nathaniel weyl documents the assassination claims then made by the colombian general secretary, rafael azula barrera, and the president of colombia, mariano ospina pérez, that gaitán was assassinated as part of a cold war conspiracy led by the ussr to increase soviet influence in the caribbean. the violent disruption of the 1948 inter-american conference and the violent deaths of a thousand people were alleged also to have been part of a cold war conspiracy by agents of the ussr, allegedly including the then low-level soviet agent fidel castro. according to police records castro was suspected of personally assassinating gaitán, because his cuban travelling companion rafael del pino was seen with the fascist former mental patient, juan roa, an hour and a half before the assassination. castro had attempted to recruit gaitán earlier to his cause, but gaitán had repeatedly declined and was assassinated because he was too politically influential and would have countered the cold war objectives of the ussr in the caribbean.