cuba - The Black Vault

Operation 40

John Greenewald — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 05:00:51 +0000

Background

This photograph was taken in a nightclub in Mexico City on 22nd January, 1963. It has been argued by Daniel Hopsicker that the men in the photograph are all members of Operation 40.

Operation 40 was a covert operation established by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1960 during the early years of the Cold War. The operation was initially conceived as a counterintelligence and counterinsurgency task force aimed at undermining communist influence in Latin America, particularly in Cuba. This operation was part of the broader U.S. strategy to contain the spread of communism in the Western Hemisphere, which was seen as a direct threat to U.S. national security.

Operation 40 was formed in response to the growing concern over Fidel Castro’s communist regime in Cuba, which had come to power in 1959. The operation was authorized by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and involved the recruitment of anti-Castro Cuban exiles, CIA operatives, and other U.S. intelligence personnel. The main objectives of Operation 40 were to gather intelligence, conduct sabotage, and carry out assassination missions against key figures within the Castro government.

Operation 40 played a significant role in the preparation for the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961. The operation was involved in intelligence-gathering missions, identifying targets for sabotage, and planning the assassination of Cuban leaders, including Fidel Castro. However, the Bay of Pigs invasion, which aimed to overthrow Castro, ended in failure, and the role of Operation 40 in this disaster has been a subject of considerable debate among historians.

Beyond Cuba, Operation 40 also conducted activities throughout Latin America, aiming to destabilize leftist movements and support pro-U.S. regimes. The operation’s activities included political assassinations, sabotage of infrastructure, and the dissemination of propaganda to undermine communist influence.

Operation 40 has been surrounded by controversy, particularly regarding its alleged involvement in assassinations and other covert actions that violated international law. Critics have argued that the operation represented an extreme approach to Cold War geopolitics, with little regard for the long-term consequences for the countries involved. The operation’s connection to various assassination plots, including those against Castro, has fueled numerous conspiracy theories over the years.

Operation 40 officially disbanded in the early 1960s, but its legacy lived on through other covert CIA operations during the Cold War. The operation is often cited as an example of the U.S. government’s willingness to engage in covert and sometimes morally questionable activities to achieve its strategic goals during this tense period in global history.

Document Archive

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Records on Operation 40 [7 Pages, 1.47MB] – Although the CIA released a few pages, they went on to state they would neither confirm nor deny any additional pages existed. Why, after 50+ years, would they remain such a secret?

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Photographic Interpretation Briefs – Cuba – September 1964

John Greenewald — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 12:30:47 +0000

According to the document:

A series of Photographic Interpretation Briefs will be published by NPIC, as a supplement to the Golden Tree IPlRs, on all active COMOR and other targets of significant Intelligence nature In Cuba.

The Briefs are designed as a series of Installations sheets and may be collated in Handbook form. Locator maps of each major COMOR target category as well 8f;umapoutHnlngthe provinces and the military di8tri.ctS occupied by the three Cuban Armies (West, Central and East) are also provided. COMOR target category separator sheers are provided, as appropriate.

Each Brief provides a basic description of the target and an annotated photograph of recent date, and will be published and disseminated as they are completed . Each Brief will be maintained as major changes In target description or status occurs.

All dimensions are considered approximate and all buildings are single story unless otherwise designated.

On May 26, 2018, The Black Vault filed a Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) request for the record, as previously released by the CIA. During the course of processing the request, it was sent to the NGA, where it was processed and released in August of 2022.

Document Archive

Photographic Interpretation Briefs – Cuba – September 1964 [46 Pages, 8MB]

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FBI File: Efforts to Overthrow Fidel Castro, Clip Program (File #105-HQ-89923)

John Greenewald — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 15:39:41 +0000

Background

The FBI has a file regarding the efforts to overthrow Cuba’s Fidel Castro. This is a segment called the “clip program” wherein the majority of the file is newspaper clipping archiving the various attempts.

Document Archive

FBI File: Efforts to Overthrow Castro, Clip Program (File #105-HQ-89923) [731 Pages, 70MB]

The post FBI File: Efforts to Overthrow Fidel Castro, Clip Program (File #105-HQ-89923) first appeared on The Black Vault.

USCG Commandant Instruction 16245.1 – Seventh District Command Center Communications with Cuban Border Guard, July 26, 2005

John Greenewald — Wed, 02 May 2018 16:44:55 +0000

Background

This Instruction sets forth policy and procedures for Seventh District Command Center (CCGD7 Command Center) communication with the Cuban Border Guard (Tropas Guarda Fronteras) (TGF) for specific tactical operational matters. It does not apply to communications by other Coast Guard units or personnel, such as personnel assigned to the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, personnel attending international conferences, or operational units that may encounter Cuban authorities in the course of operations. Such contacts are governed by “Guidelines on Relations with Cuba,” an interagency memorandum issued by the Department of State on March 10, 2003.

Document Archive

USCG Commandant Instruction 16245.1 – Seventh District Command Center Communications with Cuban Border Guard, July 26, 2005 [19 Pages, 4.7MB]

https://documents.theblackvault.com/documents/uscg/2018-CGFO-01594Finaltorequester.pdf

The post USCG Commandant Instruction 16245.1 – Seventh District Command Center Communications with Cuban Border Guard, July 26, 2005 first appeared on The Black Vault.

Operation Pedro Pan

John Greenewald — Tue, 02 Jan 2018 17:44:34 +0000

Background

Operation Pedro Pan (or Operación Pedro Pan) was a mass exodus of over 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban minors to the United States between 1960 and 1962. Father Bryan O. Walsh of the Catholic Welfare Bureau created the program to provide air transportation to the United States for Cuban children. It operated without publicity out of fear that it would be viewed as an anti-Castro political enterprise.

Document Archive

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Operation Pedro PanDocuments [20 Pages, 2.9MB]

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Operation Mongoose – AKA: Cuban Project

John Greenewald — Wed, 06 May 2015 03:13:20 +0000

Background

Operation Mongoose, officially known as the Cuba Project, was a covert operation launched by the United States government in 1961 with the primary objective of overthrowing Fidel Castro’s communist regime in Cuba. Initiated under President John F. Kennedy and spearheaded by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), it represented a heightened phase of the U.S.’s Cold War strategy against communism in the Western Hemisphere. The operation was a response to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the increasing Soviet influence in Cuba, which was perceived as a significant threat to U.S. national security, especially after the discovery of Soviet ballistic missiles on the island, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Operation Mongoose involved a range of clandestine activities aimed at destabilizing the Cuban government. These activities included sabotage, propaganda, psychological warfare, and the exploration of various assassination plots against Castro and other key figures. The CIA collaborated with Cuban exiles and anti-Castro groups, providing them with training, financial support, and weaponry. Covert operations included attempts to destroy sugar mills, power plants, and crop fields to cripple Cuba’s economy and incite anti-Castro sentiment among the Cuban population. Psychological operations involved spreading anti-communist propaganda to undermine the government’s credibility and sway public opinion.

Despite its ambitious goals, Operation Mongoose largely failed to achieve its objective of overthrowing Castro. Many of the plots, including those to assassinate Castro, were either foiled or never actualized. The operation’s activities were scaled back following the Cuban Missile Crisis, as part of the agreement between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to de-escalate the situation. Operation Mongoose remains a controversial chapter in U.S. foreign policy history, exemplifying the extremes of Cold War-era interventionism and the complexities of U.S.-Cuban relations. Its legacy is a testament to the tensions of the era and the lengths to which the U.S. government was willing to go in its struggle against communism.

Document Archive

Department of State Documents

Originally, when I filed a FOIA request to the Department of State, it was told to me that the documents would probably be under the possession of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or the National Archives & Records Administration (NARA). Although I had filed already at those agencies, I was surprised to receive a document a couple months later.

Department of State Release, March 2015 [ 7 Pages, 0.6MB ]

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Guantanamo Bay Detention Center Visitors

John Greenewald — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 03:12:26 +0000

Background

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also referred to as Guantánamo, G-bay or GTMO, is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which fronts on Guantánamo Bay in Cuba.

At the time of its establishment in January 2002, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said the prison camp was established to detain extraordinarily dangerous persons, to interrogate “detainees” in an optimal setting, and to prosecute detainees for war crimes. Detainees captured in the War on Terror, most of them from Afghanistan and much smaller numbers later from Iraq, the Horn of Africa and South Asia were transported to the prison.

The facility is operated by the Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) of the United States government in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Detainment areas consisted of Camp Delta (including Camp Echo), Camp Iguana, and Camp X-Ray (which is now closed).

Below you will find an archive of VIP visitors to the base, as received through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Document Archive

VIP Visitors to Guantanamo Bay, Camp Delta, Camp Echo etc. for January 1, 2002 through September 2013 [ 152 pages, 8MB ]

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Cuban Missile Crisis

John Greenewald — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 21:07:25 +0000

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba in the early 1960s during the Cold War. In Russia, it is termed the “Caribbean Crisis”, while in Cuba it is called the “October Crisis”.

The crisis ranks with the Berlin Blockade as one of the major confrontations of the Cold War, and is generally regarded as the moment in which the Cold War came closest to a nuclear war.