Lisa Howard and the March 1964 Offer to Expel the Russians
Kept secret under Top Secret/Eyes Only markings, a 1964 gambit indicates Fidel Castro was ready to trade Soviet influence for a guarantee of his own survival.
By Constance Bell ·
Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro and the Narcobusiness Serving the US Market
Cold War titans discussed the US addiction to Latin American narcotics and a president's failure to lead while Soviet subsidies were quietly slipping away.
By Harlan Pryce ·
Fidel Castro recalled being a game token in the 1962 missile crisis
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans faced annihilation while their leader was kept in the dark about a secret deal between Washington and Moscow that traded missiles in Turkey for those in Cuba.
By Roy Castellano ·
NSC Risked Pilots in 15 Flights to Verify Soviet Retreat
US leaders privately feared a tactical disaster as 15 aircraft flew into Cuban defenses to ensure the Soviets were not merely hiding missiles in the brush.
By Miriam Adler ·
Fidel Castro brands Huber Matos a traitor before 5,000 people
Major Huber Matos spent twenty years in prison after Fidel Castro publicly claimed he was free while students protested the regime's shift toward communism.
By Roy Castellano ·
Batista plans all-out measures to survive until February 1959
U.S. diplomats misjudged Fidel Castro as a mere figurehead, betting dictator Fulgencio Batista could hold power until February 1959 provided he avoided assassination.
By Theo Marchetti ·
Castro dismantled Cuba's government in just 24 hours
Manuel Urrutia was branded a traitor and ousted without a defense while U.S. officials watched Castro become the undisputed master of the island, barring accidents or assassination.
By Roy Castellano ·
Castro seeks secret channel as NSC weighs 'Oswald business'
Intermediaries used a buffer to maintain a clandestine channel to Havana while Gordon Chase feared a link to Lee Harvey Oswald would trigger a political disaster.
By Theo Marchetti ·
CIA officer passed Black Leaf 40 poison pen to kill Castro as JFK was shot
Presidential oversight bodies were deceived about a plot to kill Fidel Castro while CIA agents paid Rolando Cubela $8,200 for an assassination attempt.
By Theo Marchetti ·
Kennedy Fought "Terrific Pressure" to Kill Fidel Castro
CIA officials pushed John F. Kennedy to authorize the murder of Fidel Castro, leaving the President to view his own security apparatus as "a problem in government."
By Desmond Okafor ·