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

Conflict at the Cuban Embassy

Oswald returned to the Cuban Embassy that afternoon with passport photographs, possibly obtained in the United States. Senora Duran telephoned the Soviet Embassy and learned Oswald’s Russian visa would be delayed approximately four months. Oswald became “highly agitated and angry,” particularly upon learning he could not obtain an intransit Cuban visa before acquiring a Russian visa. Duran called Cuban Consul Eusibio Azque, and the ensuing discussion became a heated argument that ended with Azque telling Oswald that people like him were harming the Cuban Revolution and that he would not be given a visa. Duran provided Oswald with her name and the Embassy’s phone number, which he recorded in his address book. The visa application was forwarded to Havana, but on October 15, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied that the visa could be issued only after Oswald obtained a Russian visa. Oswald contacted both embassies again during his stay with no greater success. In a later letter to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, he blamed a “gross breach of regulations” at the Cuban Embassy for his failure.

Activities and Sightseeing in Mexico City

The hotel maid reported Oswald was generally gone by 9 a.m., and the night watchman said he usually returned around midnight. He ate inexpensive lunches (40 to 48 cents) at an adjacent restaurant, arriving shortly after 2 p.m. and ordering by pointing at the menu; he ate soup, rice, and meat or eggs, refusing dessert and coffee. He was seen with no other person at the hotel or restaurant. Though the Soviet and Cuban Embassies were some distance from his hotel, Oswald traversed substantial portions of the city. Marina testified that he told her he had seen a bullfight, visited museums, done sightseeing, and watched motion pictures. Notations in his Spanish-English dictionary and guide map suggest he intended to attend a jai alai game, which he almost certainly did not. He purchased bullfight and tourist postcards, and brought Marina a silver bracelet inscribed with her name—likely of Japanese origin and commonly sold in Dallas five-and-ten-cent stores rather than in Mexico. He did not purchase the Mexican phonograph records Marina had requested.