A pivotal CIA memo, dated January 17, 1963, explicitly instructed Ioannides to operate under the alias “Howard Gebler” and utilize a fake driver’s license. Until last Thursday, the CIA had consistently denied that Ioannides was known as “Howard,” the very name of the CIA contact linked to the case. Ioannides worked closely with the Cuban Student Directorate (DRE), an anti-communist group opposed to Fidel Castro, covertly financing and directing their activities.
For decades, the agency also falsely claimed to have no connection to the DRE. This student group played a pivotal role in disseminating information on Oswald’s pro-Castro leanings immediately after Kennedy’s assassination, an act now understood to have been at least indirectly influenced by Ioannides’ operations.
“The Ioannides cover-up story is officially dead,” declared Jefferson Morley, a renowned author and expert on the Kennedy assassination, to Axios. “This is a big deal. The CIA is changing its mind about Lee Harvey Oswald.”