Marita Lorenz
Encyclopedia
Marita Lorenz is a German woman who had an affair with Fidel Castro
in 1959 and in January 1960 was involved in an assassination attempt by the CIA on Castro's life. She later had a child with the Venezuelan former dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez
.
In the 1970s she testified regarding the John F. Kennedy assassination
, stating that she was involved with a group of anti-Cuban militants including Lee Harvey Oswald
shortly before the assassination. She currently lives in New York
.
.
Freed after the war, she spent some time traveling with her father on his passenger liner.
, she arrived in Havana with her father on board of the MS Berlin
. Fidel Castro and his men visited the ship and the Máximo Líder took a liking in the nineteen-year-old girl. She stayed in Havana, lived with Castro for several months and became pregnant. She underwent an abortion in the 6th month of pregnancy. She claims it was forced on her, while one of Castro's assistants claims that she wanted it.
She left the island and joined anti-Castro activists in Florida.
Her later testimony named Francisco Fiorini as the CIA agent who recruited her to assassinate Castro, and that this was an alias for Frank Fiorini Sturgis
. She received poison pills that she was to put in Castro's food. Back in Cuba in 1960, she did not deliver the pills but told Castro about the plot, claiming that she still loved him. She left the island and visited Castro one last time in 1981.
(published 3 November, 1977), she said that she first met Oswald in an Operation 40
training camp in the Florida Everglades. Then she met him again just before the Kennedy assassination in 1963 in the house of Orlando Bosch
, with Frank Sturgis
, Pedro Luis Díaz Lanz
and two other Cubans present. The men studied Dallas street maps and then left for Dallas in two cars, carrying "rifles and scopes". Lorenz rode along, but claims that at the time she didn't know the purpose of the operation.
Lorenz testified about this supposed Kennedy assassination plot before the House Select Committee on Assassinations. Her testimony was carefully investigated by the committee and found to be unreliable.
In February, 1985, she testified in a trial involving a suit by E. Howard Hunt
against the Liberty Lobby
, which had written that Hunt was involved in the Kennedy assassination. Attorney Mark Lane
used her testimony in an attempt to prove that Hunt was a JFK assassination conspirator.
She is the subject of a 2000 German documentary film Lieber Fidel - Maritas Geschichte ("Dear Fidel - Marita's Story"). During the filming she traveled to Havana to meet Castro, but he didn't receive her.
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
in 1959 and in January 1960 was involved in an assassination attempt by the CIA on Castro's life. She later had a child with the Venezuelan former dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Pérez Jiménez
Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was a soldier and Presidents of Venezuela from 1952 to 1958.-Career:Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez was born in Michelena, Táchira State. His father, Juan Pérez Bustamante, was a farmer; his mother, Adela Jiménez, a schoolteacher...
.
In the 1970s she testified regarding the John F. Kennedy assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
, stating that she was involved with a group of anti-Cuban militants including Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
shortly before the assassination. She currently lives in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Early life, Bergen Belsen
She was born in Bremen as the daughter of a German captain and an American actress. Her mother was accused of helping forced laborers in Bremen escape, and Marita and her mother were incarcerated in the Bergen-Belsen concentration campBergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi concentration camp in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle...
.
Freed after the war, she spent some time traveling with her father on his passenger liner.
Castro
In 1959, weeks after the Cuban RevolutionCuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
, she arrived in Havana with her father on board of the MS Berlin
MS Gripsholm (1925)
MS Gripsholm was an ocean liner, built in 1925 by Armstrong Whitworth in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England for the Swedish American Line for use in trans-atlantic traffic from Gothenburg to New York City...
. Fidel Castro and his men visited the ship and the Máximo Líder took a liking in the nineteen-year-old girl. She stayed in Havana, lived with Castro for several months and became pregnant. She underwent an abortion in the 6th month of pregnancy. She claims it was forced on her, while one of Castro's assistants claims that she wanted it.
She left the island and joined anti-Castro activists in Florida.
Her later testimony named Francisco Fiorini as the CIA agent who recruited her to assassinate Castro, and that this was an alias for Frank Fiorini Sturgis
Frank Sturgis
Frank Anthony Sturgis , born Frank Angelo Fiorini, was one of the Watergate burglars.-Early Life and Military Service:...
. She received poison pills that she was to put in Castro's food. Back in Cuba in 1960, she did not deliver the pills but told Castro about the plot, claiming that she still loved him. She left the island and visited Castro one last time in 1981.
Jiménez
While continuing to work against Castro's Cuba, in 1961 she met the deposed Venezuelan dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez who lived in the US. She was to collect money from him to support the anti-Castro fight; the two had a daughter.Kennedy assassination
In an interview with Paul Meskil of the New York Daily NewsNew York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
(published 3 November, 1977), she said that she first met Oswald in an Operation 40
Operation 40
Operation 40 was a Central Intelligence Agency-sponsored undercover operation in the early 1960s, which was active in the United States and the Caribbean , Central America, and Mexico. It was created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in March 1960, after the January 1959 Cuban Revolution, and was...
training camp in the Florida Everglades. Then she met him again just before the Kennedy assassination in 1963 in the house of Orlando Bosch
Orlando Bosch
Orlando Bosch Ávila was a Cuban exile militant, former Central Intelligence Agency-backed operative, and head of Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations, which the FBI has described as "an anti-Castro terrorist umbrella organization". Former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh called...
, with Frank Sturgis
Frank Sturgis
Frank Anthony Sturgis , born Frank Angelo Fiorini, was one of the Watergate burglars.-Early Life and Military Service:...
, Pedro Luis Díaz Lanz
Pedro Luis Diaz Lanz
Pedro Luis Díaz Lanz was Chief of the Revolutionary Air Force of Cuba under Fidel Castro, before and after the 1959 Cuban Revolution.-Life in Cuba:...
and two other Cubans present. The men studied Dallas street maps and then left for Dallas in two cars, carrying "rifles and scopes". Lorenz rode along, but claims that at the time she didn't know the purpose of the operation.
Lorenz testified about this supposed Kennedy assassination plot before the House Select Committee on Assassinations. Her testimony was carefully investigated by the committee and found to be unreliable.
In February, 1985, she testified in a trial involving a suit by E. Howard Hunt
E. Howard Hunt
Everette Howard Hunt, Jr. was an American intelligence officer and writer. Hunt served for many years as a CIA officer. Hunt, with G...
against the Liberty Lobby
Liberty Lobby
Liberty Lobby was an American political advocacy organization founded in 1958 that went bankrupt in 2001. It was founded by Willis Carto. In their own words,-Antisemitic world-view:...
, which had written that Hunt was involved in the Kennedy assassination. Attorney Mark Lane
Mark Lane (author)
Mark Lane is an American lawyer who has written many books, including Rush to Judgment, one of two major books published in the immediate wake of the John F. Kennedy assassination that questioned the conclusions of the Warren Commission. Another book, Plausible Denial, published in 1991, continued...
used her testimony in an attempt to prove that Hunt was a JFK assassination conspirator.
Work for the FBI
In 1970 she married the manager of an apartment building in New York. The two worked for the FBI spying on Eastern Bloc UN diplomats living in the building.Books and films
In 1993 she wrote her first autobiography, Marita: One Woman's Extraordinary Tale of Love and Espionage from Castro to Kennedy (ISBN 1560250550), with Ted Schwarz. Her second autobiography Lieber Fidel – Mein Leben, meine Liebe, mein Verrat (ISBN 3471780793) appeared in 2001.She is the subject of a 2000 German documentary film Lieber Fidel - Maritas Geschichte ("Dear Fidel - Marita's Story"). During the filming she traveled to Havana to meet Castro, but he didn't receive her.