Smoking Doc #4 - PATHFINDER RECORDS AT NPIC

NARA Record Number: 1993.08.05.14:42:12:750028

SECURITY FILE ON FRANK STURGIS

http://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=104139&relPageId=14

21 March 1975

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

On 19 March, Dino A. Brugioni, Chief, Western Geographic Division, informed me that three personnel assigned to his division had told him that while serving at JMWAVE, Miami, Florida or in the  Imagery Analysis Service in Washington during the 1960’s, they had heard references to assassination plans on Fidel Castro.

On 20 March, I met with the following NPIC personnel who had either served in the Imagery Analysis Service or at JMWAVE on Cuban related problems: Gordon Duvall, Earl Shoemaker, Tom Helmke, Bruce Barrett, Reyes Ponce, George Arthur, Eugene Lydon, and William Hanlon. The purpose of this meeting was to ascertain whether their participation was related to case officer generated materials or bona fide operations.

There appeared to be two plans involving Fidel Castro and an incident that may have been related to Raul Castro.

The plans involving Fidel, to the knowledge of our people, were: 

A folder, stored in the Photo interpretation area at JMWAVE contained materials relating to a plan to assassinate Castro in the Bay of Pigs resort area where he maintained a yacht and was known to vacation. The plan, possibly with the codeword PATHFINDER, apparently had been disapproved and was not under active consideration at the time. Our people did not participate actively in the plan in any regard. 

While assigned to the Imagery Analysis Service, a number of our photo interpreters supported Carl Jenkins of the DD/P concerning a plan to assassinate Castro at the DuPont Varadero Beach Estate, east of Havana. Castro was known to frequent the estate and the plan was to use a high-powered rifle in the attempt. The photo interpretation support was restricted to providing annotated photographs and line drawings of the estate. To our knowledge, this plan also was never implemented. 

http://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=104139&rel
PageId=14

     (Contains "Photo interpretation area" without "section" crossed out.)
     Not known to D/O:

https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=104139&re
lPageId=13

     HSCA request:
https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=50991&rel
PageId=3
     Reply (negative):
https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=39464&rel
PageId=5