the possibility that Posada may have been one of the snipers who fired at Kennedy.

He points out that in one of his recent televised special presentations, President Fidel Castro noted that Posada used the code name Hunter (Cazador) and boasted a certificate as an expert sharpshooter awarded by a U.S. military academy from which he graduated as a lieutenant, according to a declassified document.

"Posada was almost killed in Guatemala in 1990. It may have been the work of the CIA. This guy knows too much, and I don't think it is too exaggerated to assume he has communicated some type of "insurance," says Dankbaar.

“Remember how CIA drug smuggler and Iran-Contra operative Barry Seal was gunned down? If you believe his lawyer, Seal was in direct contact with George Bush. And the personal telephone number of George H. W. Bush was found in the trunk of Seal's car. They blamed his murder on the Medellin cartel, but he was scheduled to testify and there were a lot of rumors that he had a video tape featuring Jeb and George W. Bush."

The expert also cites the case of David Morales: “David Sánchez Morales is another CIA killer involved in the JFK assassination, who died under suspicious circumstances. He had secured his house with double alarm systems, but not against burglars. He confessed to a friend: ‘It's my own guys I’m worried about. I know too damned much.’ So it's possible that Posada could blackmail the Bush administration... given that fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets his asylum.”

“And does the fact that ex-operative Porter Goss, who admits to having participated in acts of terrorism against Cuba from the JM/WAVE station, facilitate Posada’s return?”

“Of course. The man that Bush selected has been part of CIA efforts to overthrow the Castro regime and assassinate its leader," Dankbaar confirms. “Goss is the ideal man to keep possible scandals under the carpet for Bush and in particular, for his father. The two of them are both accomplices in the same history. ”

In his book El Complot (The Conspiracy) recently published by Ocean Press, Fabián Escalante, retired general and ex-chief of Cuban Intelligence, notes that a report received from his service in mid-1963 referred to “the presence of a subject subsequently identified as (Lee Harvey) Oswald at a meeting of a group of terrorists of Cuban origin, including the Novo brothers, Orlando Bosch, “Tony” Cuesta and Luis Posada, in a CIA safe house on the outskirts of Miami.”

Escalante likewise disclosed how Posada Carriles and Guillermo Novo Sampoll, now both back in Miami, as well as Orlando Bosch, released in July 1990 by President George Bush Sr, appear on the list of suspects involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy drawn up by the Cuban state security agencies.

Escalante described how in April 1963, Cuban-American capos in Florida and New Jersey created an organization called the Junta of the Cuban Government in Exile (JGCE), involving Carlos Prío Socarrás, an ex-president of Cuba; Felipe Rivero and Paulino Sierra González, a U.S. mafia representative.

One month later there was a meeting on Bimini in the Bahamas, in the vicinity of Miami, attended by Carlos Prío, mafioso capo John Roselli; William Carr, the aide of Colonel King, head of the CIA Western Hemisphere Division; and Robert Rogers, the case officer.

Subsequently there were meetings to the same end that included terrorists like Frank Sturgis, Howard Hunt, Orlando Piedra, Antonio (Tony) Cuesta, Eladio del Valle, Joaquín Sanjenis, Manuel Artime, Orlando Bosch, Antonio Veciano and... Luis Posada Carriles.

[Tim Gratz]

It is interesting how much of John's post relies on information from Fabian Escalante, head of Castro's intelligence service.

According to JFK advance man Marty Underwood, CIA Mexico City Station Chief Win Scott stated that Escalante was in Dealey Plaza when JFK was killed. Granted, Underwood may have lied about what Scott told him, or Scott might have lied, but if Underwood's report was correct, and Escalante was in Dealey Plaza, his purpose there can only be considered sinister. And of course there were reports of at least one other member of Escalante's intelligence service being in Dealey Plaza that fateful Friday.

So John is accepting information from a man who may have planned Kennedy's assassination, an interesting source indeed. Normal police investigations do not accept so uncritically reports from individuals who are themselves prime suspects.

So my question to John is, other than the usual CIA-baiting tactics, do you have any information to suppport a thesis that either Underwood was lying or Scott was lying?

It must be remembered that on November 22, 1963 the CIA was planning yet another effort to murder Fidel Castro and RFK was closely assisting in plans for a second invasion of Cuba, both of which were actions which would have been greatly applauded by hard-line anti-Castro CIA officials and operatives such as David Morales.

If Morales was "in the loop" with respect to the plans for the second invasion of Cuba that was being orchestrated by RFK, it makes no sense whatsoever for Morales to plot the killing of JFK, regardless of how much Morales may have regretted JFK's decisions with respect to the BOP.

Escalante, as Castro's chief intelligence operative, had several reasons to plot Kennedy's death, not only to save his leader's life but also to prevent the second invasion of Cuba, which would not have failed.

So Morales had no motive to kill Kennedy (if his motive was retaliation for the botched BOP he was a stupid man) but Escalante had two very good reasons.

I understand that few, if any, Forum members agree with the scenario that there was Cuban involvement in the JFK assassination. If, however, that scenario is correct, then I suggest Mr. Escalante must have had a good laugh when he read the foregoing post.

It stands logic on its head to argue that anti-Castro Cubans would plot the death of a president whose agenda included the elimination of Castro before the next presidential election and to cite as evidence in support of that odd scenario the statements of a man who had the greatest motive to seek Kennedy's death and who may have even been present in Dealey Plaza. It strikes me as similar to the logic of accepting a statement by O.J. Simpson that Columbian drug czars killed Nicole. Hey, maybe they were working for the CIA!

Edited May 1, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[Tim Gratz]

John wrote:

Escalante described how in April 1963, Cuban-American capos in Florida and New Jersey created an organization called the Junta of the Cuban Government in Exile (JGCE), involving Carlos Prío Socarrás, an ex-president of Cuba; Felipe Rivero and Paulino Sierra González, a U.S. mafia representative.

One month later there was a meeting on Bimini in the Bahamas, in the vicinity of Miami, attended by Carlos Prío, mafioso capo John Roselli; William Carr, the aide of Colonel King, head of the CIA Western Hemisphere Division; and Robert Rogers, the case officer.

I argued above that Escalante may have plotted the death of JFK and any information from him must be considered suspect. I think if I can prove that some (or even one) of his statements is wrong it proves my thesis that he may very well be a disinformation agent planting false information to obscure his own involvement.

It is my understanding that John Roselli was under constant FBI surveillance and that there is information of public record where he was. It is interesting that Rosselli was apparently able to escape the surveillance the week of the assassination, which is suspicious but not necessarily demonstrative of his own involvement, and it seems clear he was in las Vegas on November the 22nd.

My point in this post then is simple: will research be able to refute Escalante's statement that Rosselli attended a meeting in the Bahamas in May of 1963? If so, will John agree that at least one of Escalante's reports is demonstrably false, raising the obvious implication that he is giving false information to hide the truth.

[Tim Gratz]

John wrote:

Dankbaar, also a Dutch businessman, who has made a documentary on the assassination of Kennedy titled Second Look, has shown how one of the three individuals arrested by Dallas police shortly after the crime placed Luis Posada Carriles in Dealey Square in that same city at the moment of the assassination.

He affirms that Chauncey Holt, one of three supposed vagrants arrested - in truth, they were Mafia hitmen in disguise - testified on the facts in a two-hour video recording made shortly before his death and which was never transmitted. “In this recording,” said Dankbaar, ”Holt names a few Cuban-Americans, including Luis Posada Carriles.

John, it was my impression that you were suspicious of the credibility of Chauncey Holt. Do you now accept all of Holt's claims, including the claim that he was one of the arrested tramps? Holt, of course, posited heavy Mafia involvement in the assassination. I thought you were also quite skeptical re Mafia involvement.

Have you also changed your mind re the claims of James Files re his involvement in the assassination?

[Tim Gratz]

John wrote:

Subsequently there were meetings to the same end that included terrorists like Frank Sturgis, Howard Hunt, Orlando Piedra, Antonio (Tony) Cuesta, Eladio del Valle, Joaquín Sanjenis, Manuel Artime, Orlando Bosch, Antonio Veciano and... Luis Posada Carriles.

John, I would be interested in your basis for identifying each of the foregoing as "terrorists". Even if someone plotted the assassination of JFK, his participation in that act, standing alone, would make him an assassin but not a terrorist, at least by the commonly accepted meaning of that term.

Many people would find odd your characterization of Manuel Artime as a "terrorist" (unless I am missing something in Artime's background).

Do you really assert that each of the above names was a "terrorist"?

[John Simkin]

Tim, I did not write the above. As I pointed out, it appeared on the Granma website.

[Tim Gratz]

Thanks for the clarification, John. It was not entirely clear when the attributions to Granma or Escalante's book stopped. Your third to the last pragraph starts: "Escalante described. . ." while your last two paragraphs, standing alone, assert facts without any attribution to any third party source.

Granma has also stated that Gerry Hemming was a CIA operative who participated in the assassination. I do not consider Granma a credible source of information. While there are some who may suspect Hemming's involvement in the assassination, I am not aware of credible assassination researchers who believe he was ever an operative for the CIA.

Edited May 1, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[John Simkin]

Thanks for the clarification, John.  It was not entirely clear when the attributions to Granma or Escalante's book stopped.  Your third to the last pragraph starts: "Escalante described. . ." while your last two paragraphs, standing alone, assert facts without any attribution to any third party source.

Granma has also stated that Gerry Hemming was a CIA operative who participated in the assassination.  I do not consider Granma a credible source of information.  While there are some who may suspect Hemming's involvement in the assassination, I am not aware of credible assassination researchers who believe he was ever an operative for the CIA.

If you read the article clearly you will see that it is based on the claims of Wim Dankbar. As you know, I have grave doubts about Wim's theories concerning the assassination.

[Ron Ecker]

According to the article, Escalante describes Paulino Sierra as "a U.S. mafia representative." Does anyone know of any basis at all for that description?

Also, Escalante calls him Paulino Sierra Gonzalez. According to the HSCA, his name was Paulino Sierra Martinez.

Ron

Edited May 1, 2005 by Ron Ecker

[Ron Ecker]

Here's an interesting article on an interview of Gaeton Fonzi, who talks about Posada and the "U.S. secret government" that protects him.

The article also has some bad news for Tim. Not even Orlando Bosch buys the idea that Castro was behind the assassination.

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=32541

[Tim Gratz]

Ron, with all due respect, what difference does Posada's opinion make? The sole basis for his opinion (that Castro had nothing to gain by killing Kennedy) is as historically wrong coming from Posada as it would be coming from Robert Charles-Dunne. It is clear that the Kennedys' gung-ho efforts to "get Castro" whether by another assassination or by a second invasion wound down under LBJ. The two biggest beneficiaries of the Kennedy assassination were Fidel Castro and LBJ, definitely in that order. The fact that Castro and LBJ benefited from the assassination is insufficient to prove that either planned it but both clearly had a motive to seek a "regime change" in the US.

The illogic in Posada's view on the JFK assassination seems matched by his reasoning in the 1971 aborted attempt on Castro. His plan was to try to pin the blame on the Russians? Now what sense does THAT make?

Many members of this Forum believe that anti-Castro forces used LHO as a patsy to try to pin the JFK assassination on Castro. That theory, of course, demonstrates that Castro had a motive to seek JFK's death. To use Castro as a "false sponsor" of the Kennedy assassination therefore makes logical sense.

But to try to pin the assassination of Castro on Russian security forces makes no semse whatsoever, in my opinion. Who would believe it?

Edited May 2, 2005 by Tim Gratz

[Ron Ecker]

Tim,

I wasn't referring to Posada's opinion, my reference was to Bosch's. (But I didn't really think that his opinion would impress you.)

Bosch said he had never studied the details but, unlike many of his fellow Miami exiles eager to stir up a U.S. reaction against Fidel, Bosch said he didn’t believe that Castro was involved. "What could Castro gain by doing that?" Bosch asked.

Ron

[Tim Gratz]

Thanks, Ron, I stand corrected. But my point remains the same that Castro clearly benefited (gained) from the assassination and that those who assert he had nothing to gain are clearly wrong. I think a reply to this could be how could Castro know before the assassination that he would fare better under LBJ than under JFK. But since he knew that JFK and RFK were planning a second invasion and the CIA was planning yet another assassination attempt against him, he really had little to lose, regardless of the unccertainty of his "gain". And it is interesting that exile leaders such as Artime and Oveida immediately recognized after the assassination that their hopes for a free Cuba died with JFK. How did they know that? If we could answer that question we would probably know why Castro himself believed he would benefit from "regime change" in the US.

[Shanet Clark]

tim

good point today.

the pro cuban independence group of legitimately alienated Cuban Americans did see a great opportunity and closest ally with JFK.

How much that supports your theory, though, I am not sure.

The variety and range of political spectrum about Cuban American community makes it hard to isolate true threads.

USA groups had all the bases covered, lots of manipulation and switching sides. Good opportunity for some very ugly combinations.

Original off shore interests, caribean drugs, etc, trafficante and paid agency pilots and pr men, so, the real sense of loss that these core mainstream people had shows a manipulation, against legitimat US Cuban community interests ........thanks

best wishes

[quote=Tim Gratz,May 2 2005, 08:19 AM]

Thanks, Ron, I stand corrected. But my point remains the same that Castro clearly benefited (gained) from the assassination and that those who assert he had nothing to gain are clearly wrong. I think a reply to this could be how could Castro know before the assassination that he would fare better under LBJ than under JFK. But since he knew that JFK and RFK were planning a second invasion and the CIA was planning yet another assassination attempt against him, he really had little to lose, regardless of the unccertainty of his "gain". And it is interesting that exile leaders such as Artime and Oveida immediately recognized after the assassination that their hopes for a free Cuba died with JFK. How did they know that? If we could answer that question we would probably know why Castro himself believed he would benefit from "regime change" in the US.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Edited May 3, 2005 by Shanet Clark

[Dawn Meredith]

The article also has some bad news for Tim. Not even Orlando Bosch buys the idea that Castro was behind the assassination.

____________________

Ron:

No one here "buys" this foolish idea. Except the one person pushing it and some of us wonder what his agenda really is.

Dawn