Oswald in Mexico City

According to the Warren Commission, Lee Harvey Oswald traveled to Mexico City in the fall of 1963, in search of a visa for travel to Cuba and the Soviet Union. He failed in that effort and returned to Dallas, where 7 weeks later he shot President Kennedy.

Allegations of a Cuban or Soviet conspiracy, based on events and stories related to this visit, bloomed in the aftermath of the assassination. They were apparently instrumental in the creation of the Warren Commission, and over the years more and more has trickled out regarding a trip which ultimately remains enigmatic.

The record on Mexico City is wildly muddled and mysterious. Was Oswald impersonated there? Who is the "mystery man" caught by photo surveillance? Why are CIA records on the trip at sharp variance with participant's memories? Were the witnesses who reported events indicating a Communist conspiracy telling the truth, spinning false tales, or perhaps reporting on staged incidents? Did Oswald, or someone pretending to be him, threaten the life of JFK in the Cuban Embassy?

Despite the mysteries, one thing is certain. The events in Mexico City had a profound effect on the federal government's response to the assassination. President Johnson invoked fears of nuclear war in putting together the Warren Commission, finally enlisting a recalcitrant Earl Warren by telling him "what Hoover told me about a little incident in Mexico City."

The Fourteen Minute Gap - A short documentary about an erased Presidential phone call in which Johnson and Hoover a Mexico City impersonator.

Oswald's Visits to the Cuban and Soviet Embassies - Discusses the Oswald embassy visits and the resulting CIA cable traffic.

The Mexico City Tapes - Focuses on recorded telephone conversations of a man using Oswald's name, who was apparently not Oswald.

Valeriy Kostikov and Comrade Kostin - Examines the KGB Department 13 "wet affairs" connection and the curious letter written to a "Comrade Kostin."

Photo Surveillance and the Mystery Man - Looks at the man caught on surveillance cameras, apparently originally thought to be Oswald.

Stories of Communist Conspiracy in Mexico City - Discusses the arrest of Cuban Consulate worker Sylvia Duran, the allegations of Gilberto Alvarado Ugarte, Pedro Gutierrez Valencia, and Elena Garro de Paz, and another event involving suspected Cuban intelligence agent Luisa Calderon.