-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.weberman.com/nodules/nodule0.htm <A HREF="http://www.weberman.com/nodules/nodule0.htm">NODULE 0</A> --[2]-- ANALYSIS The CIA was made up of former OSS agents who had been involved in World War II. They wanted the ability to assassinate enemy agents or double-agents. The exact details of project MKNAOMI may never be known. The programs were highly compartmentalized. Few records were kept. ANGLETON had access to all the MKNAOMI files. The CIA instituted MKNAOMI in the 1950's in response to the KGB's use of these deadly techniques. Many of the KGB's agents had also been involved in intelligence during World War II. They too needed an assassination capability. During the Cold War accidental death was not always accidental, however, the Gaitskill episode was indicative of ANGLETON'S paranoid thinking, which was an asset in the world of counter-intelligence. Dr. Jerrold Post, a CIA psychologist, concluded that ANGLETON was not clinically paranoid, but had a strong paranoid inclination:"People with that psychological bent will function well in the CI world." L.S.D AND THE CIA: MKULTRA Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (L.S.D.) was first synthesized in 1938 in Basel, Switzerland, by Dr. Albert Hoffman. In April 1943, Hoffman became aware of the psychotropic effects of L.S.D. MKULTRA entailed testing L.S.D. and other hallucinogens on unwitting human Subjects. On November 18, 1953, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb administered a dose of L.S.D. to Dr. Frank R. Olson as part of the CIA's MKULTRA program. Frank Olson went insane and was brought to New York City for evaluation. On November 28, 1953, he dived through the plate glass window from the tenth story of the Statler Hotel. In the Summer of 1994 the body of Frank Olson was exhumed and the multiple fractures to Frank Olson's skull were found to be inconsistent was a 13 story fall. [Wash. Post 7.12.94] The CIA claimed that "only two (2) field stations, Manila and Atsugi, have L.S.D. material. There is none in Germany although Mr. William K. Harvey recently expressed interest in the subject. A cable to the field on December 1, 1953 will instruct the field as to non-use and request data as to how much is on hand and has custody and access." [CIA Memo for Inspector General Subject: Use of L.S.D. 12.1.53] Sometime prior to August 1960 "(deleted) of the Technical Services Division, remembers discussion of a scheme to contaminate the air of a radio studio where Castro broadcast his speeches with an aerosol spray of a chemical that produces reactions similar to those of L.S.D. Nothing came of the idea. (Deleted) said he had discouraged the scheme, because the chemical could not be relied upon to be effective. (Deleted) also told Technical Service Division recalls experimentation with psychic energizers but cannot relate it to Castro as a target." DOCTOR SIDNEY GOTTLIEB Technical Services Division Staff member Sidney Gottlieb was the CIA's expert on exotic poisons. A cripple with a speech defect, Gottlieb developed cigarette lighters that gave off a lethal gas, lipstick that would kill on contact, and a pocket spray for asthma sufferers that induced pneumonia. The CIA created the Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology to facilitate his work. Gottlieb developed poisons to be used against Fidel Castro and Gamal Abdul Nasser. Project MKULTRA resulted in at least one other death. On November 29, 1963, Richard Helms, Mr. (Deleted), Lyman Kirkpatrick, Sidney Gottlieb and the Inspector General of the CIA, J. S. Earman, held a meeting at the office of CIA Deputy Director Lt. General Marshall Carter. This CIA document dealt with that meeting: 1. The main thrust of the discussion was the testing of certain drugs on unwitting U.S. citizens. Dr. Gottlieb gave a brief history of the MKULTRA program which was not in any way at variance with the Inspector General's report of August 1963 on this subject. 2. Messrs. Gottlieb and (Deleted) argued for continuation of unwitting testing, using as the principal point that controlled testing cannot be depended upon for accurate results. General Carter, I and Kirkpatrick and I do not disagree with the point. We also accept the necessity for having a 'stable of drugs' on the shelf and the requirement for continued research and development of drugs -- not only for possible operational use but also to give CIA insight on the state of the art in this field and in particular to alert us to what the opposition is, or might be expected to do, in the Research and Development of drugs. 3. (Deleted) noted that there was no disagreement with the recommendations of the IG survey on MKULTRA with the exception of the unwitting testing problem. In response to a query from General Carter, he stated that since the IG report, such testing has been I abeyance. 4. General Carter made it clear that he understood the necessity for research and development of all types of drugs, to include their testing, however, he was troubled by the 'unwitting aspect.' This led to a brief discussion on the possibility of unwitting tests on foreign nationals but according to (Deleted) this has been ruled out as a result of several conversations he recently had with Senior Chiefs of Station --- to dangerous and the lack of controlled facilities...If it is concluded by the DD/P that unwitting testing on American citizens must be continued to operationally prove out these drugs, it may become necessary to place this problem before the Director for a decision. [Foreign & Mil. Intell. Book I, Final Report Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities SSCIA aka 'Church Committee' pp. 360-422; CIA MKULTRA FOIA #16-1; Harris, Higher Form Killing 1982, G. Thomas, Journey Madness 1990; Gottlieb, Sidney Boston Va. 22713 703-547-3934] In the early 1960's, the CIA researched the possibility of large-scale covert use of biological weapons. Scientists prepared memoranda, studied by the CIA, that detailed which diseases were common in different areas of the world so that covert use of biological weapons containing these diseases could easily go undetected. [SSCIA For. Mil. Int. V1 p362] In 1964 Sidney Gottlieb approved a $150,000-a-year payment to a Baltimore laboratory to conduct research into lethal microorganisms. These researchers attempted to discover psycho chemicals that simulated death induced by carbon dioxide to produce a weapon to fake a common means of suicide. In 1965 Sidney Gottlieb hired former W.H. Division Chief J.C. King. EARLY CIA FOUNDER: WILLIAM K. HARVEY William K. Harvey was born on September 13, 1915. From 1931 to 1933 he was a reporter and printer for the Danville Gazette. From 1933 to 1937 he studied law at the University of Indiana. He joined the FBI in 1940 where he targeted Soviet spies in Washington and New York City. In 1947 he was demoted by Hoover for Driving While Intoxicated. When William K. Harvey applied to the CIA for employment, the FBI prepared a report on his record. Hoover disliked William K. Harvey and wrote: "(Deleted) The attached letter (deleted) explains the above circumstances and places him on guard accordingly. Director's notation. What is record of Harvey while with us? The attached letter is unsatisfactory. I don't like its evasiveness. Please rewrite." [FBI 62-80750-945,952-w/h] William K. Harvey was accepted by the CIA. From 1947 to 1952 he was listed as an Executive Officer in the Pentagon. Actually, he was an Intelligence Officer in Office of Special Operations/FBS (Foreign Broadcast Service), USSR Division, Office of Special Operations COPS (Covert Operations), then he became an assistant to the Deputy Chief. In 1949 he began special operations for CE (Counter-Espionage). In 1951 he began work for Division D. This component was involved in obtaining code books from embassies. He joined the CIA DDP in 1952. The details of his career abroad between 1952 and 1959 were withheld. He returned to Headquarters in 1959 and soon headed Task Force W. Task Force W was engaged in running anti-Castro activities. [CIA Bio. Profile 9.22.71 180045] EARLY CIA FOUNDER: JAMES FORRESTAL James Forrestal (born November 10, 1890) was a bond salesman at William A. Reade Incorporated. He soon became an executive officer there. Dillon, Reade helped rebuild the steel plants which Hitler later turned into the most efficient war machine in Europe. [Drew Pearson 11.13.47] >From June 23, 1940, to August 22, 1940, James Forrestal was an assistant at the FDR White House. Forrestal designed the Office of the Coordinator for Inter-American Affairs and recommended Nelson Rockefeller for the top job. [Hoopes and Brinkley Driven Patriot Knopf 1992] In June 1940 James Forrestal became Under Secretary of the Navy and commissioned the son of Clarence Dillon, C. Douglas Dillon, to do a special study of the Navy Department. In April 1944 James Forrestal became Secretary of the Navy. He was a member of the National Intelligence Authority which had originally mandated the existence of the Central Intelligence Group. In 1947 Forrestal armed hard-core Mussolini veterans to counter the Italian communists, and also opposed the establishment of the state of Israel. He became Secretary of Defense in September 1947. In 1948 he commissioned Mathias F. Correa and William H. Jackson to study the floundering CIA. William H. Jackson became an investment banker at Carter, Ledyard and subsequently, a Deputy Director of the CIA. [Ross & Wise Inv. Gov. p99; Hersh Old Boys p278] THE FORRESTAL ENIGMA Less than a week after his replacement as Secretary of Defense on March 2, 1949, Forrestal told a friend "They are after me." He ran through the streets shouting: "The Russians are coming! I've seen Russian soldiers!" [Yergin, Daniel Shattered Peace Houghton Mifflin 1977] He had no previous history of mental disease. By the end of March 1949, Forrestal's mental faculties had deteriorated and in April he went into a deep depression. Journalist Drew Pearson stated that Forrestal made three suicide attempts at this time: by drug overdose, by hanging and by slashing his wrists. James Forrestal was committed to Bethesda Naval Hospital. He fell 16 floors to his death on May 22, 1949, after trying to hang himself from his hospital window with his dressing gown. The facts surrounding the details of the suicide were investigated by a Special Board. On August 23, 1960, the Soviet Home News Service reported: "One of the apostles of the cold war, an American Admiral, Forrestal, ended his life in a straightjacket (a victim?) of his own anticommunist deliriums." ANALYSIS Although mental illness and suicide are not uncommon in the intelligence community, to my knowledge, no other former Secretary of Defense went insane then committed suicide. The onset of Forrestal's delusions was rapid, as if precipitated by a drug. His behavior resembled someone on a "bad L.S.D. trip." Forrestal was no longer in power when he became insane, so why bother "dosing" him? Did Forrestal's anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli attitude contribute to his demise? The mental illness and subsequent death of James Forrestal remains an enigma. EARLY CIA OPERATION: THE BOGOTAZO RIOTS In 1946 the Presidential candidate of the Liberal Party of Colombia was Dr. Gabriel Turbay. Dr. Gabriel Turbay was the Premier of Colombia from 1933 to 1938 and served as Colombia's Ambassador to Washington from 1939 to 1945. He was an ardent supporter of the United States. But Gabriel Turbay died suddenly in Paris on November 18, 1947, at age 46. This researcher has been unable to obtain the details of Turbay's death. In any event, as a result of Turbay's death, Jorge Eliecer Gaitan (born January 26, 1903) became the nominee of the Liberal Party in 1948. Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, a labor leader, helped found the short-lived National Leftist Revolutionary Union and stated he would not cooperate with the opposition party because it was involved in political murder. On April 9, 1948, Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was murdered as he walked to lunch. His assailant, Juan Roa Sierra, was battered to death by bystanders. The death of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan touched off serious rioting that was unexpected by the CIA. Additionally, this rioting occurred during the Inter-American Affairs Conference in Bogota. The conference delegates had to take cover when a mob attacked the Capitolio Nacional. Among those who represented the United States were John J. McCloy and Assistant Secretary of State Norman Armour. Norman Armour, a former OSS officer, was a member of the United States Delegation to the U.N. during the overthrow of Jacobo Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954. Shortly thereafter Norman Armour replaced John E. Peurifoy as Ambassador to Guatemala. The President of Colombia's Conservative Party issued a communiqu� that stated Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was "killed by a person apparently of Communist affiliation." His secretary blamed Communists for sabotaging the Inter-American Conference, and charged that Cuban Communists had participated in an attack on a government radio station. Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Roscoe Hillenkoetter maintained that although the Communists seized on the assassination for their own political purposes, secret CIA dispatches indicated Jorge Eliecer Gaitan was slain because he had just successfully defended the killer of the uncle of Juan Roa Sierra in a murder trial. The CIA: "Supporters of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, apparently with his knowledge and perhaps mild encouragement, were considering the possibility of a coup d'etat for 1948. The murder of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan put to death a potentially revolutionary movement and the bogotazo riots was no more than its wake." [Studies in Intelligence V13 #4 Fall 1969; Ross & Wise Inv. Gov. p102; NYT 4.11.48, 4.10.48; DOS Bio. Reg. 1956; Hersh The Old Boys - Lovett p408] The CIA reported that, after the Bay of Pigs invasion, E. HOWARD HUNT was asked to determine the role of Fidel Castro in the Bogotazo riots. [EYES ONLY Analysis of Give Us This Day - Hunt CIA Office of Security File] ANALYSIS Was the CIA behind the assassination of Jorge Eliecer Gaitan? If a political assassin is himself quickly assassinated, it is likely a covert instrumentality was involved in both assassinations. Was Gabriel Turbay assassinated by the KGB? THE CIA AND CASTROISM A BRIEF POLITICAL HISTORY OF CUBA Machado y Morales was elected President of Cuba in 1924. On August 12, 1933, he was overthrown by a group of military officers. On September 4, 1933, Fulgencio Batista led a "Sergeant's Rebellion" against the junta. In 1934, Raymond Grau became president of Cuba. Grau was an anti-U.S. Cuban nationalist. Batista withdrew his support for Grau because of pressure from the United States. Batista took over in 1939. In October 1940, Batista, who ran as a civilian, was elected president. FULGENCIO BATISTA Fulgencio Batista was born into poverty in 1901. At age 20 he became an Army stenographer and penetrated the secrets of the Army Staff. Fulgencio Batista controlled Cuba from 1940 to 1944, when he was forced into exile in Miami. He spent 1944 to 1949 in the United States. In 1950 Batista ran, in absentia, for the Cuban senate. He was easily elected in his province, Las Villas, and returned to Cuba with senatorial immunity that year. On March 10, 1952, Fulgencio Batista and a small band of rebels entered Camp Columbia, a military fortress in the suburbs of Havana, and seized control. The Army, which remembered the high pay and good times of earlier days, rallied to his support and occupied the Presidential Palace. The President of Cuba, Carlos Prio Soccarras, and his Foreign Minister, Francisco Varona Alonzo (born November 25, 1908; aka Tony Varona), fled to the countryside and eventually sought asylum in the Mexican Embassy; soon the pair fled to Miami. Former President Carlos Prio Soccarras was determined to regain power. [FBI 109-12-210-355; NYT 1.2.59] DR. CARLOS PRIO SOCCARRAS Dr. Carlos Prio Soccarras was the President of Cuba from 1948 to 1952. Carlos Prio Soccarras headed the Authentico Party. Shortly after he was elected, he built a $2 million home on his Presidential salary of $25,000 a year. But Carlos Prio Soccarras was unable to control the other grafters in his government, and a deterioration in public services was accompanied by a slump in tourism. The national crime syndicate, who controlled the Havana gambling industry, wanted Carlos Prio Soccarras overthrown and ex-President Fulgencio Batista re-installed. TONY VARONA A CIA Provisional Operational Approval (POA) was requested on Tony Varona in August 1957 as a source of information on anti-government activities in Cuba and later amended for use in political action activities. He and organizations he represented were provided with material and financial assistance in promoting anti-Castro activities in Cuba until approximately 1962. OPERATIONAL APPROVALS OA (Operational Approvals), and POA's, Provisional Operational Approvals, were granted by the Chief, Counter-Intelligence Staff, after an examination of all pertinent records. The Office of Security conducted the Operational Approval investigations for Coun ter-Intelligence. Clandestine Services Instruction No. 10-5 stated: "In Operational Approval cases the Office of Security will forward investigative reports, name check results, etc. to the Counter-Intelligence Staff. In extremely sensitive cases, however, particularly those in which the security or good of the Agency as a whole is involved, the Office of Security will not be obliged to furnish all investigative material. In such cases the Office of Security will inform the Counter-Intelligence Staff that such material has been withheld and will, upon request, discuss the matter with the Chief, Counter-Intelligence Staff, or other appropriate official of the Clandestine Services." FIDEL CASTRO On July 26, 1953, rebel forces led by Fidel Castro attacked the Moncada Barracks of Fulgencio Batista's Army. The 26th of July Movement was born. Fidel Castro was imprisoned by Fulgencio Batista, but in May 1955, he was released under a general amnesty law. In July 1955 Fidel Castro traveled to Mexico. On December 2, 1956, Fidel Castro and 82 followers left Mexico aboard the yacht Granma, and landed in Cuba's Oriente Province, where they used the Sierra Maestre Mountains as a base of operations to launch a guerrilla war against Fulgencio Batista. In 1957, the FBI reported that General Hector Bienvedido Trujillo Molina, aka Raphael Trujillo, the dictator of the Dominican Republic, had allowed Carlos Prio Soccarras to set up an exile training camp in his country. [FBI 109-430-1839] In 1958, the Military Attache assigned to the U.S. Embassy, Havana, reported: "The Military Attache assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Havana advised that although the average low-ranking Cuban soldier has great respect for General Batista, this soldier does not appear to feel the same sympathy toward Army leaders directing him in the field. Many high ranking officers [in Batista's Army] are not noteworthy for their military acumen, and it is generally known that they are more interested in the graft they are able to secure, than in winning battles or skirmishes against the rebel forces." [FBI 109-12-210-355] ROLANDO MASFERRER Fulgencio Batista was forced to call on Cuban warlords like Rolando Masferrer [CIA 201-042,669] to suppress Fidel Castro. Rolando Masferrer was born in Cuba on July 12, 1918. His father died when he was young and his mother's brother took him to live with he and his wife. His uncle was a army officer who was sent to Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, Texas for training with the U.S. Army. Rolando Masferrer attended school in Oklahoma, but left after only a few weeks. He returned to Cuba where he received his law degree there at age 21. At age 23 Masferrer fought in the streets against the dictator Machado. He was elected to the Cuban Senate and was the youngest Senator in its history. During the Spanish Civil War in 1938, Rolando Masferrer traveled to Spain and fought on the side of the Communists. Within months he was in a military hospital near Madrid, his left foot shattered by a bullet. It took him six months to walk again - with a crutch. The Communist Party assigned Masferrer to its Political Inspectorate. Masferrer became an enforcer for Joseph Stalin. The 'thump, thump' of his walk was dreaded by Communist functionaries throughout Europe. Six years later he broke with the Communists and formed his own political party as well as his own private army, El Tigres. Rolando Masferrer was elected to the Cuban legislature in 1949, and served as a representative under the Prio regime. Masferrer was described as "an opportunist of the first order. He was a staunch friend of President Carlos Prio Soccarras under whose regime he served as a Representative, but when Prio was ousted he turned up overnight at the side of Fulgencio Batista. He has been a Senator in Batista's Government..." The CIA and the State Department conducted a covert name check on Rolando Masferrer when he was first elected to public office. Because he was a former Communist, by 1950 a file on Rolando Masferrer existed in the Office of Security of the CIA. EL TIGRES In 1958 El Tigres became Batista's primary counter-terrorist force. Murder, mutilation, rape, dismemberment, castration, torture and kidnapping were the trademarks of El Tigres. Bodies of individuals who had been tortured to death were flung from speeding cars on to the streets of Havana to strike terror in the populace. The main target of Masferrer were supporters of the 26th of July Movement. Masferrer was considered a war criminal by most of the 26th of July Revolutionary Movement. Rolando Masferrer told the FBI that Fidel Castro's men "began to ambush, assassinate, and otherwise kill members of Rolando Masferrer's party. Consequently, in order to protect members of his party Masferrer went to...the Minister of the Interior and obtained permission to arm his men so that they could protect themselves. Masferrer stated it was untrue that he had a private army and that it is also untrue that he ever committed any personal atrocities, such as shooting helpless women and children."[FBI 100-344127 4.21.59 Miami] Any opponent of the Batista regime was fair game for Masferrer who operated a chain of gambling casinos and was the editor of two newspapers. On July 13, 1956, the State Department reported: "Masferrer is a powerfully-built man of 39, who has the reputation as a gangster and a killer. He was a Communist in his student days and fought for the loyalist cause in Spain, but now professes anti-Communism with a vengeance. He has a private band of 80 armed men who served as a sort of personal bodyguard and stand by to act as hatchet men if violence is called for. Enjoying President Batista's confidence, Masferrer and his little army represent a potential force of some importance. He is known to have killed certain enemies and to have scared the wits out of others. In 1950, for instance, he was found by the police, machine gun in hand, over two frightened men who were actually digging their own graves. The men were saved but Masferrer was not arrested; he had congressional immunity; he was a representative at the time." [Memo R.G. Cushing to Ambassador] In August 1958 the FBI reported that Rolando Masferrer and Marcos Jimenez Perez, the exiled President of Venezuela, had become close associates. Rolando Masferrer told Marcos Jimenez Perez that he was "planning to take over the Cuban Government when Batista fell." [FBI 100-344127 8.12.58 Miami] THE GANGSTERS WITH CUBAN INTERESTS MEYER LANSKY Rolando Masferrer and Fulgencio Batista worked with national crime syndicate figure Meyer Lansky. Meyer Lansky was born in Russia on July 4, 1902, and died in Miami in January 1983. He was brought, with his younger brother, Jake, to the United States in 1911. By 1920 Lansky ran a floating crap game on the streets of New York City. When the mafia became aware of Lansky's operation it tried to extort a weekly payoff from him. Meyer Lansky refused to pay the mafia off. [Lansky, Hank Messick, G.P. Putnam, N.Y. 1971; Meyer Lansky Mogul of the Mob - Dennis Eisenberg, Uri Dan, Eli Landau, Paddington Press, N.Y. 1979] Meyer Lansky discovered that many Italian gangsters were opposed to the tactics of the Sicilian traditionalists. These included Frank Costello, Vito Genovese, Joe Adonis, Albert Anastasia, Salvadore "Lucky" Luciano and Al "Scarface" Capone. By 1922, the insurgents had murdered most of the old-line "Mustache Petes" and had taken over their territories. Jewish gangs were now given a sizable piece of the action. During the early 1930's Meyer Lansky discovered Cuba for the syndicate and invested its illegal profits there. In 1933 Lansky moved to Miami Beach, and in the late 1930's he lived in Cuba, where he owned the Hotel Nacional Casino and Havana's municipal racetracks. In 1940 Lansky left Havana for Miami. When Lansky moved to New York just before America entered World War II, he delegated the responsibility for the management of his Cuban and Miami holdings to SANTO TRAFFICANTE SR., the Sicilian-born Tampa gangster. SAM GIANCANA Lansky was associated with Sam Giancana. Sam Giancana began his career as a wheel man for the Capone mob. By the late 1940's Sam Giancana was the chauffeur and bodyguard for Chicago rackets boss Tony "The Tuna" Accardo. In 1957, a bullet was fired over Tony Accardo's head as he entered his half-million dollar estate. Tony "The Tuna" Accardo stepped down. Sam Giancana was the crime overlord of Chicago when the CIA approached him to kill Fidel Castro in 1960. His influence reached into the White House through Judith Campbell Exner, the alleged mistress of John F. Kennedy. Judith Campbell Exner told the press she was introduced to John F. Kennedy in Las Vegas in February 1960, by Frank Sinatra, a mutual friend. Judith Campbell Exner was in touch with Sam Giancana, who she said was aware of her relationship with John F. Kennedy. The Kennedy/Exner relationship lasted until late 1962, when the FBI became aware that Judith Campbell Exner, who was in telephonic contact with mobster John Rosselli, also made numerous calls to the White House. CASTRO SEIZES POWER IN CUBA On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba. Some members of the CIA believed he was a Communist as far back as 1948. By 1960 it became clear to the world that Fidel Castro was, in fact, a Communist and a willing agent of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, the gangsters, the corrupt politicians and their fascist allies had to leave Cuba as a result of the Castro revolution. Communism was now only 90 miles from America. Many Central American dictators feared meeting the same fate as Fulgencio Batista. THE SOMOZAS OF NICARAGUA The Somoza brothers, Luis and Anastasio, were the sons of Anastasio Somoza Sr., who had been appointed War Minister of Nicaragua in 1932. During this time, the United States Marines and the Nicaraguan National Guard joined in a long and bitter guerrilla struggle against revolutionary leader Augusto Cesar Sandino. Anastasio Somoza Sr. offered Augusto Cesar Sandino safe conduct to Managua, then executed him. In 1935 Anastasio Somoza Sr. took over Nicaragua through a military coup and was "elected" President in 1937. He remained in office until 1947. From 1947 to 1950, Anastasio Somoza Sr. handpicked subordinates ruled; in 1950, he reassumed power. In 1955, Anastasio Somoza Sr. began to feud with Costa Rican President Jose (Pepe) Figueres. Anastasio Somoza Sr. accused Jose Figueres of a long and close association with Communist and other leftist elements in the Americas, such as Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala and Romulo Betancourt of Venezuela. He accused Jose Figueres of plotting his assassination. Jose Figueres charged Anastasio Somoza Sr. with doing the same. Jose Figueres was a liberal and an anti-Communist. In 1948 he became provisional President of the Founding Civilian Junta of Costa Rica through an anti-Communist coup. Jose Figueres was elected President on July 27, 1953. His major opponents were the Communists. In September 1956, Anastasio Somoza Sr. was assassinated because of a plot by the National Guard and Army Officers. Luis Somoza and Anastasio Somoza Jr. took over for their father. Luis Somoza claimed that the assassin of his father was a Russian communist. [NYT 9.30.56] "PAPA DOC" DUVALIER OF HAITI "Papa Doc" Duvalier, the dictator of Haiti, also feared Fidel Castro. The Duvalier regime began in 1957 and lasted longer than any other in the history of Haiti. Of the 36 Presidents who preceded "Papa Doc" Duvalier, 23 were either killed or overthrown."Papa Doc" Duvalier's power depended on a 600-man palace guard, 5,000 militiamen, and the thugs known as the Ton Ton Macoutes - Haitian for bogeymen. The repression in Haiti was intense; six teenagers who painted anti-Duvalier graffiti on a wall were executed without trial."Papa Doc" Duvalier then ordered that all youth organizations, even the Boy Scouts, be disbanded. Under "Papa Doc" Duvalier, 90% of Haiti's population was illiterate, and were plagued with malnutrition and disease; per capita income was about a third of the Latin American average, and Haiti had the distinction of being the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. By 1961, the Kennedy Administration was fed up with "Papa Doc" Duvalier. He had used American aid to build Duvalierville, a complex of half-finished, rotting buildings. The United States cut its aid, which had amounted to $15 million a year, to $1.5 million. [NYT 4.23.71] CIA AND THE ASSASSINATION OF RAPHAEL TRUJILLO The dictator of the Dominican Republic, General Raphael Trujillo, was born on October 24, 1891. He joined the Dominican National Guard in 1918. The United States Marines were in the Dominican Republic at the time and Colonel Richard M. Cutts, USMC, sponsored him. In 1930 he was the Chief of Staff of the Dominican Army and was soon elected President. General Raphael Trujillo ruled the Dominican Republic as if it were his fiefdom. Not only did 'El Benefactor' hold absolute political power, he also owned most of the country, in his name and in the names of his relatives. General Raphael Trujillo had Dr. Jesus Galindez, a political opponent, kidnapped from his midtown Manhattan apartment on March 12, 1956. Jesus Galindez was a Dominican exile and professor at Columbia University who had written about the crimes of General Raphael Trujillo. The kidnappers flew him to the Dominican Republic, where he was murdered. The CIA had Colonel J.C. King investigate the abduction of Jesus Galdinez. TONY ULASEWICZ Watergate burglar Tony Ulasewicz investigated the Galindez kidnapping for the New York City Police Department. Tony Ulasewicz reported that the New York City Police Department burglarized Jesus Galindez' apartment and turned his papers over to the CIA: "Even though Galindez was a known Trujillo opponent, I quickly eliminated the CIA as being responsible for his fate...they would not have involved the New York City Police Department to get the contents of his briefcase. A possibility did remain, however, that his removal was a rogue intellige nce operation that hadn't been cleared by CIA Headquarters. If the Galindez caper was a maverick, unauthorized operation, I doubted at the time that anyone would ever find the identity of those responsible." STANLEY ROSS Tony Ulasewicz reported that the employer of Jesus Galindez, El Diario editor Stanley Ross, was the first to go to the FBI and the New York City Police Department's Missing Persons Bureau and file a report: "Stanley Ross was openly criticized for waiting too long to report Jesus Galindez missing. Silfa [a Dominican exile] told me that he had become suspicious of Stanley Ross when he learned that Stanley Ross had checked with the superintendent of Jesus Galdinez's building soon after he disappeared, but then waited four days before notifying the police. Why Stanley Ross insisted on being present in the apartment of Jesus Galindez [during the New York City Police Department search] came into question because before the disappearance, Stanley Ross had never been inside his apartment. Lydia Miranda reported that Jesus Galindez had al so become suspicious of Stanley Ross. Lydia Miranda claimed Stanley Ross knew about the novel Jesus Galindez was writing concerning the members of General Trujillo's family. Lydia Miranda said Stanley Ross was sending General Trujillo an advance copy of Jesus Galindez's work through the Dominican Consulate in New York. When a Dominican informant confirmed that Stanley Ross, was, in fact, reporting all of Jesus Galindez's activities to Trujillo's Consul General in New York, I became suspicious that Stanley Ross might have been involved in the disappearance." [Ulasewicz, Tony The President's Private Eye, Macsam Publishing, 1990] From 1955 to 1962 Stanley Ross was editor of El Diario de Nueva York, New York City's largest Spanish language daily. Stanley Ross became a registered agent of the Government of Nicaragua. MORRIS ERNST General Raphael Trujillo hired Morris Ernst to "investigate" the Jesus Galindez affair. Morris Ernst worked with Colonel J.C. King. He was unable to find any evidence that linked General Raphael Trujillo with the Jesus Galindez kidnapping. In 1938 Morris Ernst successfully defended the American Civil Liberties Union against charges of having been a Communist front. Morris Ernst was on the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union with Norman Thomas. Morris Ernst maintained a lengthy correspondence with J. Edgar Hoover, who he referred to as a close personal friend. [Wise, D. Politics of Lying 1973 168-9; Walls, D. Activists Almanac; Donner, F. Age of Surveillance] GERALD LESTER MURPHY AND ROBERT MAHEU Gerald Lester Murphy was a pilot for Dominican Airlines who boasted that he had flown Jesus Galindez from the United States to the Dominican Republic on one of his flights out of New York. Later, documents in Murphy's handwriting showed Dr. Galindez' name in several memoranda and notes for a flight plan from New York via Florida to the Dominican Republic. Not long after the kidnapping, Col. Salvador Cobian Parra, one of Trujillo's intelligence agents, was killed in a mysterious duel with a civilian who was also reported to have been killed in the duel. A car belonging to Gerald Lester Murphy was found on December 3, 1956, near a cliff in the remotest section of the Dominican Republic. When the police searched the hotel room of Gerald Lester Murphy, the name Horace Schmahl was found. Horace Schmahl traced back to Robert Maheu. A few weeks later, the body of Octavio Antonio de la Meza, Gerald Lester Murphy's co-pilot, was found hanging in a jail cell in Ciudad Trujillo. The police reported he left a note claiming responsibility for the death of Gerald Lester Murphy. Trujillo had given refuge to Fulgencio Batista and Marcos Perez Jimenez. [NYT 6.1.61] In June 1959, the Dominican Republic was invaded by a small mixed force of exiles and foreigners from Cuba, only to have peasants rally to join the Trujillo troops to smash the invasion. Major Delio Gomez Ochoa, the leader, asserted after his captu re that the attack had been promoted by Castro. In the early 1960's the United States attempted to economically destablilize the Trujillo regime by adhering to Organization of American States sanctions imposed because of a Trujillo-sponsored assassination attempt on June 24, 1960, against President Romulo Betancourt of Venezuela. The United States broke off diplomatic relations with the Dominican Republic in August 1960. President John F. Kennedy wanted dictators like General Raphael Trujillo replaced with democratic leaders, as a guarantee against the emergence of any form of Castroism. HUNT AND THE TRUJILLO ASSASSINATION? In 1976, Le Cygne, a autobiography by L. Gonzalez-Mata, was published in Paris. L. Gonzalez-Mata claimed to have served briefly as General Raphael Trujillo's Chief of Security in 1960. According to L. Gonzalez-Mata, John Rosselli and E. HOWARD HUNT arrived in the Dominican Republic in March 1961, and assisted in the plots against General Raphael Trujillo. L. Gonzalez-Mata identified John Rosselli as "a friend of Batista" who was operating "on the orders of William K. Harvey." HUNT was termed "a specialist." According to L. Gonzales-Mata, John Rosselli and HUNT met with U.S. Counsel General Henry Dearborn and Dominican dissident leader Lorenzo Berry, operator of a successful retail market. Lorenzo "Wimpy" Berry proposed a plan to force Raphael Trujillo into exile, but HUNT was adamant that an ambush was the only reliable course of action. Lorenzo Berry finally agreed when HUNT promised that the CIA would provide the weapons. [A Friend of Batista: L. Gonzales-Mata, Cygne , Grasset, Paris, 1976] STURGIS AND THE ASSASSINATION OF TRUJILLO? FRANK STURGIS claimed that in May 1961, he and mafia associate Frank Nelson visited the Dominican Republic. STURGIS told journalist Paul Meskil that they contacted Dominican military officers who were conspiring to assassinate General Raphael Trujillo. STURGIS and Frank Nelson claimed they helped supply this clique with assassination weapons. Frank Nelson explained: "The guns arrived in boxes sent to a supermarket in the Dominican capital. The Dominican officers didn't need the guns. They already had enough stuff for a war. They needed U.S. Government moral support and this was represented by the arms shipment."The SSCIA reported that the weapons were sent to Berry, broken down, disguised as canned goods. It also reported that handguns, machine guns, explosives, and carbines were supplied by the CIA. Many of these weapons ended up in the hands of Trujillo's assassins. HEMMING perpetuated this myth: "Frank Nelson was involved in a business deal with Wimpy's Supermarket, where the rifles were shipped to. Commercial cover. If STURGIS and Frank Nelson jumped in on the game as the boys that were coming from up north, they would be the guys that went back to Washington and laid the plan out for the big boys in D.C. They wanted Agency people implicated in the hit so they could cover their ass later on. Those weapons weren't used for anything. These guys aren't stupid. They were being told by the CIA to dump the old man. This is gonna happen, that's gonna happen. And when the blame goes around from the wealthy Trujillo sons, [Ramfis Trujillo] vicious little bastards, and the shit hits the fan, these guys are going to want to be able to call their markers in from the CIA. They want to prove Uncle Sam's behind the thing to get the other colonels and generals to come in with them." THE AMBUSH On May 30, 1961, Generalissimo Raphael Trujillo was assassinated, ambushed by a band of seven men, including Tony Imbert and General Juan Tomas Diaz. Trujillo and his chauffeur drove unescorted to see his 20 year old mistress. Around 10:30 p.m. two carloads of gunmen fired 27 rounds into Trujillo's body. A source in the President's office of the United Fruit Company informed U.S. Counsel General Henry Dearborn that the assassination had not triggered an internal rebellion. U.S. Counsel General Henry Dearborn, in turn, informed the CIA. In the 1920's, Dearborn was a founder of the Council on Foreign Relations. [DOS Bio. Reg. 1956] Dearborn replaced U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Joseph Farland, as the contact between the CIA and dissident Dominican groups. In a CIA briefing paper for United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the Agency admitted having sent arms to dissident Dominicans: "Operational security considerations prescribed that the dissidents make their own arrangements for receipt by which the source of the arms could not be identified." [Memo for Rec. 6.62. Sub: Rev. of Dom. Ops. for Per. Immed. Prior to, During and Sub. to Trujillo's Death/CWH/ARA file; Meskil Daily News 4.25.75] ANALYSIS No CIA documents linked HUNT or Rosselli with Lorenzo Berry. No documents linked HUNT to Rosselli. Neither HUNT or Rosselli had a motive to involve themselves in the assassination of Trujillo. A Friend of Batista was probably disinformation published abroad by the CIA, however, when HUNT testified before the SSCIA he said he was familiar with the planning of the Trujillo assassination "because of my intimacy with Latin American affairs." [SSCIA 157-10005-10228 p29] The dissidents did not need Nelson or STURGIS. They had the official apparatus of the CIA behind them. Neither STURGIS nor Nelson's name appears in any documents dealing with the Trujillo assassination. STURGIS was lying about his involvement in the assassination of Raphael Trujillo. CHARLES SIRAGUSA: THE CIA'S HITMAN The CIA's initial efforts to form an assassination section involved Charles Siragusa. Siragusa (born October 28, 1913; died April 17, 1982, Office of Security # 41 82) was raised amid mob violence in New York City's Little Italy. He worked under ANGLETON in the OSS (March 1944 to December 1945), and then was an official of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. [Winks Cloak and Gown p363] He was sent to Italy in 1951 to neutralize "Lucky" Luciano, who was sending heroin shipments to New York. [Sterling, C. Octopus p79] Charles Siragusa was attached to the U.S. Embassy, Rome, where he worked with the CIA Station. A CIA document revealed: "Siragusa was of liaison interest to various components of this Agency from 1961 to 1967, including the Behavioral Activities Branch of the Technical Services Division." [HSCA Gambino/Carpenter 2.28.78] In May 1967 Charles Siragusa supplied the CIA with biographic data that stated he had been employed by the Illinois Crime Commission since 1963. As head of the Commission, Siragusa was instrumental in solving the $4.3 million Purolator theft in 1974 by planting a snitch in the suspected burglary gang. In 1974 the name of Charles Siragusa was given to the Central Cover Staff in response to a request from an individual who might work for a pharmaceutical firm as an investigator. In October 1977, Charles Siragusa told Senator Edward Kennedy "that he was approached by a CIA employee in 1960 or 1961 who he recalls was Mr. Vincent Thill, who sought Mr. Siragusa's assistance to recruit underworld figures for assassination purposes. Mr. Thill is alleged to have said that one million dollars would be paid for a successful assassination. Mr. Siragusa also stated that in addition to Mr. Thill, he had contact with the following former CIA employees: Sheffield Edwards, JAMES ANGLETON, John Mertz and Robert Bannerman. As related to the CIA, the context of their relationship with Mr. Siragusa was not given. The SSCIA was informed of Mr. Siragusa's allegation. Mr. William Miller, SSCIA, suggested to Commander Bernard McMahon, Executive Assistant to the Director of the CIA, and Mr. John Waller, Inspector General, that CIA investigate the allegation. The Agency has initiated an investigation; following are the results to date: (Deleted)." CHARLES SIRAGUSA AND VINCENT THILL Charles Siragusa told journalist Jack Anderson: "After a few minutes of chitchat, the CIA man [Vincent Thill] made this startling suggestion: that Siragusa, drawing on his underworld knowledge and contacts, recruit a crew of mafia torpedoes for standby assassination duty. They would be paid $1 million in fees and expenses for each kill. The CIA would assign the missions and underwrite the payoffs from secret funds." Siragusa, who had underworld and mafia connections because of his position with the Bureau of Narcotics, said that he refused to cooperate. Some evidence, however, indicated Charles Siragusa proposed that narcotics traffickers be utilized as assassins. On December 19, 1960, Harold Meltzer was considered as a possible CIA assassin. Meltzer was an associate of Meyer Lansky. The CIA: "Attached is a rather comprehensive six page biographical history which supplies not only all the information you requested, but many additional facts which will facilitate your evaluation of his potential. Meltzer owns and operates Fried Sportswear Company, Los Angeles, California. On August 3, 1959 he was convicted at Federal Court at Los Angeles for failure to register as a previously convicted narcotics law violator at the time of his travel abroad. He was fined $1,000 and placed on three years probation. Meltzer appeared before a Federal Grand Jury at Los Angeles on March 24, 1960, under subpoena, but invoked the Firth Amendment throughout questioning. Although he was threatened with contempt proceedings, this action never materialized. In the Spring of 1959 he furnished information to our California Office, but has not since cooperated with us. He has the background and talent for the matter we discussed but it is not known whether he would be receptive. Also attached is a copy of his FBI criminal record and an old Wanted Notice which bears a good likeness of him. I have never met Meltzer." [Los Angeles Times 5.3.78; CIA Enc. 12.1960 JAMES ANGLETON AND CHARLES SIRAGUSA JAMES ANGLETON was interviewed on October 13, 1977, regarding his relationship with Charles Siragusa: "He knows Siragusa from World War II days. Following the war, during the 1950's, Mr. Siragusa was assigned to Rome as the U.S. representative on narcotics matters for Western Europe. ANGLETON had several official contacts with him but none since. Mr. ANGLETON states he was never associated with assassination plotting." CHARLES SIRAGUSA AND JOHN MERTZ When CI Director JAMES ANGLETON wanted his own Counter-Intelligence shop in Vietnam he ordered former Pretoria Chief of Station, John Mertz, to set one up. John Mertz told this researcher: "During World War II when ANGLETON was in Italy working for Allen Dulles he made an arrangement where he ran a Counter-Intelligence Unit in Italy. These men were in uniform, and did not report to the military. That was a peculiar situation in Italy for a short period of time. In July 1965 ANGLETON got the idea that he could do the same in Vietnam. They knew at that time that the American forces were thoroughly penetrated by the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong. He sent me over to talk to General Joseph A. McChristian. He was top intelligence officer in Vietnam. [McChristian was General Westmoreland's intelligence chief from 1965 to 1967.] He later became DIA Chief, when he came back to the States. McChristian sent me over to confer with him to see if it would be possible for the Agency to set up a Counter-intelligence Unit in uniform, not reporting to the military. McChristian kicked me out the country. He said, 'No way, get the hell out of here. Tell ANGLETON, no.' Our Chief of Station was Gordon L. Jorgensen. I came back and made a report to ANGLETON. He sent a couple a guys over there and they got kicked out. [Gordon Jorgensen was succeeded as Chief of Station of Saigon by John Limond Hart.] That's as far as that went. I went to Africa a year and a half after that." Mr. John Mertz was interviewed at his retirement home in Florida on October 6, 1977 in regard to Charles Siragusa's allegations. "Mr. Mertz related the following regarding his contacts with Mr. Siragusa. In 1960 or 1961, three CIA employees were arrested in Havana, Cuba, while engaged in an intelligence audio operation directed at a third country. They were tried, convicted and sentenced to ten years in prison. Their CIA affiliation was not revealed. Mr. Mertz was tasked with devising a means to free the prisoners. Mr. ANGLETON was Siragusa's OSS Supervisor in Italy during World War II, and suggested to Mr. Mertz that he contact Siragusa...Mr. Mertz states he was never associated with assassination plotting nor did he deal with Mr. Siragusa on any matters other than those discussed above...Mertz says he was never associated with assassination plotting." CHARLES SIRAGUSA AND ROBERT BANNERMAN Robert Bannerman, who was Deputy Director, Office of Security, during the early 1960's, and later the Director of the Office of Security "remembers Siragusa as a Office of Security covert contact/informer. He says that when an Office of Security investigation turned up information related to narcotics, Siragusa might be contacted to see if he could provide assistance. Bannerman says he is not aware of any other contacts with Siragusa nor was he involved in any assassination plotting. He says he now knows that Sheffield Edwards was involved in Castro assassination plotting, but was not aware of it at the time." [CIA OGC 77-6457 10.11.77 Robert S. Young] The Office of the Inspector General of the CIA determined that there was no basis for Siragusa's allegations. William K. Harvey took over the assassination project from Charles Siragusa. Notes on ZR/RIFLE stated: "Maximum security. Kubark [CIA Station] only. e.g. What does Siragusa now know?" --[cont]-- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! 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