Pseudonym: Hernandez, Celso Salvador
Late August 1962: The source Ernesto Arrizurieta reports that Celso Hernandez was allegedly in Opa-Locka at this time. CIA memo describes him as a dyed-in-the-wool-Communist with a son who has been studying mechanical engineering in the USSR for the past year. Hernandez was reportedly was a former secretary of the Allied bus syndicate, the founder of the bus routes, and a driver on route 32. (10/1/62 memo) Also see 10/23/63 memo: "Investigation of Celso Macario Hernandez Machado at New Orleans failed to indicate that the latter has a son in Russia studying or that he was in any way connected in the past with the Allied Bus Syndicate in Cuba or that he had ever been a member of the Cuban Communist Party. New Orleans, by letter on 9/30/63, furnished both New York and Miami with a photograph of Celso Macario Hernandez Machado. New York, by airtel dated 10/23/63, advised that Ernesto Arrizurieta Fernandez had identified the photograph of Celso Macario Hernandez Machado as being the same Celso Hernandez he knew in Cuba, but Ernesto...stated that he has a brother Luis Arrizurieta, in Miami, whose married daughter Sara Arrizurieta was the person who had seen Celso Hernandez in Havana Cuba in 1/63. By referenced Miami letter, it was stated that Sara Arrizurieta, who was formerly employed with the Allied Bus Cooperative, had stated that Celso Macario Hernandez Machado was positively not identical with Celso Salvador Hernandez Medina. She stated she had been employed with Celso Salvador Hernandez Medina at the Allied Bus Cooperative during the entire year 1962 and had seen him in 1/63 just prior to her departure for the United States. Felipe Alonso also advised the Miami office that Celso Macario Hernandez Machado was definitely not identical with Celso Salvador Hernandez Medina...(see the 11/21/62 memo from CIA to FBI - 124-90145-10002 of 12/5/62, see 10/1/62 memo 124-90145-10001) These files offer an array of the FBI's 105-116159 Celso Hernandez files.
https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/new-orleans-witnesses-charles-noto/705460?item=705462
Allegedly, Celso and LHO were arrested together in October or November 1962 by INS officers - also present was New Orleans levee patrolman Charles Noto. Apparently the two men were released without charges. A second investigator added some details, including that it could have been 1963, not 1962. https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/russia-oct.-15-1959-june-11-1962-charles-noto/715426?item=715444 Volz wrote a note on the lack of follow-up. Volz went on to be the US Attorney for New Orleans under Jimmy Carter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Volz
1/22/63 memo: John McHugh of the FBI reported that INS stated that there was no factual support for Ernesto Arrizurieta's story that Celso was on INS hold in August 1962. Would contact various sources to see if Celso was involved in pro-Castro activities in Miami. 9/20/63, 124-90145-10014: The INS has finally come up with the file proving that Celso was on an INS hold as of 10/9/62. FBI leadership recommends taking the photo of Celso from the INS file and re-interviewing Ernesto and Felipe with the photo in hand to see if they say that it is the same man as the Celso they know.
3/14/63 memo: Felipe Alonso said the man he knew was Celso Salvador, that he was 37 years old, and 5 foot 4, 160 pounds and pockmarked. Celso's oldest son was 17-18, and went to Russia to study in industrial school there.
7/26/63 routing slip: The supervisor of Celso's file is "Harrell" at 628 K. See 124-10287-10471: It may be FBI agent E. R. Harrell. Also see https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=221186#relPageId=72&search=%22harrell%22 - by 1970. E. R. Harrell is an FBI supervisor and listed underneath the letterhead. Attention regarding the name search is directed to "KIngston". The subject is described as Celso Macario Hernandez Machado, aka Celso Hernandez, date of birth 1/8/16, Cuba; address 3521 Lew Street, Building C-25, Project Florida, NO 17, Louisiana. Also see 124-90145-10012, stating that on 6/7/63 two sources provided the info above from Celso's relative Olga Menendez, who added that Hernandez was not political but cooperated with July 26 Movement and MRR after the Castro takeover. Manuel Lobo Hernandez, the Camaguey DRE coordinator, was hidden in Celso's home.
Re 8/9/63: Celso described as "white male, age 47, 519 Adele Street, Apartment E. He advised that he was a member of the same group as (Carlos Bringuier)." At CD 365, page 28 of 64, https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=10766#relPageId=28 Celso's social security number is 265-76-8756. Says he arrived in US from Miami on 10/9/62, arrived in New Orleans 1/8/63, Wife is Maria de la Caridad Valero, age 41.
9/20/63 memo: CIA described Celso Macario Hernandez Machado as a traveling salesman for the firm "Editorial Gonzalez Porto" and as an insurance man for the firm Godoy Sayan. Leads will be sent out to ascertain the identity of the subject. On 9/17/63, the INS records of Miami reported that Celso Macario Hernandez Machado, INS number A 12 854 738, arrived in the United States in Miami on October 9, 1962.
In this 11/13/63 memo from New Orleans, after seeing a photo of Celso Macario Fernandez, Ernesto's niece Sara Arrizurieta says she was the one who worked at Allied Bus, and that the Allied Bus driver was Celso S, not Celso M. https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=144388&relPageId=2 (and following page) Felipe Alonso also saw the photo and said .that Celso M. and Celso S. were two different men. https://www.maryferrell.org/mffweb/archive/viewer/showDoc.do?docId=144388&relPageId=4 However, on 10/23/63, Sara's uncle Ernesto says in New York that Celso Macario was the same one he knew in Cuba and that he worked for Allied Bus. The FBI superiors recommend that the New York FBI office interview Arrizubieta again with the photo in hand.
11/4/63 memo from Miami suggests opening a new file for Celso Macario Fernandez and using the Celso Salvador Fernandez name for the original file, but a 11/29/63 handwritten note from SA O'Brien says let's not do that.
12/18/63 interview of Carlos Arrizurieta - after he reviews the photo of Celso Macario Fernandez Machado, "he realizes that he could have mistaken the photograph as being that of the individual he saw in Opa-Locka, Florida (in August 1962)." The FBI agent states the two Celsos have different names, different descriptions, and different backgrounds. Also see 124-90145-10019, which states that Arrizureta's NY file was 134-9198, the 134 indicates that the man was an informant and probably at the time that he allegedly saw Celso in Aug. 1962. During Feb. 1964, Julio Bringuier, owner of the Casa Roca novelty store at Canal and Decatur in New Orleans, said that Celso Macario Hernandez Machado told him that he never worked at the bus company in Cuba.