The earliest known CIA attempt to assassinate a leader of the Cuban Revolution dates back to 1960, when an agent offered $ 10,000 to the pilot who was bringing Raul Castro back from Prague to Havana for “Fix an accident”, according to documents declassified and published Friday, April 16 by the National Security Archive.
This pilot called José Raul Martinez, who had been recruited by the CIA, had asked in exchange, if he himself had to die during the operation, that the United States take charge of the university studies of his two sons. It had been granted this, according to the Washington-based National Security Archive research institute, which publishes the documents.
But while Mr. Martinez had taken off for Prague, the CIA office in Havana was ordered to cancel the mission, without being able to contact the pilot. On his return, the latter had indicated that he “Had not had the opportunity to arrange an accident as discussed”.
Fidel Castro also survived many plots
This information is revealed as Raul Castro, brother of Fidel Castro, at 89, prepares to leave Cuban politics, with his departure from the head of the Cuban Communist Party. After Fidel’s death in 2016, Raul’s departure turns a historic page for Cuba and its people, almost all of whom have never known another ruling family.
“These documents remind us of a dark and sinister chapter in American operations against the Cuban revolutionNational Security Archive analyst Peter Kornbluh told Agence France-Presse (AFP). As the Castro era officially draws to a close, American politicians have the opportunity to leave this liability behind and participate in Cuba’s post-Castro future. “
Fidel Castro, who had taken power in 1959, had challenged eleven American presidents and survived numerous plots to assassinate him (638 according to the Guinness Book of Records) as well as a failed attempt to disembark Cuban exiles supported by the CIA in the Bay of Pigs (south of the island) in April 1961.
