Cuba Assassination Plots: CIA Involvement And High-Level Authorization.pdf

The investigation reveals eight documented CIA assassination plots targeting Fidel Castro from 1960 to 1965. These include:

1. Sabotaging Public Image: From March to August 1960, the CIA considered plans to undermine Castro's charisma by sabotaging his speeches, such as spraying his broadcasting studio with a chemical similar to LSD or using a depilatory to make him lose his beard.

2. Accident Plot (1960): A 1960 incident involved a Cuban volunteer who informed a CIA case officer about potential contact with Raúl Castro. The CIA authorized a payment of $10,000 for an "accident" involving Raúl, but no advance payment due to concerns over the volunteer's loyalty.

3. Subsequent Plots: Other plots included using underworld figures, providing weapons and assassination devices (like poison pills and pens), and even offering a poison pen on November 22, 1963—the same day President Kennedy was assassinated.

Key Points:

- The CIA's involvement in these plots extended beyond planning to some successful operations.
- A unique aspect of the early plots was their focus on undermining Castro's public image rather than direct assassination.
- The CIA Director at the time, Allen Dulles and John McCone, were principal advisors to the President and members of major administrative policy councils, officially authorizing or at least aware of these actions.
- In 1975, Fidel Castro provided a list of 24 alleged CIA assassination attempts to Senator George McGovern, leading to a CIA response denying direct involvement in most cases but acknowledging operational relationships with some individuals.