Operation Mongoose
 |
|
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".
There are still many different documents spread throughout the world that have much more information on the Cuban Missile Crisis, but they are hard to locate for the general populace.
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. An official report from the CIA states that, by March 1960, the United States had already decided that Fidel Castro must be displaced. Due to the United States' fear of repercussions from the United Nations, the plan was kept much more secret, and as thus, "plausible deniability" was made a key focal point in American policy.
...
Wikipedia