The short answer: No independent evidence shows that Lee Harvey Oswald trained at a CIA camp with “Monkey” Morales or that a CIA “cleaning team” waited in Dallas. The strongest forensic record still points to shots from behind, fired from the Texas School Book Depository. But parts of the family story are true—and some official choices and secrets helped fuel lasting doubt.
Read on for what’s verified, what’s misstated, and what remains a claim without proof.
Headline: “A Cleaning Team in Dallas?” What “Monkey” Morales’ Son Gets Right—And What the Record Says
The most important correction first The original article says a CIA officer, George Joannides, “came in contact” with Oswald in Miami in 1963. That’s wrong. What the record shows:
- Joannides managed a CIA-funded Cuban exile student group, DRE, in Miami in 1963; he did not have documented personal contact with Oswald.
- DRE members confronted Oswald in New Orleans—arguing and debating him on radio that summer—not in Miami.
- Years later, Joannides was assigned as CIA liaison to Congress’s HSCA probe without revealing his earlier DRE role—a glaring conflict that rightly drew criticism, but still doesn’t prove CIA–Oswald contact.
Sources: Mary Ferrell Foundation overview of Joannides; PBS Frontline interview with HSCA counsel G. Robert Blakey
- https://www.maryferrell.org/pages/George_Joannides.html
- https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/oswald/interviews/blakey.html
The story Morales Jr. tells—and what we can check In 1982, 18-year-old Ricardo Morales Jr. says his father, Ricardo “Monkey” Morales—a Cuban exile, sometime CIA contract hand, FBI informant, and all-around Cold War operator—confided two bombshells on a shooting trip:
- He had trained Oswald at a CIA camp in Florida and didn’t think Oswald could make the killing shot.
- He was in Dallas on November 22, 1963, with a CIA “cleaning team,” waiting armed in a hotel for orders that never came.
That’s a gripping tale. Here’s what the paper trail and credible reviews show.
What’s verified
- “Monkey” Morales was real—and dangerous. Contemporary reports, declassified files, and later summaries describe him as a Cuban exile who worked at times with the CIA (contract), FBI, and others. He died after a barroom shooting on Key Biscayne, December 20–21, 1982; police deemed it justifiable homicide.
- CIA reading room: https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp90-00552r000404380002-2
- Morales Jr. began publicly telling this story in 2021 on Miami radio and to the Miami Herald; he repeats it in a new book out from Post Hill Press.
- The Warren Commission’s core findings: Three shots from the Texas School Book Depository; one missed; two struck President Kennedy (a neck/throat wound and a fatal head shot). The Commission did not determine which shot missed.
- The Commission chose not to review JFK’s autopsy photos and X-rays, relying on drawings instead—a decision later criticized by the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB).
- ARRB analysis: https://sgp.fas.org/advisory/arrb98/part03.htm
- Oswald’s Marine rifle record: “Sharpshooter” in 1956 (score 212) and “marksman” in 1959 (191—the lowest passing grade). He had competent, if uneven, formal training.
- The medical/forensic consensus today finds the fatal head wound consistent with a shot from behind; the HSCA’s “grassy knoll” acoustic evidence was later judged invalid by the National Academy of Sciences.
- A tragic footnote: Ricardo’s brother Roberto was among two people killed in the April 17, 2025 Florida State University shooting; the suspect used a parent’s law-enforcement weapon.
What needs context
- CIA ties to Oswald: The Agency has long denied any operational relationship with Oswald. Declassified files show it tracked him and maintained records before the assassination. That’s awareness—not evidence of control or collaboration.
- CIA memo denying operational ties (1975): https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/00352572
- Washington Post on file releases: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/31/jfk-assassination-cia-files-full-disclosure/
What’s misstated or unsupported
- Misstated: Joannides “met” Oswald in Miami. There’s no credible evidence of personal contact; the documented link is CIA–DRE and DRE–Oswald (in New Orleans).
- Mary Ferrell Foundation: https://www.maryferrell.org/pages/George_Joannides.html
- Overstated: “The film shows the head thrown backward, so one bullet came from in front.” The Zapruder film’s appearance has fueled debate, but multiple independent forensic reviews place the fatal shot from behind. The HSCA’s acoustic support for a frontal shot was later discredited.
- Unverified claims that rest solely on Morales Jr.’s account:
- Oswald trained at a CIA camp in Florida with Morales Sr.
- Morales Sr. assessed Oswald’s shooting at that camp and found him lacking.
- Morales Sr. was in Dallas as part of an armed “cleaning team” awaiting orders.
- Another member of that “crew” died the same year. None of these points have independent corroboration in declassified records or contemporaneous reporting.
- Miami Herald (on the origin of the claims): https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article255356661.html
The tension at the heart of the story If the official record backs shots from behind and no proven CIA–Oswald operational tie, why do stories like this thrive?
Because the government itself left gaps:
- Key evidence not viewed: The Warren Commission didn’t examine autopsy photos/X-rays. That choice—meant to preserve dignity—bred suspicion.
- Hidden conflicts: The CIA sent Joannides to liaise with the HSCA without disclosing his 1963 role managing DRE, the very group that clashed with Oswald. That secrecy didn’t prove conspiracy—but it did erode trust.
Our reporting approach
- We cross-checked each claim against primary sources: the Warren Commission volumes, the National Academy of Sciences review, ARRB materials, CIA reading room files, and credible archival summaries (Mary Ferrell Foundation, PBS Frontline).
- Where only a single witness account exists (Morales Jr.), we label it as such. Where the public record contradicts a detail, we say so plainly and link to the underlying documents.
What we know vs. what we don’t Verified or well supported
- “Monkey” Morales was a real figure in the murky world of Cold War operations and died after a 1982 bar shooting. (CIA reading room)
- The Warren Commission’s three-shots/two-hit conclusion stands; it did not confirm which shot missed. (National Archives)
- Forensic consensus supports a fatal shot from behind; HSCA acoustics for a frontal shot were later invalidated. (NAS)
- Oswald had Marine rifle qualifications—sharpshooter in 1956, marksman in 1959. (National Archives)
- CIA tracked Oswald but denies any operational relationship. (CIA, Washington Post)
Needs correction or clarification
- Joannides did not personally meet Oswald; the link was CIA–DRE and DRE–Oswald in New Orleans. (Mary Ferrell Foundation, PBS)
Unverified allegations (treat as claims, not facts)
- Oswald at a CIA camp in Florida trained by Morales Sr.
- A Dallas “cleaning team” on standby November 22, 1963.
- Any second shooter identified or proven through physical evidence. (All rely on Morales Jr.’s recounting; no independent confirmation.)
A note on Oswald’s shooting ability Morales Jr. says his father doubted Oswald could make the shot. The record shows Oswald was not elite, but he was trained and qualified. Marine range shooting differs from shooting at a moving target under pressure—but the Commission and later reconstructions judged the shots challenging yet feasible for a trained rifleman using a scoped rifle at the distances involved. That supports the official account more than it undermines it. Source: Warren Commission marksmanship record
Why this matters The Morales family story is powerful—part memoir, part Cold War noir, and punctured by violence: a father killed in 1982, a brother murdered in a campus shooting in 2025. It deserves to be heard. But a claim’s emotional weight doesn’t make it evidence. When the story crosses into the public record—what the CIA, the Warren Commission, the ARRB, and independent scientists actually left behind—the pieces that would change history aren’t there.
Bottom line
- There is no verified evidence that Oswald trained at a CIA camp with “Monkey” Morales or that a CIA “cleaning team” waited in Dallas. Those remain allegations from Morales Jr., uncorroborated by official records.
- The most credible forensic and historical findings still point to shots from behind fired from the Texas School Book Depository, consistent with Oswald as the lone gunman.
- Some details in the original article are accurate (Warren Commission basics, CIA denials, Oswald’s marksmanship) but one key claim—Joannides personally contacting Oswald in Miami—is incorrect.
- Official secrecy and missteps—especially around autopsy evidence and the Joannides conflict—help explain why these stories endure. They invite scrutiny. They don’t, by themselves, prove a second gunman or CIA plot.
Have a specific thread you want us to dig into next? We can pull the documents on the autopsy evidence chain, the Joannides file chronology, or the HSCA vs. NAS acoustics debate and walk through them line by line.