Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Handbill Investigation and Lack of Oswald Connection

Handbill Investigation and Lack of Oswald Connection At the start of the investigation, Klause told federal agents he did not know his customer’s name and incorrectly described the individual, but confirmed the customer did not resemble Lee Harvey Oswald or Jack Ruby. He disclosed Surrey’s identity shortly before his Commission testimony, explaining no transaction record was kept because he saw an opportunity to earn extra money on the side. Klause’s account is partially corroborated by Bernard Weissman’s testimony that he saw a copy of the “Wanted for Treason” handbill in General Walker’s station wagon shortly after November 22, and other details of the handbill’s printing process were verified. Weissman testified that neither he nor his associates had any involvement with the handbill, nor were they acquainted with Surrey, Klause, Lettercraft Printing Co., or Johnson Printing Co. Klause, Surrey, and General Walker all stated they were unacquainted with Oswald and had not heard of him prior to the afternoon of November 22, and the Commission found no evidence linking the handbill’s creators to Oswald or the assassination.

Contacts With Cuban and Soviet Embassies in Mexico City and Washington, D.C.

Contacts With Cuban and Soviet Embassies in Mexico City and Washington, D.C. Eight weeks before the assassination, Oswald traveled to Mexico City to visit both the Cuban and Soviet Embassies, a trip his wife Marina was aware of before he departed but denied knowledge of during her Commission testimony. The Commission launched an intensive investigation to determine Oswald’s purpose and activities on the trip, including evaluating reports that he was an agent of the Cuban or Soviet governments, and concluded it had reconstructed and explained most of his actions during the journey, with a full chronological account included in the report’s appendix XIII.

Oswald’s September 1963 Trip to Mexico

Oswald’s September 1963 Trip to Mexico Oswald was in Mexico from September 26, 1963, to October 3, 1963. Marina Oswald testified that he told her the trip’s purpose was to evade the U.S. prohibition on travel to Cuba and reach the country, and he had previously planned to hijack a New Orleans-bound airliner to do so before she urged him to abandon the scheme. Bus passengers traveling with Oswald to Mexico City testified he stated he intended to reach Cuba via Mexico and hoped to meet Fidel Castro upon arrival. When meeting Cuban and Soviet consular officials, Oswald claimed he was traveling to the Soviet Union and requested an in-transit Cuban visa to enter Cuba on September 29 en route to the U.S.S.R. Marina testified these statements were deceptions designed to secure access to Cuba, and available evidence suggests it is more likely Oswald intended to remain in Cuba rather than continue on to the Soviet Union.

Oswald’s Visa Applications at Cuban and Soviet Embassies

Oswald’s Visa Applications at Cuban and Soviet Embassies At the Cuban Embassy, Oswald requested an in-transit visa to travel to Cuba on his way to the Soviet Union, but was informed he could not obtain a Cuban visa without first securing a Soviet visa. The Soviet Embassy told him his visa application would take approximately 4 months to process. Oswald presented forged or false documents to both embassies, including proof of his prior 3-year residence in the Soviet Union, his marriage to a Soviet national, and materials purporting to show he was a leader of the New Orleans Fair Play for Cuba Committee, to curry favor with consular staff. He had a sharp argument with Cuban Consul Eusebio Azcue when his demand for a visa was refused; Azcue stated that if it were up to him, he would not grant Oswald a visa, as “a person of his type” was harming the Cuban Revolution. Oswald left Mexico City on October 2 without obtaining either visa, and Marina testified he was disappointed and discouraged by his failure to reach Cuba upon his return to the U.S.

Senora Duran’s Testimony on Oswald’s Embassy Visits

Senora Duran’s Testimony on Oswald’s Embassy Visits Senora Silvia Tirado de Duran, a 26-year-old Mexican national employed in the Cuban Embassy visa section, provided critical testimony about Oswald’s visits to Mexican authorities shortly after the assassination. She recalled Oswald came to the Cuban Consulate in late September or early October 1963 to apply for an in-transit visa to Cuba en route to Russia, presenting his passport, Russian-language labor card, Russian letters, proof of his marriage to a Russian woman, and claims of leadership of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. She informally contacted the Soviet consulate to try to expedite Oswald’s Soviet visa, but was told there would be a 4-month processing delay. When Oswald learned he could not get a Cuban visa without a Soviet visa, he became very angry and argued with Consul Azcue. Duran gave Oswald a slip of paper with her name and the consulate’s phone number, and his visa application was forwarded to the Cuban Foreign Ministry, which sent a routine reply 15 to 30 days later approving the visa only on the condition he first obtained a Soviet visa. Duran could not recall if Oswald later contacted her at the consulate. While Duran and her husband have far-left political leanings and sympathize with the Castro government, no significant inaccuracies have been found in her statements, and documents matching her description of Oswald’s submitted materials were found in his possessions after his arrest.