A newly declassified document shows the CIA considered a plan in the early 1960s to plant bombs in Miami, slaughter Cuban refugees and assassinate Cuban exiles—all in a bid to turn world opinion against Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The document was one of nearly 3,000 files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy made public last week. A memo to top military general Maxwell Taylor in April of 1962 describes planning for Operation Mongoose, a covert program aimed at subverting and overthrowing the Cuban revolution. One part of the document reads, “The terror campaign could be pointed at Cuban refugees seeking haven in the United States. We could sink a boatload of Cubans en route to Florida (real or simulated). We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the United States … Exploding a few plastic bombs in carefully chosen spots.” Another portion of the memo describes plans to unleash biological and chemical agents on Cuban farms in a bid to cause crop failures.
