Castro and Madame Nhu

[Charles Collins]

I recently finished reading “Death of a Generation: How the assassinations of Diem and JFK Prolonged the Vietnam War” by Howard Jones. It’s a fascinating, detailed, account of the events leading up to the assassinations. I have occasionally wondered if there might have been a connection between the two assassinations. But I haven’t heard of any theories that support that possibility. Diem’s brother Nhu was also assassinated at the same time. His wife, Madame Nhu, didn’t like JFK and the feeling was mutual. Cuba and North Vietnam were friendly beginning in 1960. Anyway, I saw a couple of comments by Fidel Castro from 11/22/63 in Jean Daniel’s article that are intriguing.


We went by car, with the radio on. The Dallas police were now hot on the trail of the assassin. He is a Russian spy, says the news commentator. Five minutes later, correction: he is a spy married to a Russian. Fidel said, “There, didn’t I tell you; it’ll be my turn next.” But not yet. The next word was: the assassin is a Marxist deserter. Then the word came through, in effect, that the assassin was a young man who was a member of the “Fair Play for Cuba Committee,” that he was an admirer of Fidel Castro. Fidel declared: ”If they had had proof, they would have said he was an agent, an accomplice, a hired killer...”


After Matanzas, where he must have decreed a state of alert, we returned to Varadero for dinner. Quoting the words spoken to him by a woman shortly before, he said to me that it was an irony of history for the Cubans, in the situation to which they had been reduced by the blockade, to have to mourn the death of a President of the United States. “After all,” he added, “there are perhaps some people in the world to whom this news is cause for rejoicing. The South Vietnamese guerrillas, for example, and also, I would imagine, Madame Nhu!”



So, I thought I would ask if anyone else has any thoughts or other intriguing information along these lines…

[Steve M. Galbraith]

I recently finished reading “Death of a Generation: How the assassinations of Diem and JFK Prolonged the Vietnam War” by Howard Jones. It’s a fascinating, detailed, account of the events leading up to the assassinations. I have occasionally wondered if there might have been a connection between the two assassinations. But I haven’t heard of any theories that support that possibility. Diem’s brother Nhu was also assassinated at the same time. His wife, Madame Nhu, didn’t like JFK and the feeling was mutual. Cuba and North Vietnam were friendly beginning in 1960. Anyway, I saw a couple of comments by Fidel Castro from 11/22/63 in Jean Daniel’s article that are intriguing.


We went by car, with the radio on. The Dallas police were now hot on the trail of the assassin. He is a Russian spy, says the news commentator. Five minutes later, correction: he is a spy married to a Russian. Fidel said, “There, didn’t I tell you; it’ll be my turn next.” But not yet. The next word was: the assassin is a Marxist deserter. Then the word came through, in effect, that the assassin was a young man who was a member of the “Fair Play for Cuba Committee,” that he was an admirer of Fidel Castro. Fidel declared: ”If they had had proof, they would have said he was an agent, an accomplice, a hired killer...”


After Matanzas, where he must have decreed a state of alert, we returned to Varadero for dinner. Quoting the words spoken to him by a woman shortly before, he said to me that it was an irony of history for the Cubans, in the situation to which they had been reduced by the blockade, to have to mourn the death of a President of the United States. “After all,” he added, “there are perhaps some people in the world to whom this news is cause for rejoicing. The South Vietnamese guerrillas, for example, and also, I would imagine, Madame Nhu!”



So, I thought I would ask if anyone else has any thoughts or other intriguing information along these lines…

Mao and China celebrated JFK's death; I think they were the only country that officially didn't condemn the death. I believe Hanoi issued some statement that wasn't exactly mournful. I don't think Raoul and Che were saddened. Neither was Fidel but he was a master at public relations and so knew to pretend to be upset.

The CIA reportedly intercepted several phone calls from the Cuban Embassy in Mexico where there were celebrations after learning about JFK's death.

This is from Russo's book "Brothers in Arms"; source: CIA transcript intercept, November 22, 1963; CIA "blind memo", May 7, 1964.

[Charles Collins]

Mao and China celebrated JFK's death; I think they were the only country that officially didn't condemn the death. I believe Hanoi issued some statement that wasn't exactly mournful. I don't think Raoul and Che were saddened. Neither was Fidel but he was a master at public relations and so knew to pretend to be upset.

The CIA reportedly intercepted several phone calls from the Cuban Embassy in Mexico where there were celebrations after learning about JFK's death.

This is from Russo's book "Brothers in Arms"; source: CIA transcript intercept, November 22, 1963; CIA "blind memo", May 7, 1964.

Madame Nhu was staying in Beverly Hills, CA when Diem and Nhu were assassinated. I stumbled across this photo of a protest, in her honor, outside the Beverly Hilton.




Coincidentally, we stayed at that hotel during a tour of Southern California back in the nineties. But didn’t know at the time that Madame Nhu had stayed there much earlier.

[Steve M. Galbraith]

Madame Nhu was staying in Beverly Hills, CA when Diem and Nhu were assassinated. I stumbled across this photo of a protest, in her honor, outside the Beverly Hilton.




Coincidentally, we stayed at that hotel during a tour of Southern California back in the nineties. But didn’t know at the time that Madame Nhu had stayed there much earlier.

One of the arguments by the "Castro killed JFK" conspiracists is that he felt particularly threatened by the Kennedy Admininstration by the deaths of Diem and his brother. That he viewed those deaths on top of the plots directed against him AND that he knew about the Rolando Cubela plot - Cubela was actually meeting with a senior CIA officer who was giving him material to kill Castro when the assassination took place. So he put 1+1 together - he was next - and decided to strike first.

I don't believe it - there's not much evidence at all to it for me. As in, Oswald was directed or ordered to act.

[Charles Collins]

One of the arguments by the "Castro killed JFK" conspiracists is that he felt particularly threatened by the Kennedy Admininstration by the deaths of Diem and his brother. That he viewed those deaths on top of the plots directed against him AND that he knew about the Rolando Cubela plot - Cubela was actually meeting with a senior CIA officer who was giving him material to kill Castro when the assassination took place. So he put 1+1 together - he was next - and decided to strike first.

I don't believe it - there's not much evidence at all to it for me. As in, Oswald was directed or ordered to act.

I tend to agree with you about the lack of evidence that Castro was involved. But I do wonder sometimes if he might have at least been aware that LHO was going to make an attempt. And it appears to me that if he was aware, that he most likely wouldn’t have tried to prevent it. In the “Death of a Generation” book, it states several times that it was thought that, just before his death, Nhu was secretly negotiating with North Vietnam for a negotiated settlement so that they could boot the Americans out. If so, it seems possible that both Madame Nhu and Castro could have been aware of that effort. And revenge for his death might have been another possible motive.