Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 43 › Conversation 043-068

Nixon phone call with Ziegler on Cuba and Hijacking Agreement

Tuesday, February 13, 1973 · 1:49 PM–1:50 PM ET · White House Telephone · 2 min

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.; Nixon, Richard M. (President); Ziegler, Ronald L.Conversation043-068 on Tape 43StartTuesday, February 13, 1973 at 1:49 PMEndTuesday, February 13, 1973 at 1:50 PMRecording deviceWhite House TelephoneSourceNixon Library record for 043-068 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon and Press Secretary Ronald Ziegler coordinated the administration's messaging regarding potential hijacking negotiations with Cuba, emphasizing that Secretary of State William P. Rogers would address the topic at an upcoming press conference. The two also discussed the protocol for lowering the American flag to half-mast in light of recent inquiries, noting that senior staff members including Alexander Haig and H.R. Haldeman supported the move. Nixon instructed Ziegler to bring relevant documentation to his office at 2:45 p.m. for final review and approval.

Audio

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Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

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· Click a timestamp to play from that point; the page address then links to that moment (e.g. #t=125).
Yeah.
Mrs. Ziegler.
Yes, sir.
Just so you can have the rundown.
I mentioned my telephone conversation with Rogers.
You notice I said we were discussing the possibility of some kind of hijacking agreement with Cuba.
Right.
And that we were just discussing the possibility.
He's going to have a press conference, I think, on Thursday.
He's going to cover it then.
So you can say Secretary of State will...
announce the decision when it is made.
It's already covered.
We're talking to him.
He may move.
They had Thursday just selected as a date.
Oh, I see.
They underpin under this.
They're not stuck with it, you know, because I didn't say we had it.
I said, well, I discussed it with him.
No, there's no problem at all.
Yeah, but I think it builds it up a little if he, you know, he can now move on when he wants so.
In fact, he could announce it in Florida.
He's there.
I know.
No problem at all.
Okay, fine, fine.
Come over about 2.45 now, as it turns out.
You will, yeah, and then I'll look at the thing, and then you'll have to check it.
We'll see with Mrs. Johnson.
Right.
You generally found that most everybody thinks, this is a woman that I'm not absolutely sure about myself.
Well, Moore felt it was a good idea.
Gergen immediately thought it was a good idea.
Haig felt it was okay.
Haldeman, I talked to him about it.
He felt it was fine.
Bring it over at 2.45, sir.
Look at it.
Right.

NARA Description

On February 13, 1973, President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler talked on the telephone from 1:49 pm to 1:50 pm. The White House Telephone taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 043-068 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 43-68

Date: February 13, 1973
Time: 1:49 pm - 1:50 pm
Location: White House Telephone

The President talked with Ronald L. Ziegler.

[See Conversation No. 410-5]

       The President’s conversation with William P. Rogers
            -Cuba
                  -Hijacking Agreement
            -Rogers’s press conference

       Flying of US flag
             -Raising from half-mast
                   -Claudia A. (“Lady Bird”) Johnson
                   -Richard A. Moore
                   -David R. Gergen
                   -Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
                   -H. R. (“Bob”) Haldeman

       The President’s schedule

Also recorded on February 13, 1973

  • 043-066 12:55 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers talked on the telephone from 12:55 pm to 1:04 pm.
  • 854-033 12:55 PM · 9 min — President Richard M. Nixon and William P. Rogers met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:55 pm to 1:04 pm.
  • 854-034 1:04 PM · 39 sec — President Richard M. Nixon, Donald H. Rumsfeld, and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:04 pm and 1:05 pm.
  • 854-035 1:11 PM · 17 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Donald H. Rumsfeld, Manolo Sanchez, and Nicholas Rumsfeld met in the Oval Office of the White House from 1:11 pm to 1:41 pm.
  • 043-067 1:41 PM · 11 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:41 pm and 1:49 pm.
  • 854-036 1:41 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:41 pm and 1:42 pm.
  • 854-037 1:41 PM · 10 min — President Richard M. Nixon and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:41 pm and 11:59 pm.
  • 043-069 1:50 PM · 34 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and the White House operator talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:50 pm and 4:55 pm.

All 55 conversations from February 13, 1973 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 043-068, February 13, 1973. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/043-068 (accessed October 1, 2026).