A newly declassified CIA document, known as the “Donald Heath Memo,” confirms that the CIA, in the immediate aftermath of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, rejected the notion that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
The 11-page document, authored by Donald Heath—a CIA officer assigned to the Miami Station during the early 1960s—details the agency’s intense investigative efforts following Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963.
The memo details how the CIA’s Miami Station was mobilized in the hours and days following the assassination to investigate possible links between the Cuban government, Cuban exiles, and the Kennedy killing.
Far from accepting the Warren Commission’s narrative of a lone shooter, the memo shows the agency actively probing a broader conspiracy.
This document confirms the CIA rejected the lone gun theory in the weeks after the JFK assassination. It’s called the Donald Heath memo.
TY @jeffersonmorley for flagging this. Part 1/2https://t.co/L08dsdlunS pic.twitter.com/LgfdQNUAvm
— Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) March 21, 2025
Donald Heath:
“At the time of the Kennedy murder I was on suspension from active duty because I had let my finance accountings fall behind. I was, however, present in the FI Branch at the Miami Station when my chief, Mr. Warren Frank, issued orders to all case officers (there were about 12 of us in the Branch at that time) to contact our agents inside Cuba and our support agents in Miami for leads possibly linking Castro Cuba or the Cuban exile community to the murder.I do not recall whether Mr. Shackley was on Station that day, but I recall that Mr. Anthony Sforza, AMOT case officer, told me later that he had received specific instructions from Shackley about how the AMOT service was to go about aiding in the investigation.
I also recall quite clearly that there was communication from Hqs. to our Station about the need to query our assets. There was also some communication from the FBI and other agencies to our Station asking for information about possible Cuban involvement in the Kennedy murder.”
Heath recalled being directed to question agents on topics such as:
- Suspicious disappearances of Cuban exiles before or after the assassination.
- Requests for large sums of money, weapons, or vehicles during fall 1963.
- Cuban exiles considered capable of orchestrating the assassination.
- Wealthy exiles who might have financed such an operation.
These queries suggest the agency was seriously exploring the possibility that JFK’s murder was either backed or executed by actors with connections to Cuba.
Heath recounts a directive from CIA officer Theodore G. Shackley to activate “fast reaction investigative systems,” normally reserved for imminent threats or acts of terrorism. This response included:
- Rapid intelligence gathering via Cuban agents inside the island
- Activation of the AMOT intelligence service to probe exile communities
- Use of covert assets to gather insights on the Cuban government’s reaction to JFK’s death
One particularly telling detail: Heath recounts an agent in Cuba observing Osmani Cienfuegos, a senior Cuban official, visiting an American technician who reportedly built audio surveillance equipment for Cuban intelligence—just hours after news of Kennedy’s death reached Havana.
Donald Heath:
“I recall that the night of the day that Kennedy was murdered (AMWEE-1) saw Osmani Cienfuegos, a Cuban leader, drive up to the house across the street from (AMWEE-1’s) house at about 0100 hours. He stayed in that house for several hours. The house was occupied by an American expatriate technician who built audio-surveillance gear for the Cuban intelligence service.I recall that AMWEE-1 opined that Cienfuegos visited the American that night because he was one of the few American sources the Cuban government could talk to in Cuba about what was going on in the USA as a result of Kennedy’s murder.”
“14. In closing I should point out that my involvement in seeking Cuban leads to the Kennedy murder was slight. Other officers would have been more involved than I.
I would assume Mr. Shackley has the clearest recollection of tasks the Station may have been given to support investigation of the Kennedy murder.
One final remark about Miami Station investigation of the Kennedy murder, violations of the Neutrality Act, and other developments: All of us were very well informed about the limitations on CIA’s right to conduct investigations of persons residing in the USA, whether they were alien residents or US citizens.
I do not recall anyone ever seeking information on security matters in the USA which was not related to Cuban exiles and their activities with respect to Cuba.
On occasion, I would come across information indicating action by US citizens to a) aid in violating the Neutrality Act or b) conduct espionage on behalf of a foreign power.
In such instances, I wrote up what I discovered and sent it through Station channels to the appropriate US Agency concerned with the particular type of violation that was suspected and then withdrew from further attempts to acquire information.”
You can read the memo below:
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