| LIST 22 | 7 CIA Plots to Kill Castro |
In May 1967, the Central Intelligence Agency's Inspector General issued “Report on Plots to Assassinate Fidel Castro,” a detailed rundown of the CIA's attempts to kill Cuba's leader. Highly classified, it wasn't released to the public until 1993. All quotes below are taken directly from this official report.
1
Dosing
According to the report, there was “discussion of a scheme to contaminate the air of the radio station where Castro broadcasts his speeches with an aerosol spray of a chemical that produces reactions similar to those of lysergic acid (LSD).” The idea apparently was to get El Presidente to sound like a drug-addled flake on the air. “Nothing came of the idea. [redacted] said he had discouraged the scheme, because the chemical could not be relied upon to be effective.”
2
Tainted cigars
A batch of cigars was cooked up with the intention of giving them to Castro. The effects that the cigars were supposed to have is hazy. Either they were treated with a chemical that would make him disoriented, thus causing him to act strangely in public, or they were treated with a depilatory to make his beard fall out, dealing a blow to the machismo of the now smooth-faced girlyman. The plot never got farther than that, and the stogies were destroyed.
3
Spiked shoes
Similarly, the Agency brewed “a scheme involving thallium salts, a chemical used by women as a depilatory—the thought being to destroy Castro's image as ‘The Beard’ by causing the beard to fall out…. The idea was to dust thallium powder into Castro's shoes when they were put out at night to be shined. The scheme progressed as far as procuring the chemical and testing it on animals.” Castro's shoes were to be spiked during a specific trip outside of Cuba, but the trip didn't happen and the plot fell through.
4
Poison pills
In the most elaborate, firm plan for assassination, a CIA agent—under orders from his superiors—offered mobsters in Cuba $150,000 to whack Castro. The spook, of course, didn't reveal his true affiliation, instead claiming to represent businessmen who saw the dictator as an impediment. As for the actual mechanism of death, “four possible approaches were considered: (1) something highly toxic, such as shellfish poison to be administered with a pin (which Roosevelt said was what was supplied to Gary Powers); (2) bacterial material in liquid form; (3) bacterial treatment of a cigarette or cigar; and (4) a handkerchief treated with bacteria.” The focus was put on option two, with the idea being to dump the lethal liquid into Castro's drink or soup. Meanwhile, the CIA's Technical Services Division laced a box of Cuban cigars with botulism. “The cigars were so heavily contaminated that merely putting one in the mouth would do the job; the intended victim would not actually have to smoke it.” In the end, however, the poison took the form of “small pills” containing botulism. The tablets were tested on monkeys, who keeled over.
In February-March 1961, the pills made their way from the CIA to the Mafia to a disaffected Cuban official close to Castro, Juan Orta, head of the Prime Minister's Office. But Orta lost his job around that time—apparently for skimming gambling profits—and couldn't deliver the poison. Orta suggested someone else for the job, who reportedly tried a few times but failed. The CIA then approached a prominent Cuban exile, who was set to do the job for $10,000 or $20,000. For reasons that remain unclear, the Agency canceled the operation.
By April 1962, the plan was back in full effect. More poison pills were given to Varona, who then requested (and was given) additional equipment that he claimed to need for the operation: “explosives, detonators, twenty .30 caliber rifles, twenty .45 caliber hand guns, two radios, and one boat radar.” In June, Varona sent a three-man squad to Cuba. “They were to recruit others who might be used in such a scheme. If an opportunity to kill Castro presented itself, they or the persons they recruited were to make the attempt—perhaps using the pills.” By February of the next year, it was apparent that the operation was going nowhere, so it was shut down.
5
Poison diving suit
“The technique involved dusting the inside of the suit with a fungus that would produce a disabling and chronic skin disease (Madura foot) and contaminating the breathing apparatus with tubercle bacilli.” The suit was never given to Castro, although “this scheme progressed to the point of actually buying a diving suit and readying it for delivery.”
6
Exploding conch
The idea was to take an unusually spectacular sea shell that would be certain to catch Castro's eye, load it with an explosive triggered to blow when the shell was lifted, and submerge it in an area where Castro often went skin diving….
The scheme was soon found to be impracticable. None of the shells that might conceivably be found in the Caribbean area was both spectacular enough to be sure of attracting attention and large enough to hold the needed volume of explosive. The midget submarine that would have had to be used in emplacement of the shell has too short an operating range for such an operation.
7
Poison pen
In March 1961, the Agency approached Rolando Cubela, Cuba's disaffected Military Attaché to Spain, about icing Castro. By November 1963, Cubela was ready to do the deed and asked the CIA to supply him with the means. “What they settled upon was Black Leaf 40, a common, easily-obtainable insecticide containing about 40% nicotine sulphate. Nicotine is a deadly poison that may be administered orally, by injection, or by absorption through the skin.”
The CIA decided not give Cubela the poison, telling him to obtain it himself, but they did hand him the method of delivery: “a ballpoint pen rigged as a hypodermic syringe” that the CIA's Dr. Gunn created overnight.
“He said that the needle was so fine that the victim would hardly feel it when it was inserted—he compared it with the scratch from a shirt with too much starch.” On the 21st, at the exact moment that President Kennedy was being assassinated, a CIA agent was giving Cubela the pen-needle to kill Castro. Cubelo dicked around for a year and a half; finally, CIA headquarters put out the word to stop all association with him in June 1965. His CIA support had become too well known.
This is the last reported attempt to put Castro's lights out. 
Classified Quote #1
“A lot of documents are classified for the wrong reason—because they're embarrassing, or perhaps because of a coverup.”
–Senator Richard Shelby (Republican - Alabama), former Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee