Herminio Diaz-Garcia

[David Boylan]

I thought I'd start a new thread on HDG.

What source do we have that he was Santo Trafficante's bodyguard?

[Jean Ceulemans]

I only read (I have not checked this) that Fabian Escalante stated this at the Cuban Officials and JFK Historians Conference on 7th December, 1995 (from Spartacus Educational).

That's about the only thing were there seems to be an actual reference to that specific job, often I see it being presented as some kind of general knowledge, but I think it's far from that. 

 

 

[Benjamin Cole]

In this session, HSCA Chief Counsel Robert Blakey suggests Herminio  Diaz and Eladio del Valle as the JFKA gunsels. I guess we can say by 2019 Blakey had  dismissed the WC and even his own HSCA findings regarding the JFKA. 

Which, of course, makes Blakey yet another conspiracy nut. As I recall, the Fabian Escalante info influenced Blakey.

Of course, this is hardly proof of anything, but it is interesting that both Diaz and Del Valle were soon dead---del Valle shot dead gangland style almost at the same time David Ferrie died or was eliminated in 1967, and Diaz in 1966 on a raid against Cuba. 

One might say Diaz, willing to go on raid against Cuba (long odds, no?) was of a certain temperament. 

In this news article below, it is suggested the CIA, or other intel agency has info that Diaz was in the US during the JFKA. Maybe some of you doc-hunters know how to confirm that. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2463291/Was-Cuban-Herminio-Diaz-second-Kennedy-assassin.html

Not a bad article, btw. 

So, to sum up, if Diaz and del Valle were perps, who had tricked LHO into a purported false flag op, they were soon dead, along with LHO. 

Thus, it is possible that by 1967 there was no one with first-hand knowledge of the JFKA alive. 

I lean towards this explanation of JFKA. This does not exclude the possibility that a higher-up in the CIA food chain leaked info to Diaz and del Valle, or that the pair believed they has tacit agency approval for their actions.

They could have been rogue also. 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2023 by Benjamin Cole

[Scott Deitche]

I haven't been on this forum in ages (maybe 10 years)? Came back to look up something from a long-ago thread on Trafficante and came across this post. 

I mention that Diaz was Trafficante's sometime bodyguard in Cuba, in my Trafficante book The Silent Don. However, I'll need to dig back into the archives both in my files and in my brain, to recall where I found that. I do know that the late Ralph Rubio told me that Santo had a big burly Cuban guy who watched him, from time to time. I'll see if I can find my notes from my interview with him. Ralph Rubio was the nephew of Tampa gangland figure Tito Rubio who was killed in the 1930. Ralph worked for Lanksy at the Hotel Riviera in Havana as a dealer and later, pit boss. He also knew Santo well. 

Edited January 6 by Scott Deitche

[David Boylan]

Thanks Scott.

Here's a bit from another post:

Thanks Ron and Larry. I've seen HDG's jobs as chief of security detail (59-60) at the Riviera, cashier (63,) and restaurant worker. He was of great interest to the CIA due to his connection to EFIGENIO AMEIJIERAS. EA was one of the big six (Item 4 A) that the CIA was counting on to overthrow Castro as part of the AMLASH project. Carl Jenkins and Manuel Artime did not much care for him though.

I've come to the conclusion that if he was involved, it would have been through Carlos Zarraga. Zarraga and HDG went back a long way to pre-Castro Cuba as members of the old UIR. Zarraga (AMOT-133) de-briefed HDG in September 1963 after which the CIA assigned him a 201 number. Zarraga, Cuesta and HDG would run infils into Cuba.

 

[James DiEugenio]

From Jim Harwood,  Interesting if true:

Does anyone know that Atlanta based foodservice company DIAZ FOODS is directly linked to Castro's late son? 

 

Now get this the matriarch of this Miami to Atlanta Diaz family married Castro and Herminio is her son (she died in 1996).. She was Castro's first wife.  She then marries a US Military colonel and he forms what we know today as AFLAC insurance, you know the commercials with the duck quacking out "AFLAC". Now all of this occurs in Columbus Georgia and the grandson and his daddy move to Atlanta in 1968 and form a hispanic food distribution company.How they god damn knew we'd be up to our ass in Hispanics way back in 1968 is beyond me. 

 

Now get this: The grandfather Salvadore Diaz Verson was the head of Cuban Intelligence under Batista , which would have to mean he at least knew the likes of Meyer Lansky etc. 

In 1964 Salvadore Verson Diaz (I dont know which comes first the Verson name or the Diaz name) testified before the Warren Commission and I believe he told them Oswald tried to get into Cuba via Mexico. 

 

The Diaz family are darlings of Georgia and the southern oligarchs of Atlanta. When we see all these Hispanics today in almost every state in the Union be aware Atlanta was their first base they landed. Governor Carter allowed them to flood into the dirty city of Atlanta. I like Lincoln's General Sherman's Atlanta policy. We should use it today. 

 

Alright, another fun fact known by few. PS- The FBI released some docs under Trump which told of the 1966 dealings of these Diaz which included smuggling heroin into the US via Mexico. Their partner was another hispanic named Esteves. I bet everything I own that this was one of Martin Sheen's brothers. They're both buried in border towns of Mexico and the US. They were sea merchants.  You know Sheen's mother was related to one of the writers that did a hatchet job on Jim Garrison. It's an Irish name but I can't remember it at the moment. The Sheens spent their summer in Bermuda and British owned island off the coast of the Carolinas.

 

https://www.diazfoods.com/#diaz-foods-spices

[David Boylan]

1 hour ago, James DiEugenio said:

From Jim Harwood,  Interesting if true:

Does anyone know that Atlanta based foodservice company DIAZ FOODS is directly linked to Castro's late son? 

 

Now get this the matriarch of this Miami to Atlanta Diaz family married Castro and Herminio is her son (she died in 1996).. She was Castro's first wife.  She then marries a US Military colonel and he forms what we know today as AFLAC insurance, you know the commercials with the duck quacking out "AFLAC". Now all of this occurs in Columbus Georgia and the grandson and his daddy move to Atlanta in 1968 and form a hispanic food distribution company.How they god damn knew we'd be up to our ass in Hispanics way back in 1968 is beyond me. 

 

Now get this: The grandfather Salvadore Diaz Verson was the head of Cuban Intelligence under Batista , which would have to mean he at least knew the likes of Meyer Lansky etc. 

In 1964 Salvadore Verson Diaz (I dont know which comes first the Verson name or the Diaz name) testified before the Warren Commission and I believe he told them Oswald tried to get into Cuba via Mexico. 

 

The Diaz family are darlings of Georgia and the southern oligarchs of Atlanta. When we see all these Hispanics today in almost every state in the Union be aware Atlanta was their first base they landed. Governor Carter allowed them to flood into the dirty city of Atlanta. I like Lincoln's General Sherman's Atlanta policy. We should use it today. 

 

Alright, another fun fact known by few. PS- The FBI released some docs under Trump which told of the 1966 dealings of these Diaz which included smuggling heroin into the US via Mexico. Their partner was another hispanic named Esteves. I bet everything I own that this was one of Martin Sheen's brothers. They're both buried in border towns of Mexico and the US. They were sea merchants.  You know Sheen's mother was related to one of the writers that did a hatchet job on Jim Garrison. It's an Irish name but I can't remember it at the moment. The Sheens spent their summer in Bermuda and British owned island off the coast of the Carolinas.

 

https://www.diazfoods.com/#diaz-foods-spices

Totally different Herminio Diaz. We are talking about Sandalio Herminio Diaz-Garcia born 9/3/23. Died 5/29/66. He was with Tony Cuesta when Cuesta was wounded.

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=86062#relPageId=3

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=86056#relPageId=5

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=93296#relPageId=11

Edited January 8 by David Boylan