Carlos Jose Bringuier (born June 22, 1934)"Hearings before the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy", Government Printing Office, 1964, Vol. 10 p. 33 is a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n exile in the United States who campaigned against

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

's government. Bringuier is principally known for his brief connection with

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...

, the assassin of US President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

Early life

Bringuier was born in

and studied at the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

where he qualified as a lawyer in 1957. As an opponent of

and his government, he left Cuba on May 4, 1960 and moved to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

; he also lived in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

for a brief time before arriving in the United States on February 8, 1961. He set up home in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, and opened a clothing store called "Casa Roca".

Encounter with Oswald

Bringuier joined the

Directorio Revolucionario Estudantil The Directorio Revolucionario Estudiantil (abbreviation: DRE; ) was a Cuban student activist group launched in opposition to Fidel Castro in 1960, based at the United States, where it soon developed links with the Central Intelligence Agency. In ...

, the Student Revolutionary Directorate (DRE), an anti-Castro group linked to the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

. Bringuier was made New Orleans delegate,Gerald Posner, "Case Closed", Warner Books, 1993, p. 150-153.Summers, Anthony. ''Not in Your Lifetime'', (New York: Marlowe & Company, 1998), p. 216. and placed in charge of DRE publicity and propaganda. Bringuier's clothing store in New Orleans became the local headquarters for anti-Castro Cubans. On August 5, 1963, according to Bringuier, Lee Oswald visited him at his store and posed as a friend of the Cuban exiles, offering to join the fight against Castro.Summers, Anthony. ''Not in Your Lifetime'', (New York: Marlowe & Company, 1998), p. 211. The next day, Oswald again visited the store and left his ''Guidebook for Marines'' for the absent Bringuier. Bringuier testified to the

Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President of the United States, President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the A ...

that he was uninterested in Oswald's offer. On August 9, 1963, Oswald was spotted by Celso Hernandez (a friend of Bringuier) handing out pro-Castro Fair Play for Cuba leaflets at the intersection of Canal Street and St. Charles. Hernandez told Bringuier of Oswald's leafleting and the two of them, along with another anti-Castro militant, Miguel Cruz, decided to confront Oswald over his duplicity. As the Cubans accosted Oswald, a crowd began to gather. Bringuier attempted to incite the crowd with his story that Oswald had tried to join his anti-Castro movement and that Oswald was actually a communist and supporter of Castro.Marrs, Jim. ''Crossfire: The Plot that Killed Kennedy'', (New York: Carroll & Graf, 1989), p. 146. Hernandez grabbed Oswald's leaflets and a fight broke out. Oswald and the three Cubans were arrested for disturbing the peace.Douglas, James. ''JFK and the Unspeakable'', (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008), p. 64. After the arrest, Bringuier and his Cuban friends were able to post bail, whereas Oswald's bond was posted by an Oswald family friend. Oswald was found guilty, fined $10, and released. Before leaving the police station, Oswald asked to speak with an FBI agent. Agent John Quigley arrived and spent over an hour talking to Oswald.Summers, Anthony. ''Not in Your Lifetime'', (New York: Marlowe & Company, 1998), p. 217.

Radio broadcast

To garner information on the

chapter of the

Fair Play for Cuba Committee The Fair Play for Cuba Committee (FPCC) was an activist group set up in New York City by Robert Taber in April 1960. The FPCC's purpose was to provide grassroots support for the Cuban Revolution against attacks by the United States government. I ...

, Bringuier said that he sent his colleague Carlos Quiroga (who posed as a Castro sympathizer) to question Oswald. Oswald had established the New Orleans chapter of the FPCC in May 1963 and was its sole member. Bringuier then called William Stuckey, a reporter who hosted a weekly radio program called "Latin Listening Post" on local station

WDSU WDSU (channel 6) is a television station in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Howard Avenue in the city's Central Business District, and its transmitte ...

. Bringuier informed Stuckey of Oswald's background and Stuckey went to see Oswald, persuading him to be interviewed on radio; the interview was recorded on August 17. A few days later, Stuckey invited Oswald to take part in a radio debate with Bringuier and Edward Butler, executive director of the anti-Communist group Information Council of the Americas (INCA). The debate took place on August 21; both Stuckey and Butler had in the meantime discovered the story of Oswald's 1959 defection to the Soviet Union and confronted him with it. During the debate, Bringuier challenged Oswald to agree with Fidel Castro's denunciation of President Kennedy as a ruffian and a thief. Bringuier was pleased with the result of the debate and issued a press release, warning the public about Oswald. After Oswald was arrested for the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963, Bringuier gave his account of Oswald to the FBI and other authorities. He testified before the

Testimony of Carlos Bringuier
Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 10, pp. 32–51. and, in 1967, was involved in

Jim Garrison James Carothers Garrison (born Earling Carothers Garrison; November 20, 1921 – October 21, 1992) was the District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, from 1962 to 1973 and later a state appellate court judge. A member of the Democratic Pa ...

's investigation of the assassination.

Later life

Bringuier is the author of two books: ''Red Friday'' and ''Operation Judas'', the latter available only in Spanish. He was played by

Tony Plana José Antonio Plana (born April 19, 1952) is a Cuban-American actor and director. He is known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC television show ''Ugly Betty'' and for voicing Manuel "Manny" Calavera in the video ga ...

in the 1991 film ''

JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his assassination in 1963. He was the first Catholic Chur ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bringuier, Carlos 1934 births Living people People associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy Exiles of the Cuban Revolution in the United States