I really enjoy this thread, and in particular when there is not personal pissing matches going on. Guitarsoup lays out many well presented, logical, and verifiable facts that shows why he believes as he does, and justifiably so. And he explains it in excellent fashion. Now, the one caveat to what are basically the "best practices" facts is that the sources and data to obtain this facts could be manipulated, in essence that is what we have all hoped would be either proven or dispelled by the release of these oh so delicate files.
What I have hoped for is for more shedding light on LHO's time in Mexico as to me it is the major nebulous deal in all of this. Mexico was for years a conundrum in public intelligence circles or for the average citizen. Why? Castro launched his revolution from Mexico, where he had support and was welcomed, I have met several people that met him there (well they were my parents friends). Che Guevara spent years in Mexico, Sandino did as well. Carlos Fonseca the founder of the FSLN was deported to Mexico as well. Many harsh leftist "revolutionaries" that would all end up at odds with US policy spent lots of time in Mexico. Now why is this so much of an oddity?
I have been searching for an article that was published in the mid-90's by a Mexican historian/political scientist that caused quite a bit of uproar, but I haven't been able to find it yet. This was the first published account/accusation, which was later all but 100% verified, that 3 former Mexican presidents had been top paid assets of the CIA, along with multitudes of others dating back to the 1940's. All these former presidents at one time held the highest position in the Mexican government in terms of management/ruling (Gobernacion). All were over the DFS, Mexico's combination FBI/CIA. And that organization had several others reporting to the CIA.
What this article lays out is the compromising of these Mexican government functionaries along with Mexico basically "fostering/supporting" leftist usurpers at the behest of the CIA. I mean if the CIA was against these leftists and the CIA was basically involved in, if not controlling, the Mexican security organizations why was this allowed to happen in Mexico. This article makes the case that Winston Scott, the longtime CIA station chief in CDMX, was the Mexican equivalent of J. Edgar Hoover in controlling Mexican internal security organizations and Mexican foreign policy. The article states that the CIA was promulgating this activity and no better place than Mexico where the CIA could oversee and know 100% what was going on. Mexico welcomed these subversives with the strong rule that nothing be done to affect Mexican politics and that there were to be under the discreet supervision of the DFS. Notice no true leftist threat ever emerged in Mexico, but many future ones were hatched there.
I keep perusing the releases for something earth shattering but nothing as of yet. But to repeat, the DFS/CIA had the CCCP embassy and Cuban mission bugged and infiltrated, this was laid out clearly in this Mexican article, by various assets. There was extensive surveillance and record keeping on the DFS side of things and the DFS picked up, held, and interrogated many Americans and nationals of other countries that approached these supposed hostile foreign governments missions. So how or why could LHO, a known defector and US subversive, just had a la-de-da trip to Mexico, call and visit both missions, attend a radical leftist party (which how in the world could he have known about it) and travel to and from the US, on an arduous, uncomfortable, and slightly dangerous route and just kinda stay off the radar entirely until after the assassination?
To me there are but two explications to the above: 1. The CIA/DFS and penetration staff were totally inept to the point of absolute stupidity or 2. LHO was allowed to go through these processes for some reason or another. And as mentioned the FBI/CIA basically didn't, or at least according to the records available, pursue LHO much if any after the return from Mexico. Despite the records of the intercepted calls, conveniently lost, and despite the DFS records of surveillance.
All the known evidence points to the lone shooter conclusion. Yet it was done by an unstable bungler that had a wild 5-6 years of adulthood and managed to defect to the USSR, marry a Russian, renounce his citizenship, travel to Sweeden/Europe, Mexico, be in NOLA and do who knows what else as I am just not that knowledgeable. All of this when the average American likely had never traveled out of their home state. Where did all the money come from to do all of this?
To me there is too much smoke pointing to some kind of handling of LHO, whether that included the assassination and the trigger pulling I just don't know but can't make a firm case otherwise. But I do not believe that LHO was who his public persona was crafted to be after his death.