According to Fidel Castro's former secret service chief, the now-deceased dictator survived
no less than 634 attempts on his life, many by the American Central Intelligence Agency.
From exploding cigars to exploding sea shells, what were some of the most... creative....
ways the US tried to kill Castro?
Hello, and welcome to another episode of The Infographics Show- today we're taking a look
at the US's most insane attempts to kill Fidel Castro.
As ruler of Cuba from 1961 until 2011, Fidel Castro came to power riding a wave of revolutionary
zeal.
But while having his roots as an anti-imperialistic revolutionary that fought for the people,
upon assuming power Castro very quickly became as ruthless and authoritarian as any dictator.
From stripping away the freedom of the press, to bragging about jailing tens of thousands
of political opponents, Castro became one of the most notorious leaders of the 20thcentury.
Yet it wasn't until Castro began cozying up to the US's archenemy- the Soviet Union- that
he wandered into the crosshairs of the US's Central Intelligence Agency.
Fearful of a global domino effect where one nation falling to communism would lead to
another and so on, the US was also deeply disturbed by the presence of a strong Soviet
ally less than a hundred miles from its shores.
Foreseeing a Cuban Crisis scenario- which ironically would come to pass anyways- the
US intelligence committee made the recommendation that Castro be removed from power by any means
necessary.
For a decade and a half US Presidents would agree, until the signing of Executive Order
11905 by President Gerald R. Ford in 1976 banned US intelligence agencies from committing
political assassinations.
Yet for 15 long years prior to executive order 11905, it was open season on Castro as far
as the US was concerned- even going so far as to enlist the aid of American mafia leaders.
So what were some of the craziest ways the CIA tried to kill Castro?
Perhaps the most famous plots against Castro was the exploding cigar.
Known for his love of cigars, the CIA brainstormed a way to get Castro a case of cigars loaded
with small amounts of explosives.
Allegedly during a trip to the United Nations in 1966, a CIA agent was enroute to swap a
case of explosive cigars with real cigars when at the last minute the operation was
cancelled for fear of the political fallout from Castro's assassination taking place during
a visit to the UN.
Yet some sources suggest that the exploding cigar ploy was a complete fabrication, purposefully
silly and meant to hide more serious attempts on Castro's life.
Whatever the case, Castro's security team took the threat extremely seriously, eventually
leading them to create the Cohiba cigar brand in order to guarantee the safety of Castro's
supply of cigars.
When Castro threw out the Batista regime in 1959 and took over the extremely lucrative
casinos and hotels he made more than a few enemies among international mobsters- enemies
the CIA was happy to cooperate with against their shared enemy.
Shortly after Castro came to power a CIA agent met with Las Vegas mobster Johnny Roselli,
who introduced him to members of the Las Vegas Syndicate- of Bugsy Siegel fame.
Offering the mobsters $150,000- $1.2 million in today's dollars- to kill Castro in whatever
way they thought best, Roselli declined the money and said he'd do the job for free.
Contacting mob operatives in Cuba, the Vegas mob attempted to poison Castro with cyanide
pills loaded into his drinks, yet the mob assassin failed several times throughout 1960
to get close enough to Castro to succeed.
After the multiple failures the CIA ran out of patience and turned the job over to a doctor
named Anthony Verona, who due to professional connections had a much better chance of getting
close to the ever-more wary dictator.
Yet even after being paid $11,000- $93,000 in today's dollars- Verona quit after the
disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion.
Poison pills seemed like a good idea to the CIA though, and shortly after the mob failed,
the CIA launched Operation Mongoose with the goal of recruiting and training Cuban exiles
to become secret agents inside Cuba.
In what would have seemed to be the absolute jackpot for the CIA, agents managed to recruit
one of Castro's former girlfriends, a woman named Marita Lorenz.
With overnight access to his home Marita seemed like a sure bet, and the CIA quickly began
training her in the use of cyanide tablets.
Lethal within 30 seconds of ingestion, Marita returned to Cuba and reconnected with Castro,
staying the night in his home.
Yet as she went for the pills she realized that they had dissolved into the jar of cold
cream she stored them in and were completely unusable.
Suffering a crisis of conscience, or perhaps afraid because of Castro's suspicions, Marita
confessed the plot to Castro, who immediately began to rage- yet not against Marita, but
against the US.
Per a 1993 interview with Vanity Fair, Castro then grabbed a .45 pistol and put it in her
hands, telling her that she couldn't kill him.
He was right.
Marita dropped the gun and stayed the night with Castro, leaving in the morning and never
returning.
Despite repeated failures, the CIA is nothing if not persistent.
Once more going back to the drawing board they struck upon another of Castro's weaknesses-
his love of taking frequent morning ocean swims.
Well known for attending a private beach for his swims, the CIA came upon the idea of infiltrating
that beach with US special forces the night before and placing sabotaged sea shells along
the sand.
Each seashell would conceal a small amount of explosives, and exploding them all together
would hopefully neutralize the dictator no matter where he chose to sunbathe.
The idea garnered enough serious attention that tests were conducted on a Virginia beach,
but lacking in explosive power the entire idea was deemed completely impractical.
Yet undeterred, the CIA came upon another seashell idea- what if instead of numerous
seashells, just one big one?
With Castro's known love of scuba diving, the CIA proposed painting one large sea shell
in exotic colors and hiding explosives within.
Luring Castro's attention, the sea shell could then be remotely detonated when he came close
enough.
Ultimately this idea was also regarded as impractical, with no guarantee Castro would
notice this particular sea shell amongst the thousands littering Cuba's beaches.
They say the pen is mightier than the sword- but could it potentially be lethal?
American novelist Ernest Hemingway had owned property in Cuba since 1940, and spent most
of his time there until his death in 1961.
Shortly after Hemingway's suicide, his widow floated the idea of using the farm as a staging
ground to kill Castro.
As a huge fan of Hemingway's work, Castro had already visited what had become a shrine
to the late author, with his widow noting that Castro seemed to have little security
with him when he visited.
The CIA carefully considered the offer, and despite the apparent advantages it offered
ultimately rejected the idea.
While no official reason was ever given, perhaps the CIA feared (rightfully so) the backlash
from using the home of one of the most acclaimed novelists of the 20thcentury to commit an
assassination.
From exploding cigars and sea shells, to poisoned pills and former lovers- the CIA clearly has
no shortage of imagination when it comes to nefarious plots.
Yet Castro would go on to defy every attempt made on his life and ultimately pass away
of old age, in a way defeating his former rivals at the most powerful intelligence agency
in the world.
Have you heard any other crazy assassination plots on Castro or any other leader's lives?
Want to hear more about crazy plots that actually worked?
Let us know in the comments . Also, be sure to watch our other video called – What Are
The Weirdest Unsolved Internet Mysteries?
Thanks for watching, and as always, don't forget to like, share and subscribe, and as
ever, see you next time.
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