General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy believed President Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy. [View all]happyslug
(14,779 posts)I suspect that the CIA knew of the use of Oswald's name in Mexico City, it was NOT used by Oswald but by the KGB for one of their spy who came with information from the US to the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City.
In the 1960s, except for Cuba, the Soviets had no access to sent data back home except by the use of time consuming one time codes (which are almost unbreakable, for they are only used once and then with short enough transmission so anyone taping the transmission never gets enough data to break the code, but such codes have to be used once AND then on short enough messages so not enough data is transmitted to break the code). Thus radio was out for anything extensive.
With Soviet Ships and Planes to the US being watched, the Soviets had a problem getting anything extensive back to Moscow. One way around this was to send messages via a another country. Canada and the US were joined at the hip, so Canada was out, Cuba was being embargoed and thus out, that left Mexico.
I suspect Oswald's name was used by such a courier (or maybe even a US Citizens who wanted to sell US secrets). Oswald had moved to the Soviet Union, and as part of that move the Soviets had been able to obtained copies his DD-214 (discharge papers), his domestic Driver's license, his Birth Certificate and his passport. All good source of information on Oswald. When Oswald went back to the US, the Soviet retained these copies. Anyone crossing into Mexico could use Oswald's name and whatever duplicate ID the Soviets could make based on the Information they had on Oswald. The KGB would have told who ever is using the ID to go via Dallas so their trail and the actual Oswald's trail would have overlapped and to use Oswald's name in Mexico. On the return continue to use Oswald's name and ID till they pass Dallas and then "Lose" the ID, so anyone tracking them would divert to the real Oswald. In many ways such a use would be perfect, especially if the person using Oswald's name in Mexico kept its use to a minimum (and NEVER use his real name).
Now, using a real person's name was better then making one up, and Oswald's additional information the Soviets had due to Oswald's having lived in the Soviet Union would have provided even better data for fake IDs. Thus it would have been tempting for the Soviets to use Oswald's name till JFK was killed by the Oswald.
I suspect the CIA knows the above and that the person who used Oswald's name had nothing to do with the JFK assassinations. I also suspect that the reason the CIA knows this is the FBI told them. The reason the FBI told them, was the FBI had a spy near the top of the Kremlin and I suspect that spy told the FBI of the KGB's problem due to the fact they had used Oswald's name for an unrelated spy and the KGB was afraid that if the US found out "Oswald" had been in the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City that the fact the Oswald in Mexico City was NOT the actual Oswald that killed JFK would be ignored OR missed. i.e. the US would jump to the conclusion that the Oswald in Mexico City had killed JFK, not that the KGB was just using Oswald's name for an unrelated spy.
Now, the FBI spy high in the Soviet Government refused to have any dealings with the CIA and the Spy was giving so much good data from the Soviet Union the CIA wanted him but could not have him. On the other hand the data was excellent so the CIA accepted the situation.
Now, I remember when the story of these two spy came out, I believe in the early 1990s and they had been working for the FBI for decades. Given their position they was no way the CIA or the FBI was going to reveal they name or any information they provided, least the KGB determine they were spies and be shot. This was NOT an idle threat, when CIA analysts Ames first became a spy, the information he was giving the KGB included the name of some high ranking Soviet officials who were CIA spies. The KGB then had them shot (and arranged for one of their female agents to seduce a Marine guarding the US Embassy in Moscow, so they can spread the story these spy were caught due to what that spy recovered on her trips inside the US Embassy with the Marine).
Anyway, these spy were to valuable to be risked in any way. Thus Sprague request was NOT acceptable to the CIA nor the FBI and thus it was going no where.
Side note: Technically all intelligence gathering was concentrated into the CIA on its formation in 1947. This was NOT quite true, J Edgar Hoover wanted to retain his system throughout Latin America. In 1950 he was told to close it down and turn it over to the CIA. Hoover followed the order, in the early 1950s Hoover withdrew his people from their positions throughout Latin America, and then took with them their list of locals who were helping them (i.e. their actual intelligence lists).
Hoover then refused to turn those lists over to the CIA, the CIA had to start with nothing. In many ways the "Revolutions" on the late 1950s and early 1960s was the result of this change. The FBI had the list of people to contact, the CIA did not. It takes time, often a decade or more, to build up list of contacts and prospects and the FBI was not sharing their lists with the CIA. Thus you had about a decade where revolutionaries could organize without being discovered by the US and then undermined by the US. This is probably one of the reasons for the success of Castro, he developed his forces in that decade and by the time the CIA had the contacts it was to late.
I also suspect it was during the time of the FBI handling of intelligence in Latin America that the above spy in the Soviet Union came in contact with the FBI and only trusted the FBI agents they had meet in Latin America (or someone who those agents could vouch for personally). Another theory could be the Agents the FBI had, had friends who told them to trust the FBI but not the CIA due to experiences with both agencies in Latin America in the 1950s.
We have to remember that it has been noted that the people who make up the FBI and the CIA are different. Both are right wing but the differences start with who each agency tends to recruit. FBI agents tended products of mid west collages, while the CIA agents tended to be Ivy league. I hate to say this, but the FBI agents tend to be people who have dealt with poor people all their lives, even growing up with some in the same small town. These Small Town and Small Mid West Collage types see themselves as better then the poor, but the poor are people. On the other hand, the Ivy League tend to see themselves as the elite of the US and that everyone else is unimportant.
The FBI spies apparently wanted to deal with Small Mid West Collage types NOT Ivy leaguers, for some reason known only to themselves.