There Was No Plot against JFK in Tampa
- Fred Litwin
- Nov 18, 2023
- 4 min read
Nagle writes:
Although the motorcade in Tampa went ahead as planned, eerie parallels with Dallas would emerge from facts ascertained after November 22. For example, the Secret Service was reportedly concerned about the Floridan Palace Hotel, an 18-story building on the motorcade route.
The Secret Service was "reportedly concerned." But the reality is that they weren't. The supposed concern was noted by Lamar Waldron's 2005 book, Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK.
Waldron interviewed Tampa Police Chief Mullins who said he was concerned about several tall buildings. However, one of his comments is revealing. Waldron says Mullins "said he depended on hotel staff to keep him abreast of any suspicious or strange people." Really? You're really worried about the hotel but you rely on hotel staff?
There is no mention of Mullins' concern about the Floridan Hotel in Gerald Blaine's 2011 book, The Kennedy Detail: JFK's Secret Service Agents Break Their Silence.
Here is the Final Survey Report of the Secret Service, written by Gerald Blaine, about JFK's Tampa trip:
Kennedy visited Tampa on November 18, 1963. Here are some pictures from his almost thirty-mile long motorcade that show JFK standing in the limousine:
Nagle then conflates the Miami trip and the Tampa trip:
Cancelled Motorcade
A Cuban-American who had returned from Communist Cuba in the summer of 1962, Gilberto Policarpo Lopez, was a member of the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, was separated from his wife, and had reportedly been involved in a fist fight for his pro-Castro sympathies.
Listed in immigration documents as a resident of Tampa, Lopez applied for and received a Mexican tourist card from the Mexican consulate there on Nov. 20.
On the day of Kennedy’s assassination, Lopez would find himself in Texas, crossing the US-Mexico border at Nuevo Laredo in the middle of the night and arriving in Mexico the next day.
On Nov. 27, he would board a flight from Mexico City to Havana as the sole passenger. Lopez was secretly investigated by the FBI on behalf of the Warren Commission, and the CIA collected information and kept a file on him.
Afflicted with grand mal epilepsy that caused frequent seizures, Lopez was two months shy of his 24th birthday when he flew to Cuba.
Policarpo was in Texas on November 22nd. Well, yes he was on his way to Mexico from Tampa. There is no evidence he was in Dallas, and he most likely went through Houston which leads directly to Laredo.
He went to Fair Play for Cuba Committee meeting. Not that surprising. He was anxious to go back to Cuba
The mysterious flight to Havana. Of course, the fact that Lopez was the only passenger on a Cubana flight to Havana seemed suspicious. However, it turns out that he traveled on a cargo flight.
The photograph of Lopez wearing sunglasses. One author, James Johnston wrote that Lopez was wearing sunglasses "presumably to hinder identification." Perhaps he was wearing sunglasses to help with his epilepsy.
Policarpo was pro-Castro. I am not sure why this makes him suspicious.
I have no reason to doubt that Gilberto Policarpo Lopez was who he appeared to be: a young man who came to the United States, got married and then had his marriage fall apart. He couldn't speak English and could only get menial jobs. He had significant health problems, and he missed his family in Cuba. He then decided to go back to Cuba, where they could help take care of him.
For more information on the supposed Tampa plot and Gilberto Policarpo Lopez, have a look at the following blog posts:
The truth about Lopez.
There was no plot in Tampa.
There was also no plot against JFK in Chicago:
JFK canceled his Chicago trip because of the assassination of Diem.
The HSCA did speak to Edwin Black. It was a memorable interview.
There is no evidence of a plot in Chicago against JFK.
Bolden's story about the supposed Chicago plot has changed over the years.
An examination of supposed other plots against JFK.
Bolden didn't say one word about a supposed plot against JFK in Chicago.
Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Jefferson Morley
Morley doesn't like my posts on Paul Landis.
Morley thinks there are two redacted memos on CIA reorganization, but there is only one.
A rebuttal to Morley's response to my post
There is no credible evidence Harvey was in Dallas in November of 1963.
Morley repeats the claim that Dulles was at a CIA training center during the weekend of the JFK assassination. He wasn't.
Morley's claims about Efron are all wrong.
Morley responded to my article "The Truth about Operation Northwoods." Here is my reply.
W. Tracy Parnell is one of the best JFK assassination researchers out there. Here is his look at Jefferson Morley with several important articles.
Operation Northwoods can only understood as being part of the Kennedys' war against Cuba and Operation Mongoose.
And a response from me.
There is no evidence that Dr. West petitioned the court to examine Jack Ruby before his trial.
There is absolutely no evidence that Dr. Louis Jolyon West interfered with Jack Ruby's case.
The phrase 'who shot John' does not refer to the JFK assassination.
Jefferson Morley used a fake Oswald handbill in his press conference for the Mary Ferrell Foundation.
An examination of redactions in the JFK collection of documents.
