atp. fo'jch
(Specify Air or Sea Pouch)
Headquarters
FROM LINCOLN
CIA HISTORICAL REVIEW PROGRAM RELEASEAS SANITIZED
DISPATCH HO.
4
date
eneral
INFO: Ac^ng Chief of Station.
^SPECIFIC Manuel morales Orell: circumstances of his oeatn
REFi
1* In partial response to your inquiry in referencehich we repeated tr c Jine areatter which wo have received addressed to rom CALLIGEPJ5 andayit gives at least some explanation df.the Subject's death. Tbe Spanish original as well as an English translation is attached.
2. We still fail to understand whyunder the conditionstbe attached letterMORALES was referred tomartyr" since hekilled by his enemies nor did be commit suicide.as the result However, since no harm has arisen froa thia somewhatto Subject's "martyrdom" and in view of tho fact that the
a overworked with more'urgent matters, we do not propose to pish any further investigationat least for the time being.
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9 May
Esteemed Friend:
Moved by Inconsolableave the sad task of addressing you in order to communicate in detail the tragedy which occurred in this hishome, Wednesday the 5th of thia month, id not so so beforeanted to wait until some matters were clarified before sending you the present letter.
Manuel Morales Orell, the great "Moral! tos"as we affectionately called Mmdied on the night of the 5th of May as the resultegrettable accident.
We sat talking after dinner and all got up from the tabic- Some of the boys remained in the patio of the house, chatting happily while Mo rail toe, contentedly, climbed the stairs to the office from where he will never return. Mario Qoinones went up the stairs behind him andoking tone Moralltos addressed hiHoelf to Qulnones and said, more or less, "let's play Russian roulette, you and* to whichwithout attaching much importance to. stop such foolishness" We were all on the floor below when we heard running andody foil. We ran up the etairs and there was the bloody body.of Manuel surroundedool of blood. The gun by which he had accidentally lost his life was thrown by his sidean old Smith and Wesson,aliber revolver. The bullet entered through the right teaple and emerged through tha occiput, leaving the brain matter
According to what we have been able to verify later, thia was not the first time that Moral!tos played this suicidal game. Indeed on one occasion Lionel Sisnlega seriously talked with him and explained that one daywhich as it did Indeed turn outone bullet would remain In the chamber and end his life. m absolutely certain that he did not do thia Impelledesire for suicide becauseew moments before he waa chatting away, full of optimism and happiness. If he had tried to commit suicide, he would at least have left some letter explaining the reasons whichhim to dohing. It is thus necessary to discardossibility.
The regrettable affair took place exactly. and his death occurredn the operating room of the Medical Center. Immediately after we bad realised tbe tragedy, we set to work, elegram to the parents of tha boy, called the justice, tbe doctor and the priest to attend him together with some reporters in order to avoid any sinister interpretations. The Justice came with the doctoro performed tho appropriate examination and the Doctor indicated that he would make any further attempt to save him that he could but that the
wound was fatally mortal. As soon as tho examination was completed, we requested an ambulance and transferred the body to the Medical Center where he died,aid before,.
The body was transferred to the San Felipe Hospital for embalming in order to send the body to his mourning parents in Guatemala. The following day we began preparations to arrange for the departure of the body on an express SAHSA plane. Weelegation to accompany the remains to Guatemala: Lawyer Valladares' wife and his two daughters, la srta. Sonia Orell ana and the Honduran Lawyer Roberto Soto Suazo volunteered for this task. We started proceedings with the Minister del Femento for the plane's departure and with the Guatemalan consulate for the appropriate permits and visas for the accompanying persona. As usual, the latter put up an endless number of difficulties. Due to so much difficulty the body was not sent off until Friday the 7th.
Tho group who accompanied the body returned yesterday. without encountering any difficulty. They have informed me that his family accepted the regrettable event resignedly. ersonal letter to Moralitos* father, informing him of the entire event.
Those who were present in the house at the moment ef the accident hove already been suKmoned toeclaration before the justice and there has been no problem.lt has been proved that it was an accidental event although the press which always attacks usfinanced by the Guatemalan Embassyhas described the death of our companion as "mysterious."
Nevertheless the Guatemalan press has fittingly described the event, thanks to tbe statements which those accompanying the mortal remains made in the capital. m sendinglipping from "Prensa Libre" for the 8th of this month so that you may appreciate this.
I beg of you to communicate such unhappy news to Lionel and to tell him that messages of condolence have been received from all over. Bis companions are unconsolablean already imagine the effect which this news has had on you for you have felt toward one another as true brothers for soime.
We have lost one of our finest ire robe rs. oung, dynamic and intelligent man. His memory will live on in all the hearts of those who had the good fortune to know him through daily Contact during two years of exile. Too knew him well and you knovthe enormous love which we all had for him. It is undeniably an irreparable loss.
I have thus complied with the sorrowful task of communicating this to younow before hand that you feel as badly as we. rey you to present my deepest feelings of condolence to Lionel.
CALLIGERJS
With wishes for your personal well-being and with the request that you greet your wife and daughters foremain your affectionate servant and friend,
Fsttnodo origo:
&nhsrgado per un dolor inconsolable, tengo le roiu. dested para conunlearla detelladamente la tragedia ocurrlrt* en esta su cass elel corricnte. No lo nice antes, perdue quise esperar que se eclara-ran ulgunos cosas antes de enviarle la presente.
Manuel Monies Orell, el gran "Woralitos"le UacdDSii-osfalletio* la nochee Mayo cono consecutncia de un larantable accidente.
Kstuvicios tharlandoeos levant&mos todos de Id noso ft eso de. En el patio de le casagunos de los ruchachos platicundodralitos my contento subifi Us grades hecie la ofi-cina, de donde io volverfa jands. Mario Qulf.ones subU detr-isn to-no de broca Mortlitosuifenes le dljougueiror, ruleta ruse,o que QulPcnesderls myorlee'att de Estabanos tedos enplants beje, cusndc oT-oos un estampidcn cuerpo que cale. Sub ismsll! estaba el euer-po ensangrentao: de ffenuel revolviendose en un nar de langr*-, n ladotirada el ana con la eual accidents lpwnte perdieni'ia* un revolver vie-joeswn. Ia hala eotrd por el teipo.-alalit por elejendo al descubierto la nasa
neiio: %odtdo verifleer desrues, no ers lavea quehacla esteafcida. Vu encession Idonei isnieg'i leerlenen-teendonerseuo un Siscone esiuna. bole quedara en el Uric ielerrunart con raotoy ebsolutaaentc seguro que no rA-.'tor el doseouicid&-s( porque estuvo charInn-do cmnentos antoe lleno delegrla. 1'itrataco de un sui cidio, poros temlrla que hater elguna carts ezpif.os netivos quelo Inpulcsror. accneter tel hecho. May que decearter, outs, tal rosibilidad,
II hecho luentable sucedl6u Puerto ocurri6 haste. en la sola de opcraciones deldico. Innediatanen-te que no6 dlw# cueata de la tragedia, nos pusii-os envctividad. ^vie*osel rsuehacho, llane1 al juez,ure que le aslstiera, asllgunos eporteros de prensa para eviteraaln Interpretacloh. El juez vine cob elso de; se] el acta correspinl mecUo lndic6 que era de raSs hacerntentovarlo, pues to que la herlda ere fsltemente nortel. luego cue se^quelle dlligencia, pe-dieos unaue" trasladodo el cuerpo el Centro !ifidico, donde fallecii cono lo dlgo
El cad6*verfu6 trasladade el Hospital San relipe pire cue fuerael objetoa sue apesaradosuienela. Ala geslonar la sallde del ceddver en un avionoxpreso de laqo unc conisioh fuera acoap&fiando losuatemala yse ofrecienn voluntariaaonte la esposa del Lie. Hlladares J" sus dossenorita Sonal Idc. honduroHo Roberto toto Suazo. e Fozento para la sallda klnte elde Guateala para los permisos correspond ionas visas de los Conotropuso un <Ji fin de dificultadeB.
anta -aficultad, el ceda*ver no fue* dot. _chado sino hasta el viernes
.
La conision quo fus* Uovando ol cadeVer regres6o oncontraron dificultad algune. e ban informado que la famillo acepto* resi^na-damente el lamentable sueeso. Trivia" una carta personal al padre de f'orslltos, ljiformandolo de todo lo sueedido.
Los que estuvlws presentes en esta casa en el memento del accidents, ya estamos siendo Uassdos alnJuzgado parao ha habido problems algu-no. te" denostrado que tai un accidente casual, aunque la prensa que nos ate-ca siemprefinsnciada por la fmbajada deha culificado de "nis teriosa" la muerte del compef*ero. Eso, claro estd, no podis feltar.
Sin embargo la prensa de Guatemala se ha referido muyo sucedldo,as declaraclones que hlcloran en la capital, los acompa-nantes de los resto3 mortnloc. Lo aconparlo un recorte de "Prensa Libre" del
corrlenta para quo usted lo pueda apreciar.
sted conunlcar tan infaustaecirle que de to-das partes se han recibido mensajes de coudolenclo. Sus conpeleros estdna me puedo imaginer el efecto oue esto noticla cousard enimo, ya que por tanto tierapo se quisieron como verdaderos hermnos.
Hobosno de nuestros oejores elecentos. Ifh nuehaeho JoVen,nteligente, Su recuerdo vlvird latente en todon los cortisones de los que tuvimos la dicha derace's de su trato cotidiano durantec de exillo, Dated lecconoci6 nuyabe el enoroeue todos lo tuvimos. Ss indudablenente una perdida irreparable.
He cumplido, hesto aqui, conpena de4 de antenano que usted'lo eetd eiatiendo tanto como uosotros. Le ruegoionel mis mds sentldas musstraa de condolencia.
H&clendo votos por su bienestarogandoleuijas, quedo de usted su efno.migo.
Original document.
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