TRANSMITTAL TO SSCI OF FIRST PART OF 1967 IG REPORT
Originator: CIA
From: WALT ELDER
To: SSCI CHIEF COUNSEL
Document date: 06/12/1975
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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2022 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

"1967 IG Report"

(Unsanitized):

SECRET

R265

ON LOAN ONLY

RECEIVED FROM

To Be Returned to

AN 1 2 1975

CIA

CIA

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SECHkI

•RAL PITE LIGENCE AGENCI

MASHINGTON, D.C. 20505

i?

IG REPORT

12 June 1375

Mr. Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Jr.

Chief Counsel

Senate Select Committee To Study Governmental

• Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities

United States Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Fritz:

Per your telephone request, the attached copy of the

•IG Report is transmitted to you on loan for your use during

a hearing scheduled for this date.

We have not been able to locate any memorandum by

Mr. Helms on his meeting with the Attorney General in 1967.

Should one be located, I will forward it immediately.

Please call me when you have finished with this material

and we will arrange to return it to our office.

Sincerely,

Walt-Elder

Attachment: a/s

WASNG NOTICE

SERSIE TTALLIGENGE SOURCES

Ciscasted si-

007789

Luie=:#:+01151:513358

[IT W3+199-10(18-38

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"""PAL INTELLIGENCE AGENC" (

WASHINGTON. D.C. 20595

Ad Hoe Salf

75-907

SS C Mat furm

28 May 1975

: Mr. Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Jr.

Chief Counsel

Senate Select Committee To Study Governmental

Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities

United States Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Mr. Schwarz:

It is agreed that a version of the 1967 Inspector Grneral's

report is available to you, on a loan basis, for your study prior

to riext week's Committee sessions.

The report should be stored in the secure areas of the Joint

Committee for Atomic Energy and is to be compartmented, with

access limited to Staff members cleared for such access.

Faithfully yours,

Estero che

E. H. Knoche

Assistant to the Director

914359

Coso.d?-aiso echiáais ul E.D,18532

katanas.85.25.919 ca

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i pere l Plan i hate t2 02-18

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23 Mạy 1967

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

SUBJECT: Report on Plots to Ascassinate Fidel Castro

This report vas prepared at the request of the Director of

Central Intelligence. He assigned the task to the Inspector

General on 23 March 1967. Tre report vas delivered to the Director,

personally, in installreuts, beginning on 24 April 1957. Tue

Director returned tils copy to the Inspector General on 22 May 1967

•with instructions that the Inspector General:

Retain It 1n personal, EYES ONLY safekeeping

Destroy the one bura copy retained temporarily by the

Inspector General

Destroy all notes and other source materials originated

by those participating in the writing of the report

The one stayback burn copy, all notes, and all other derived

source materials vere destroyed on 23 May 1967.

This rlbbon copy is the only text or the report now 1n existence,

elther in whole or in part. Its text has been read only by:

Richard Helmô, Director of Central Intelligence .

J. S. Earman, Inspector General

K. E. Greer, Inspector (one of the authors)

S. D. Brecktnridge, Inspector (one of the authors)

All typing of drafts and of final text was done by the authors.

Filed with the report are:

Office of Security fIle used as suurce material

Memoranduss concerning Willian Harvey

Certain MONGOOSE papers

Drew Pearson columns

Harmen

arman

Inspector General

"ia.

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OUTLINE

Introductory Section

Miscellaneous Schemes Prior to August 1960

Aerosol Attack on Padio Station

contaninated Cigars

Depilatory

The Gambling Syndicate Operation

MaBE 1 (August 1960 - May 2962)

Phase 2 (Late 1961 - June 1963)

"ne Wiretapping Incident

The Phyll1s McGuire/Attorney General Phase (Late 1961 - May 1952)

The Long Committee Phase (May - July 1956)

Schemes In Early 1963

Skin Diving Sult

Sea Shell

Project AMASH - Rolardo Cubela (March 1961 - March 1966)

DIscussion of Assassination at High-Level Governent Meetings

Special Group (Auguented) Meeting of 10 August 1962

Special Group Meeting of 30 July 1964

The Ramifications of the Gambling Syndicate Operation

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TABLE OF CONIENTS

Introductory Section

Scarcity of documentary evidence

Relationship of assassination planning to goverment policy

Risk of assassination when a government 1s overthrow .

Resort to synecdoche

Published Intelligence on the possibility of Castro's demise

Accuracy of the story Drew Pearson has

Miscellaneous Schemes Prior to August 1960

Aerosol Attack on Radio Station •

Contaminated Cigars

Depilatory .....

Gambling Syndicate - Phase 1

Genesis of the plot.

First contact with Maheu

O'Connell named as case officer

Frot necting with Roselll

Briefing of Dulles and Cabell

First meeting between Maheu and

Glancana

True identitles of Glancana and Trafficante become knowa

Role of Trafficante

Early planning on the means of assassination

Gunn's involverent with lethal cigars

Treichler's preparation of lethal cigars

Delivery of the cigars to Gunn

Roosevelt learns of the plot

Possible ways of packaging the poison

Decision to package the poison

1n pill form

Juan Orta 1s identified as the

syndicate's man in Cuba

Gunn tests tke pills on guinea pigs . . .

Sequence preceding passing the pills

to O'Connell

O'Connell receives the pills and passes them to Rosells •

Harvey is briefed un the operation

Trafficante receives the pills and gives them to orta

Identification of Orta

The Orts channel

collapses

Varona is brought into the operation

Edward K. Moss

...

Roselli associates O'Connell vith CIA

Funds are approved for passing to Varoas

Money and lethal pills are passed to Varona

Varona's restaurant contact in Cuba ..

Edvards calls off the operation

Disposition of the pills...

Ilst of those witting of the operation

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Gambling Syndicate - Phase 2.

Why Harvey was briefed on Phase 1

....

Harvey put in charge of the Executive Action Capability

Harvey briefs Helas on the Executive Action Capability.

@win- planned assassination of Lunumba

Approval of Project PRIFlE . . ..

.....

Bissell puts Harvey in charge of the Castro operation

Harvey is told he will head the Cuba task force

...

Harvey's first beeting with Edwards on the Castro operation

Termination of Call. .

Harvey briefs Helms on the Castro operation

Dificring vieNs on the turnover to Harvey

Harvey's first meeting with Roselli in New York City

Rosell1 and O'Cornell go to Miami. ...

Harvey leaves for Miani with lethel pills

Roseil1 1s already in touch with Varora.

Harray takes over

"a going operation"

Changes in gangsier personnel participating.

Maceo enters the operation

Harvey supplies veapons and equipent to Varona

Rosell1 reports that the pills are in Cuba

Varona sends a three-man team to Cuba

Varona plans to send three militia sen to Cuba

Harvey and Rosell! agree to terminate the operation

Roselli comes to washington to reet Harvey

Harvey's meeting wich Roselll observed by the FBI .

List of persons witting of this phase of the operation

The Wiretapping Incident

Giancana suspects Phyllis McGuire and Dan Rowan

Glancana asks Maheu to bug Rowan's IUm

Likely date of the bugging incident.

Maheu asks Edward Du Bois to do the job

Du Bols assigns Balletti and Harrison to the job.

Wiretap made instead of microphone plant

Balletti Is caught and phones Maheu for help. •

Maheu refers the FBI to CLA

Shef Edwards meets tith an FBI representative .

Edwards Intervenes with Sam Papich on Maheu's behaif

Houston interveres with the Justice Department.•

Houston briefs General Carter

Edwards and Houston brief the Attomney General. •

Bavards sends a mesorandu record of the meeting to Kennedy •

Gambling

Syndicate - Paase 2 1s already under way .

....

Helms is briefed on the neeting with the Attorney General :

Edwards warns Harvey to clear with the DCI. .

Kennedy's request on i March 67 for a copy of the briefing memo

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the Wiretapping Incident (continued)

Chicago Sun-Tees story of 16 Aug 63 re Glancana & CIA... .....

67.

Chicago Daily Neus story of 20 Aug 63 re Giancana & CLA

Helms sends McCone a copy of the Kennedy briefing memo: andum. • •

69

• 69

Runors now connect. CIA & gangsters in plot to kill Castro

The Long Committee. . ...

............:...

Forcer Maheu empioyee called to testiy

The Onassis-liarchos fight over oil shipping rights

....:...

71

Maheu 15 hired by Narchos and is supported by CIA

72

CIA intervenes on Niarchos' behalf.

..

' . .....

72

The Long Committee plans to resurrect the Onassis wiretap

CIA intervenes with the Long Committee on Maheu's behalf. . ...

72

73

Maneu appiles pressure on CLA to avoid publicity

73

Maheu indicates he may brief his attomey.

74

Schemes in Early 1963.•.

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Skin Diving Suit. . ..

Gift from Donovan to

castro

The suit is bought and made ready.

the plan 1s overtakia by events

List of persons witting:

Booby-trapped Sea Shell

Books on Mollusca are bought

The plan proves to be impracticable

Rames of those witting

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71

Project AMLASH - Rolando Cubela.

78

Stevart's meeting with Cubela in Mexico City (Mar 61)

Cubela's role

in the Cuban revolution

Cubela reported disaffected

Mexico City meeting inconclusive

Cubela and Juan Orta want to exfiltrate (Mar

• 61).

Cubela asks for meeting in Paris (Aug 61)

Cubela plans to attend Helsinki Youth Festival.

Meetings 1n Helsiaki (Aug 62)

Meetings in Stockholm .

Cubela objects to the word "assassinate"

Paris meetings (Aug 62); S/i & denolition training. • • •

Meetings In Porto Alegre (Sepü 63)

Paris meetinzs (Oct 63); Cubela vents assurance fron U.S.Govt .

FitzGerald neets with Cubela in Paris (Oct 63)

Differing versions of what FitzGerald told Cubela ... •

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Project AMIASE - Rolando Cubela (continued)

Cuba ceche approved ior Cubela. •

The Black Leaf 40 scheme: 16 discussed

Gunn converts a ballpoint pen into a hypode mic syringe

Sanchez gives to Cubela in Paris while Kennedy is chot

Cubela asks for high-powered rifle with telescople sigbt.

Those vitring of tre Black Leaf 40 episode

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Cubela cache put dom (without rifles) (Mar 64) . .

Cubela requests a silencer for a FAL rifle

SAS requests TSD to produce FAL silencer on crash basis

Second Cubela cache put dom (ulth FAL Mfles) (June 64)

Artime beets Cubela intermediary. . ..

. ....

Artine agrees to meet wiüh Cubela personally

Sanchez seets Cubela in Paris (nee 64).. •

99

.100

Explanation of hoi Artime and Cubela were put together

100

Artime and Cubela neet in Madrid (Dec 6i) .

Artime agrees to furnish silencer

. ...

101

102

Artime glves Cubela silenser and other special gear .

103

Second name-line between Cubela and gambling syndicate operation

104

Headquarters terminates all contacts vith Cubela group. ...•

104

Cubela and others arrested; plead guilty (Mar 66)

107

The charges ...

108

Castro asks for leniency

109

Testimony about the silencer..

....

109

Cubela expects to be executed

110

Cubela sentenced to 25 years' imprisoment.

.. . .

110

Ro mention made of Cubela's pre-Nor 64 dealings with CIA

111

Meno to Secretary of State (Rusk), Subject:

CIA Involve

ment in Cuban Counter-rerolutionary Activities

Arrest of Rolando CUBELA Secades and Paron Toras

GOIN Diaz, dated 7 March 1906 (added after completior

or report

....

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25 AprIl 1967

MEMORANDUM

in1s reconstruction of Agency Involvement in plans to

assassinate Fidel Castro 1s at best an imperfect history. Because

of the extreme sensitivity of the operations being discussed or

attempted, as a natter of principle no official records were kept

of plarning, of approvals, or of Implementation. The few written

records thai do exist are either largely tangential to the main

events or were put on paper from memory years afterward. William

Harvey bas retained skeletal notes of his activities during the

years in question, and they are our best source of dates.. Dr.

Edward Gunn, Of the Office of Medical Services, has a record of

whon he set and when and cryptic references to the subjects discussed.

Ray Treichler, of TSD, has a record of two or three dates that are

pertinent. Gunn and Treichler were Involved 11 only the technical

aspects of operational planning, and their participations were short-

Ired. Although fragmentary, their records are a help in establishing

critical time frames. Operational files are useful in some instances,

because they give dates of meetings, the substances of which may be

Inferred fron collateral Information.

For the most part, though, we have had to rely on inforation

given to us orally by people whose memories are fogged by time.

Their recollections of dates are particularly hazy, and soue of then

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are no longer able

to keep the details of one plan separate from shore

of another. He intervieved everyone whon we could identlfy as likely

to be knowledgeable, with the exceptions of Mr. Dulles and General

Cabell. A complete list is attached at Tab A. He did not go on

fishing expeditions among the mere possibles. To have done so would

have risked making witting a number of employees who were previously

unwitting and, in our estimate, would have added little to the details

avallable fron those directly involved. There are inconsistencies

among the varlous accounts, but most of them can be resolved by

collating the information furnished by all of the identifiable

participants in a perticuler plan and by then checking It against

specific dates that can be fixed with fair certainty. We telleve

that this reconstruction of what happened and of the thinking

associated with it 1s reasonably sound. If there are significant

Inaccuracies in the report, they are nost likely to occur in faulty

ordering of the sequence of events. People still remember much of

what happened, but they can no longer recall precisely when.

It became clear very early in our investigation that the vigor

with which schemes were pursued within the Agency to eliminate Castro

personally varied with the intensity of the U.S. Goverment's efforts

to overtbrow the Castro regime. We can identify five separate phases

In Agency assassination planning, although the transitions from one

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to another are not always sbarply defined. Each phase is a reflection

of the then prevalling Goverment attitude tovard the Cucan regime.

a.. Irlor to Auzust 1950: All of the Identiflable schemes

prior to about August 1960, with ose possible exception, vere

sined only at discrediting Castro personally by influencing

his behaviour or by alterine his appearance.

b. August 1960 to April 1961: The plots that were hatched

In iate 1960 and early 19ó1 vere aggressively pursued and vere

rieved by at least sone of the participants as being merely one

aspect of the over-all active effort to overthrow the regime

that culminated in the Bay of Pigs.

.c. April 1961 to late 1961: A major schene that was

begun in August 1960 was called off after the Bay of Pl§s and

rewalned dormant for several months, as did most other Agency

operational activity related to Cuba.

d. Late 1961 to late 1902: Tuat particular scheme was

reactivated in eariy 1952 and vas again pushed vigorously in the

era of Project MONGOOSE and in the climate of intense admini-

stration pressure on CIA to do something about Castro and his.

• Cuba.

e. Late 1962 until vell 1ato 1953: After the Cuban missile

w crisis of October 1962 and the collapse of Project MONGOOSE, the

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CLIC

aggressive scheme that vas begun in August 1960 and revived In

April 1962 was finally terminated in early 1953.. Iuo otber

plots vere originaied in 1963, but both vere impracticable

and nothing ever came of them.

• He cannot overemphasize the extent to which responsible Agency

Kennedy

"officers felt themselves subject to the/administration's severe

pressure: to do sonething about Castro and his regine. The frultless

and; 1a retrospect, uften unrealistic plotting should be vieved in

that 11ght.

....Many of those ve Intervleved stressed tro points that are so

obvious that recording them bere may be superfluous. We belleve,

though, that they are pertinent to the story. Elinination of the

dontnant figure in a goverent, even when loyalties are beld to him

personally rather than to the goverment as a body, vill not

necessarily cause the downfall of the goverament. This polat vas

stressed with respect to Castro and Cuba in an Internal CIA draft

paper of October 1961, bich vas initiated in response to General

Maxwell Taylor's desire for a contirgency plan. The paper took the

position that the demise of Fidel Castro, from whatever cause, would

offer little opportunity for the liberation of Cuba fran Communist

and Soviet Bloc control. The second point, which 1s more specifically

relevant to our lavestigation, 1s that bringing about the downfall of

a goverment necessarily requires the removal of 1t6 leaders fron

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positions of pover, and there 1s alvays the risk that the partici-

pants will resort to assussination. Such renovate from pover as-the

saveB-arrest.of-@Mossadeq or-rhe-flight.ol.a.Baülsta-should not

cause lne-to overlook the killings of a Dies or of a Trujillo by

forces. encouraged. but not controlled by-the U.S. Government.

There 15 & third point, nich vas not directly made by any of

those ve intervieved, but nich emerges clearly from the intervleus

and fron review. of files. The point 1s that of treguent resort to

synecdoche--the mertion of a part when the whole. Is to be understood,

or vice versa. Thus, ve encounter reptated references to phrases such

ав. "disposing of Castro," which may be read in the narrow, Ilteral

Bense of assassinating him, when 1t 18 Iniended that 1t be read in

the broader, figurative sense of dislodglog the Castro regime.

Reverslag the coln, ve flad people speaking vaguely of "doing Bone-

thing about Castro" when it is clear that what they have specifically

In mind 18 k1lling him. In a situation wherein those speaking may

not have actually meant what they seemed to say or may not have said

what they actually meant, they should not be surprised if their oral

shorthand 1s interpreted differently than vas intended.

• The suggestion was made to us that operations aimed at the

assassination of Castro may have been generated in an atmosphere of

stress in Intelligence publications on the possibility of Castro's"

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demise and on the reordering of the political structure that vould

follow. We revieved Intelligence publications fron 1960 through

1966, Including - Y10nal Intelligence Estimates, Special National

Intelligence Estimates, Intelligence Memorandums, and Memorandus

for the Director. The NIE's on "The Situation and Prospects in Cube"

'for 1950, 1953, and 1964 have Urief paragraphs on likely successor

governments 1f Castro were to depart the scene. We also find similar.

short references in a SNIE of March 1950 and in an Intelligence

Memorandun of May 1965. In each case the treatment 18 o nre n0г

less than one would expect to find in comprehensive round-ups such

a s these. We conclude that there. 1s no reason to believe that the

operators vere unduly influenced by the content of Intelligence

publications.

Drew Pearson's column of 7 March 1967 refers to a reported CIA

plau In 1963 to assassinate Cuba's Fidel Castro. Pearson also has

Information, as yet unpublished, to the effect that there vas a

meeting at the State Department at which assassination of Castro

vas discussed and that a team actually. landed in Cuba with pills to

be used In an assassination attempt. There 1s basis in fact for each

of those three reports.

a. A CIA officer passed an assassination veapon to an

Agency Cuban asset at a meeting in Paris on 22 November 1963..

The veapon was a ballpoint pen rigged as a bypodernic syringe.

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..Tec ClA ufficer susgested that the cuban asset luad the syringe

with Black Leaf 40. The evideace indicates that the meeting

was under way at the very moment President Kennedy was shot.

• D. There was a meeting of the Special Group (Augmented)

1n Secretary Russ's conference room on 10 August 1962 at which

Secretary Mchanara broached the subject of liquidation of

Cuban leaders. The discussion resulted in a Project MONGOOSE

action memoranium prepared by Edvard Lansdale. At another

Spectal Group meeting on 31 July 1964 there vas discussion of

@ recently-disseminated Clandestine Services Information report

on a Cuban exile plot to assassinate Castro. CIA had refused

the exile's request for funds and had no involvement in the plot.

'C. CIA tvice (first Ir. early 1961 and again in early 1962)

eupplied lethal pills to U.S. gambling syndicate members working

1a behalf of CIA on a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro. The 196i

plot aborted and the pills vere recovered.. Those furnished 1n

April 1962 were passed by the gambling syndicate representative

to a Cuban exile leader in Florida, who in turn bad tbem sent to

Cuba about May 1952. In June 1962 the exile leader reported that

a team of three nen had been dispatched to Cuba to recruit for the

operation. If the opportunity presented Itseif, the tean would

make an attempt on Castro's life--perhaps using the pills.

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This report describes these and other episodes in detall; puts them

into perspective; and reveals, lut while the events described by

Drev. Pearson did occur and are subject to being patched together

as though one complete story, the implication of a direct, causative

relationship among then is unfounded.

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Miscellaneous Schemes Prior to August 1960

March to August 1960

We find evidence of at least three, and perhaps four; scheres

that were under consideration.well before the Bay of Pigs, but ve

can fix the time frame only speculatively. Those who have some

knowledge of the episodes guessed at dates ranglog from 1959 through

1962. The Marib-to-August span ve have fixed may be too narrou, but

1t best. fits the limited evidence ve have.

a. None of those ve interviered wio vas first assigned to

the Cuba task force after the Bay of Pigs knovs of any of tbese

schemes.

b. J. D. (Jake) Bsterline, who was head of the Cuba task

force in pre-Bay of Pigs days, 1s probably the most rellable

ultness on general timing.. He may not bave been privy to the

precise details of any of the plans, but he seems at least to

have known of all of them. He is no longer able to keep the

details of one plan separa: from those of another, but each of the

facets be recalls fits sonewhere into one of the schemes. Benoe,

we conclude that all of these schenes vere under consideration

valle Esterline bad direct responsibility for Cuba operations.

c. Esterline himself furnishes the best clue as to the

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possible thee span. He thinks 1t unlikely that any piarning

of this sort would have progressed to the point of consideration

of neans until after U.S. policy concerning luca vas decided

upon about March 1960. By about the end of the third quarter

of 1960, the total energies of the tase force were concentrated

on the main-thrust effort, and there would have been no interest

1n nor time for pursuinz such wills-o'-the-visp as these.

He are unable to establish even a tentative sequence among the schemes;

they may, in fact, have been under consideration simultaneously. We.

find no evidence that any of these schemes was approved at any

level higher than division, 1f that. He think 1t most Ilkely that

no higher-level approvals vere sought, because none of the schemes

progressed to the point where approval to launch would bave been

needed.

Aerosol Attack on Radio Station

Ray Treichler, of ISD, remembers discussion of a scheme to

conteminate the air of the radio studio bere Castro broadcast his

speeches with an aerosol spray of a chemical that produces reactions

similar to those of ljjergic acid (ISD). Nothing came of the 1dea.

Treichler said he had discouraged the scheme, because the chemical

could not be relied upon to be effective. Henry Bortner, also of ISD,

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recalls experimentstion with psychic energizers but cannot relate 1t

to Castro as

a target. We found no one else ho resembered anhing

of this plot, vith the possible exception of Jake Esterline who

may have it confused with other schemes.

Contamirated Cigars

Jake Esterline claims to have had in his possession in pre-Bay

of Piga days a box of cigars that had been treated vith some sort.

of chemical. In our first interrlev with him, his recollection vas

that the chenical was intended to produce temporary personality.

disortentation. The thought vas to somehow contrive to have Castro

foxe one before making a speech and then to sake a public spectacle

of himself. Esterline distinctly recalis having had the cigare 1n

his personal safe until he left will and that they defialtely were

Intended for Castro. He does not remember how they came into his...

possession, but he thinks they must have been prepared by Ray Treichler.

In a second interview with Esterlice, ve mentioned that we had learned

since first speaking with him of a scheme tó cause Castro's beard to

fall out. He then said that his cigars might have been associated

witis that plan. Esterline fleally said that, although it was

evident that he no longer remembered the intended effect of the

cigars, he was positive they were not lethal. The cigars were never

1.-

1.

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used, according to Esterline, because wa/h could not figure oüt bow

to deliver then without danger of blo:back on the Agency:

He says

he destroyed them before leaving Wij In June 1961.

Sidney Gottlie, of ISD, claims to rerender distiactly a plot

Involving cigars. To emphasize the clarity of his senory, he named

the officer, then assigned to Ha/CA, who approached him with the

scheme. Although there may well have been such a plot, the officer

Gottlleb named was then assigned in India and has never worked in

Wi Division nor had anything to do vith Cuba operations. Gottlleb

remembers the scheme as being one that was talked about frequently

but not widely and as being concerned with killing, not nerely with

Influencing behaviour. As far as Gottlieb knows, this idea never

got beyond the talking stage. ISD nay bare gone ahead and prepared

the cigars just in case, but Gottlieb 15 certain that be did not get

the DD/p's (Richard Bissell) personal approval to release them, as vould

have been done 11 the operation had gone thet far. We are unable to

discover whether Esterline and Gottlieb are speaking of e single

cigar episode or of two unrelated schemes. We found no one else with

fim recollections of lethal cigars being considered prior to August

1960.

• 12 -

SECRET-EYES ONLY

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## Page 23

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SECRET-EYES ONLY

Depilator!

Ray Freichler recalle a scheme involving thallium salts, a

chemical used by women as a depilatory--the thought being to destroy

Castro's inage as "The Beardl" by causing the beard to fall out.

The chemical may be administered either orally or by absorption

through the skin. The right dosage causes depilation; too much

produces paralysis. Treichler belleves that the Idea originated in

connection with a trip Castro was to have made outside of Cuba. The

1dea 'i38 to dust thallium powder into Castro's shoes when they were

put out at night to be shined. The schene progressed as far as

procuring tbe chemical and testing it on animels. Treichler's

recollection 1s that Castro did not make the Intendeú trip, and

the scheme fell through. Henry Burtner remembers consideration

being given to use of thallium salts (perbaps against Castro) and

sonething having to do with boots or shoes. Treichler does not

remember with vhom he dealt on this plot. We lound no one else

with firm knowledge of 1t.

• 13

7, 879

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