Frank Sturgis: Watergate, JFK Assassination & Anti-Castro – FBI & CIA Files

Description

Frank Sturgis: Life, Intrigue, and the Watergate Break-in

1924:

• Frank Anthony Sturgis (also known as Frank Angelo Fiorini and Frank Anthony Fachetti) is born.

1958:

• Frank Sturgis fights alongside Fidel Castro against Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista’s forces during the Cuban Revolution.

1960s (Sometime after the Cuban Revolution):

• Sturgis joins anti-Castro forces.
• Sturgis engages in assassination attempts against Fidel Castro.
• Sturgis is associated with Eugenio Rolando Martinez Careaga, who is an Agency (CIA) contact.

Undated (Prior to 1976):

• The CIA vigorously denies Sturgis’s claims of having been employed by the Agency, stating he was “never recruited by the Agency.”
• Sturgis is involved in paramilitary activities in Cuba.
• Sturgis has ties to assassins and assassination plots.

Undated (Prior to Watergate):

• Sturgis serves in several branches of the United States military.

June 17, 1972:

• Frank Sturgis is one of the five burglars caught breaking into Democratic Party offices in the Watergate complex.

July 20, 1976:

• A memo from former CIA Director James R. Schlesinger states that CIA Director Colby told him Sturgis had not been on the payroll for a number of years.

1976 (Beginning in 1976):

• Sturgis begins claiming that Fidel Castro and Che Guevara had John F. Kennedy killed, and that Lee Harvey Oswald was a Cuban agent.

Undated (Sometime after 1976, potentially before Kennedy assassination):

• Sturgis reportedly claims to have met Lee Harvey Oswald in Miami shortly before the Kennedy assassination.

November 2021:

• Some documents in the collected files related to Frank Sturgis are declassified.

1993:

• Frank Anthony Sturgis dies.

Cast of Characters

• Frank Anthony Sturgis (also known as Frank Angelo Fiorini and Frank Anthony Fachetti): (1924–1993) A central figure in the provided sources, he was one of the five burglars involved in the Watergate break-in. His history includes military service, fighting with Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution, later joining anti-Castro forces and engaging in assassination attempts against Castro. He was associated with CIA contact Eugenio Rolando Martinez Careaga, though the CIA consistently denied he was ever recruited by the Agency. Sturgis also made claims regarding the JFK assassination, alleging Castro and Che Guevara were responsible and that Lee Harvey Oswald was a Cuban agent whom he claimed to have met.
• Fidel Castro: A key figure in the Cuban Revolution and later the dictator of Cuba. Frank Sturgis initially fought alongside him but later became a vocal opponent and engaged in assassination attempts against him.
• Fulgencio Batista: The Cuban dictator against whom Fidel Castro (and initially Frank Sturgis) fought during the Cuban Revolution.
• Eugenio Rolando Martinez Careaga: Described as an “Agency contact” (CIA) since the 1960s, he was associated with Frank Sturgis.
• James R. Schlesinger: Former CIA Director. A July 20, 1976 memo from him states that Director Colby indicated Sturgis had not been on the CIA payroll for years.
• William Colby: CIA Director mentioned in the July 20, 1976 memo by James R. Schlesinger, stating that Sturgis had not been on the CIA payroll for a number of years.
• John F. Kennedy (JFK): The former US President whose assassination became a subject of claims by Frank Sturgis, who alleged Castro and Che Guevara were responsible.
• Che Guevara: A prominent figure in the Cuban Revolution alongside Fidel Castro. Frank Sturgis later claimed that Guevara, along with Castro, was responsible for the assassination of JFK.
• Lee Harvey Oswald: Identified as the assassin of John F. Kennedy. Frank Sturgis claimed that Oswald was a Cuban agent and that he had met Oswald in Miami shortly before the Kennedy assassination.