Cuban Project
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Operation Mongoose Memorandum
October 4, 1962 First page of a meeting report |
The Cuban Project, also known as Operation Mongoose, was a covert operation of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that was commissioned in March 1960 during the final year of President Dwight Eisenhower's administration. On November 30, 1961, covert operations against Fidel Castro's government in Cuba were officially authorized by President Kennedy and after being given the name Operation Mongoose at a prior White House meeting on November 4, 1961. The operation was led by United States Air Force General Edward Lansdale and went into effect after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion.
Operation Mongoose was a secret program against Cuba aimed at removing the Communists from power, which was a prime focus of the Kennedy administration according to Harvard historian Jorge Domínguez. A document from the United States Department of State confirms that the project aimed to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime", including its leader Fidel Castro, and it aimed "for a revolt which can take place in Cuba by October 1962". US policymakers also wanted to see "a new government with which the United States can live in peace".
In 1959, the CIA predicted that Castro would have a difficult time hanging on to the government. The major initial fear was that Castro would demand that a much higher rent be paid by the U.S. for possession of Guantanamo Bay. Early on there was a wait and see approach to judge if Castro was a communist. He was not deemed to be one initially, but his brother Raul was. General C. P. Cabell noted in November 1959 that while Castro was not a communist he allowed free opportunity to the communist party in Cuba to grow and spread its message. Nonetheless, by December plans were already being tossed around that called for overthrowing the Castro government.
After the Cuban Revolution, and communism's rise under Fidel Castro, the U.S. government was determined to undercut the socialist revolution's integrity and install in its place a government more in line with U.S. philosophy. A special committee was formed to search for ways to overthrow Castro when the Bay of Pigs Invasion failed. The committee became part of the Kennedy imperative to keep a tough line on communism, especially inasmuch as Cuba was the nearest communist state to the U.S.
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