[Editor’s note: The text for this document was released in 2014 by the now-defunct Wikileaks website at https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1978GEORGE04228_d.html. This URL may be available through the Wayback Machine.]
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 01
GEORGE 04228 121709Z
ACTION ARA-10
INFO OCT-01 SS-14 ISO-00 INR-05 INRE-00 CIAE-00 NSAE-00 SSO-00 NSCE-00 DODE-00 H-01 L-01 /032 W
——————108677 121722Z /45
O 121650Z DEC 78
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8422
INFO AMEMBASSY PANAMA IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L GEORGETOWN 4228
LIMDIS
PANAMA FOR DCM DIKEOS
E.O. 12065: GDS 1212/84 (BURKE, JOHN R.) OR-M
TAGS: CASC, OREP (RYAN, LEO), GY
SUBJ: POSSIBLE EXISTENCE OF A PRIVATE DIARY OF JIM JONES IN PANAMA.
1. USUALLY RELIABLE EMBASSY SOURCE (LOCAL JOURNALIST) HAS INFORMED US THAT TWO FOREIGN JOURNALISTS WHO HAVE BEEN IN GUYANA AND WHO LEFT DECEMBER 11, HAVE GONE TO PANAMA, ON INSTRUCTIONS FROM THEIR HOME OFFICE, TO NEGOTIATE PURCHASE OF WHAT IS ALLEGED TO BE THE DIARY OF REVEREND JIM JONES. ACCORDING TO SOURCE DIARY WAS ACQUIRED AT JONESTOWN BY AN AMERICAN SERVICEMAN INVOLVED IN THE EVACUATION OF THE BODIES FROM THAT SITE. SOURCE STATES THAT HE DOES NOT HAVE ANY INFORMATION REGARDING IDENTITY OF THE PERSON OR PERSONS HOLDING THE DIARY, BUT HIS INFORMATION RE TRAVEL OF THE TWO FOREIGN JOURNALISTS TRAVELING TO PANAMA FROM GUYANA WAS APPARENTLY RECEIVED DIRECTLY FROM ONE OF THEM.
2. SUCH A DIARY, IF IT DOES EXIST, WOULD OBVIOUSLY HAVE IMPORTANT EVIDENTIARY VALUE TO BOTH THE GUYANESE AND AMERICAN GOVERNMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE MURDER OF
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 02 GEORGE 04228 121709Z
CONGRESSMAN RYAN AND THE OTHER AMERICANS AT PORT KAITUMA AS WELL AS THE MASS MURDERS/SUICIDES AT JONESTOWN.
BURKE [U.S. Ambassador John Burke]
CONFIDENTIAL
NNN