Felipe
Vidal Santiago was born in Cuba. He became
a Cuban naval officer but went into exile when Fidel
Castro gained
power in 1959. He lived in South America before moving to Miami where
he associated with the Interpen
(Intercontinental
Penetration Force)
group.
Vidal
became a close friend of John
Martino.
He also worked closely with Roy
Hargraves and
carried out a series of raids on Cuba in the 1960s. This involved
a plan to to create a war with Cuba by simulating an attack on Guantanamo
Naval Base.
In
1963 Vidal made a series of trips to Dallas, Texas, in order to raise
funds for the anti-Castro exiles. Some researchers have suggested
that Vidal was involved in the assassination of John
F. Kennedy. Others have claimed that he can
be seen on the Grassy
Knoll
with Roy
Hargraves.
Felipe
Vidal Santiago
was captured after entering Cuba
in the Spring of 1964 and
was later executed.
Photomontage supplied by
James Richards
Open
Debate on the Kennedy Assassination
(1)
Fabian
Escalante,
Cuban
Officials and JFK Historians Conference (7th December, 1995)
He (Felipe
Vidal Santiago) was
arrested in March of 1964 when he tried to ram his boat in Cuba with
three others to perform acts of sabotage. There he had many conversations
with us. He just told us this of his own accord. We didn't ask questions.
Our interest really were in the plan of sabotage. Sabotage when and
where. We wanted to know what was behind the sabotage and then he
started to talk about his subject. So then, that's why a decision
was made to take down everything he said. And that's why we have tapes.
He talked about things not associated with the sabotage. There were
too many people, we didn't have the resources or tapes to take it.
It was in his first declaration, it was political information. He
came to us for the first time to talk to us about September of 1962,
opening a communication with Cuba. And that was very important to
tape all of his conversations about Cuba.
He
was informing the groups of exiles in the United States about Kennedy
administrations attempts to have dialog with Cuba. While interrogating
Santiago
in
Cuba, we came up with some more interesting information. He was arrested
in 1964, March. A few months after the assassination. He explained
that he had a relationship with a CIA official, who was military intelligence
- William Bishop. He says that in November of 1963, William Bishop
invited him to a meeting in Dallas. It was a meeting with a few wealthy
people in Dallas talking about financing an anti-Castro.
The
first few days of November, 1963. He says that William Bishop picked
him up in his car in Miami and they drove to Dallas. They were there
for about four days. This would had to have happened the weekend before
the assassination, according to what he says. They stayed in a second
class hotel. They stayed in a second class hotel. Bishop left several
times to have interviews. But this guy did not know who he was talking
to. After approximately four days, they returned to Miami. After the
assassination, they were in Tallahassee, when he went to visit a new
house for a new car. He passed information.
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