The JFKA and Gilberto Policarpo Lopez

[Benjamin Cole]

FL-

I enjoyed your two posts, and if and when I have time I will try to read some of the background.

Here is how AI answered the question "In 1963, was it common for passengers on travel on cargo planes to Cuba from Mexico?"


---30---

No, it was not common, but rather highly restricted and difficult due to U.S. embargoes and political tensions; travel to Cuba was effectively banned for most, especially Americans, by 1963, though some charter or private flights, potentially cargo-based, might have operated under specific, often unofficial, circumstances for certain individuals like Cubans seeking exile or urgent private business, but it wasn't typical passenger travel.

Context of Travel in 1963:

U.S. Embargo: The U.S. imposed a comprehensive trade embargo in the early 1960s, with Treasury Department regulations effectively banning financial transactions for travel to Cuba from 1963 to 1977, making it nearly impossible for most Americans.
Commercial Flights Suspended: Commercial airline flights between the U.S. and Cuba were suspended by February 1963.
Limited Exceptions: While official tourism ceased, some flights did occur, often for refugees leaving Cuba (the "Freedom Flights" started later in 1965, but similar movements existed) or for urgent private matters, but these weren't standard passenger routes.

Cargo Planes: Cargo planes could carry passengers, but this was usually for specific, non-commercial, or charter purposes, not common tourist routes, especially given the political climate.

In essence, 1963 was a period of severe restriction, making any travel to Cuba, especially via non-standard methods like cargo planes from Mexico, highly unusual and certainly not "common" for general passengers.

---30---

You have presented Gilberto Policarpo Lopez is an ordinary guy, with even fewer leftist credentials that LHO.

Yet, somehow Lopez was able to board a cargo plane to Havana?

Are you aware of anyone else, on an ad-hoc basis, hopping on a cargo plane to Havana from Mexico in 1963?

[Tom Graves]

FL-

I enjoyed your two posts, and if and when I have time I will try to read some of the background.

Here is how AI answered the question "In 1963, was it common for passengers on travel on cargo planes to Cuba from Mexico?"


---30---

No, it was not common, but rather highly restricted and difficult due to U.S. embargoes and political tensions; travel to Cuba was effectively banned for most, especially Americans, by 1963, though some charter or private flights, potentially cargo-based, might have operated under specific, often unofficial, circumstances for certain individuals like Cubans seeking exile or urgent private business, but it wasn't typical passenger travel.

Context of Travel in 1963:

U.S. Embargo: The U.S. imposed a comprehensive trade embargo in the early 1960s, with Treasury Department regulations effectively banning financial transactions for travel to Cuba from 1963 to 1977, making it nearly impossible for most Americans.
Commercial Flights Suspended: Commercial airline flights between the U.S. and Cuba were suspended by February 1963.
Limited Exceptions: While official tourism ceased, some flights did occur, often for refugees leaving Cuba (the "Freedom Flights" started later in 1965, but similar movements existed) or for urgent private matters, but these weren't standard passenger routes.

Cargo Planes: Cargo planes could carry passengers, but this was usually for specific, non-commercial, or charter purposes, not common tourist routes, especially given the political climate.

In essence, 1963 was a period of severe restriction, making any travel to Cuba, especially via non-standard methods like cargo planes from Mexico, highly unusual and certainly not "common" for general passengers.

---30---

You have presented Gilberto Policarpo Lopez is an ordinary guy, with even fewer leftist credentials that LHO.

Yet, somehow Lopez was able to board a cargo plane to Havana?

Are you are on anyone else, on an ad-hoc basis, hopping on a cargo plane to Havana from Mexico in 1963?

1) You'll never have the time.

2) "Are you are on anyone else, on an ad-hoc basis, hopping on a cargo plane to Havana from Mexico in 1963?"

Huh?

[Benjamin Cole]

Yes, I have a job. Little time.

From AI:

Yes, it is historically documented that Gilberto Policarpo Lopez traveled from Mexico City to Havana in late 1963 under unusual circumstances, though it was on a Cubana Airlines passenger flight, not a cargo plane.

Details of the event include:

The Flight: Lopez departed for Havana on November 27, 1963, via Cubana Flight #465.

Unusual Circumstances: While not a cargo plane, he was recorded as the only passenger on the flight, accompanied by a crew of nine Cubans. Intelligence reports noted the flight waited for hours for him to arrive and took off hastily once he was aboard.

Timing: His travel was deemed suspicious by intelligence agencies because it occurred just five days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Lopez had crossed the border from the U.S. into Mexico on the day of the assassination.

Status: Although often described as an "ordinary traveler" or a Key West baker, his movements were heavily scrutinized by the CIA and FBI. Some researchers and declassified documents have raised questions about his potential links to the assassination or intelligence agencies, though no official conspiracy was ever proven.

Lopez reportedly remained in Cuba for some time after the flight before eventually returning to the United States, where he died in Florida in 2021.

---30---

Well, the National Aquarium is fishy, and so is Mr. Lopez.

[Tom Graves]

Yes, I have a job. Little time.

From AI:

Yes, it is historically documented that Gilberto Policarpo Lopez traveled from Mexico City to Havana in late 1963 under unusual circumstances, though it was on a Cubana Airlines passenger flight, not a cargo plane.

Details of the event include:

The Flight: Lopez departed for Havana on November 27, 1963, via Cubana Flight #465.

Unusual Circumstances: While not a cargo plane, he was recorded as the only passenger on the flight, accompanied by a crew of nine Cubans. Intelligence reports noted the flight waited for hours for him to arrive and took off hastily once he was aboard.

Timing: His travel was deemed suspicious by intelligence agencies because it occurred just five days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Lopez had crossed the border from the U.S. into Mexico on the day of the assassination.

Status: Although often described as an "ordinary traveler" or a Key West baker, his movements were heavily scrutinized by the CIA and FBI. Some researchers and declassified documents have raised questions about his potential links to the assassination or intelligence agencies, though no official conspiracy was ever proven.

Lopez reportedly remained in Cuba for some time after the flight before eventually returning to the United States, where he died in Florida in 2021.

His daughter says he always referred to it as a cargo plane.

[Benjamin Cole]

TG-

Love the Batman logo.

I cannot access National Archives at the moment. Some sort of glitch. Some memos in the NA are cited as evidence that Lopez rode on an otherwise empty passenger jet.

[Benjamin Cole]

On Nov. 27, Lopez entered Cuban on a "Cuban courtesy visa."

AI:

"In 1963, a Cuban "courtesy visa" was a specific type of travel document, likely granted by Cuban authorities, used by individuals like operative Gilberto Lopez to enter Cuba from Mexico, possibly to facilitate intelligence work or specific missions, operating outside normal tourist channels due to the U.S. embargo and severed diplomatic ties, allowing agents to move covertly for political reasons."

All of this sounds fishy to me. 

[Tom Graves]

On Nov. 27, Lopez entered Cuban on a "Cuban courtesy visa."

AI:

"In 1963, a Cuban "courtesy visa" was a specific type of travel document, likely granted by Cuban authorities, used by individuals like operative Gilberto Lopez to enter Cuba from Mexico, possibly to facilitate intelligence work or specific missions, operating outside normal tourist channels due to the U.S. embargo and severed diplomatic ties, allowing agents to move covertly for political reasons."

All of this sounds fishy to me.

Fishy?

Wowie zowie!

[Fred Litwin]

I posted the link that it was a cargo plane, and It was probably not unusual for Cubana airlines.

I don't think he faked epilectic fits, and he was hospitalized in florida. His wife never said he faked stuff. I don't believe any of this.

There is nothing to see here, guys.

fred