'61 C.I.A. POISON PLOT REPORTED AGAINST 3 TOP LEADERS IN CUBA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000300510107-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 20, 2004
• Sequence Number: 107
• Publication Date: June 19, 1975
• Content Type: NSPR

Approved For Ref"VWO5'DOi'IT'CI"[R
M on Plot Reported
A. o
I C. .
I-Ig crZnst .3 "I 'op ..enders in Cuba
By JOHN M. CREWDSON
Speca! to The Nr4 York Ttmef
WASHINGTON, 'une 1S--Thei
Central Intelligence Agency or-
ganized an attempt in early!
156,1 to poison Premier Fidel!
Castro, his younger brother,!
Raul, and Che Guevara, accord-1
inc, to a source who claims)
direct knowledge of the opera-l
~tioa-
The C.I.A.'s plot was direct-I
ed against the three Cuban po-I
, Iitical figures, according to the
'source, because the agency be-~
lieved that they would be ca-I
pable of.rallying Cuba against'
a counterrevolutionary invasion
--the Bay of Pigs operation-
khen being planned.
The triple assassination plot,
he source said, was conceived
in the latter half of 1960 underi
the Eismho:ver Administ:atior.t
and dt;'acted by Sam Giancanal
.and John Roselli, two alleged
organiz. d crime. figures re-1 ated by the C.I.A. as rni:ld,P-
men for tl e job,
Several . reports have bee::
'puh'ishe'i recently about thre
-C.I.A.-i:aspired attempts on Mr.1
Castr a's life around the- ti~ii.
of the April 19. 1961, invasion
at the stay of Pigs. ,But th.el
source's v.,_cov.nt is the 'first
that has '::eluded other re-.ooiu-i
tionary leaders as targets, su
gestin g that the C.I.A. hop:.d
to. create a power vacuum rn:
Cuba to foster confusion a.rd'
corroborative details, said that ..
at least one of the reported
a!.tu!npts concerning Cuba was!
'`more complex than just Cas_1
:ro."
According to the source with
direct knowledge, planning fort
the triple murder pl,t began!
in the latter halt of 1960. before!
the election of John F. Kennedy
as President in November of.
that year, and the unsuccessful
attempt was made in late
March or early April of the
following year.
The source could not say,
however,- whether approval for
the operation had been' sought
or received from higher-level
officials of the Eisenhower or
Kennedy Administration out-
=at: toe C.I.A.
the C.I.A. project officer in
the case, he said, was Sheffield
I'voi'ds, . a former miildt4
caite ;tvho, before retiring,
served as head of the C.I.A.'s
Office. of Security.
Mr. Edwards appeared as al
witness several w-~eks ago he-!
fore a closed session of thei
Senate Select Commi:tee on;
Intelligence Activities Ref eat-I
ed efforts to re:-cli slim ~crt
corn ref:t on his alleged l r'Yl:'
in tae. operation werE' tl;i5 c-;
cessfui. , -
Maheu Role i. eirortt-d
Dlr. Edwards, the source- ;aid,
enlisted Robert A. NI a
former agent of tile. Fac:.ral
Bureatr of Inve3tigattCn and,
until' 1i'7O, a top aide to I?tow-
and R. Hughe_, tae bil'.ie,aire,
to serve as the C.I.A.'s liaison
disorientation following "the in-' V.-ith the criminal underworld
Vaslan.
A second Source who has
seer) C.I.A. documents re acing,
to political assassinations,
while clccl.inirg to provide any
figures sele::ed to arrange the
piny' lens.
Tr. lv'Taheu, -who recent y in?,
vc::ed the Fifth Amendmnrit
privilege against self-incr:r:lirt.i
' .
tian in deck^i:i~ to t^srir ?.,.:-i
fort . the Senate coal:ht t.:~-!s
about' his C.I.A. rolaclo~5 t7,;
reportedly sought cut r.:
Roselli, whom he knew, a:1d
through him gaht!ed the
ation of Mr. Gianca^a t r'n
i
a C::-;~. .,-
C !ca r> :a .vi;>
r in the
hart final r.i