Alleged CIA covert program involving attempts to destabilize and overthrow the Cuban government through military and intelligence operations.
Operation Cuba refers to a broader set of documented CIA initiatives targeting Fidel Castro's government from 1960 through the mid-1970s. The most prominent component was Operation Mongoose, initiated in November 1961 under President Kennedy and overseen by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Mongoose involved hundreds of covert operations including sabotage missions, assassination plots, and support for exile groups attempting to invade Cuba. The program deployed operatives to conduct acts of economic disruption and employed biological and chemical warfare research, including contaminating Cuban crops and attempting to eliminate Castro through poisoning and other means.
Declassified CIA documents revealed that Operation Mongoose included efforts to foment internal instability and coordinated with anti-Castro Cuban exile organizations like Brigade 2506, which participated in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961. Between 1961 and 1965, documented operations included attacks on Cuban industrial facilities, petroleum refineries, and agricultural targets. A 1975 Church Committee investigation examined the CIA's assassination plots against Castro, confirming multiple attempts to kill the Cuban leader through various methods. The broader operation involved thousands of agents and operatives, with an estimated budget exceeding 50 million dollars at its peak. These campaigns continued under subsequent administrations until formal restrictions on covert operations were imposed in the mid-1970s.
