That Infernal Little Cuban Republic

Cuban Privilege

“…Nonetheless, the Department of Defense did not give up on the possibility of an exile invasion, even after President Kennedy agreed, in the context of the 1962 Missile Crisis, not to invade Cuba, in exchange for Soviet removal of their offensive missiles on the island. 111 In May 1963, for example, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara informed the president that contingency plans for a Joint-Chiefs-of-Staff-approved invasion of Cuba were up-to-date. Plans were in place to introduce a large number of troops and heavy combat equipment quickly.…”

“…115 An ambitious covert project that President Kennedy authorized in November 1961, known as Operation Mongoose, or the Cuban Project, under the directorship of Air Force General Edward Lansdale, focused on undermining the island economy and on turning the population against Castro. 116 Operation Mongoose focused on deploying exiles to disperse anti-Castro propaganda over Cuba, to blow up strategic targets on the island, 117 and to destroy crop production, allegedly to help Cubans liberate Cuba. 118 The White House and State Department, in contrast, were more tempered about how to proceed after the Bay of Pigs fiasco.…”

“…Raids also involved anti-Castro leafleting over Havana, and delivery of weapons to rebels in Cuba, especially in the Escambray Mountains, where a counterrevolutionary movement organized in the early 1960s. 157 Although the CIA initially backed exile raids, it did so increasingly less over time. In one memorandum written in 1963 it denied continued involvement in raids, while in another, written six days later, it admitted to directing two exile raids.…”

“…174 After Kennedy's assassination, White House support for exile raids ended. President Johnson took a tough stance on them, 175 especially as he shifted his foreign policy focus elsewhere, 176 and prioritized domestically on his ambitious anti-poverty and civil rights agenda. 177 He rejected a CIA proposal to resume a Mongoose-like undertaking, and ordered the CIA to mothball its large Miami station, which had worked closely with exiles, including on raids.…”

Washington-Miami-Havana 1999-2009: Towards the End of a Ménage à Trois?

“…It was reminiscent both of the "transition program" drafted by the CANF in 1993, in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse, and of the Cuban Transition Committee chaired by Jeb Bush in Florida in 1995 to "produce step-by-step instruction on how exactly to establish democracy in Cuba." 12 Title II, Section 202 (g) of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (Helms Burton Act) compelled the President "not later than 180 days after" the Act was enacted to "transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a report describing in detail the plan developed" by the Assistance for the Cuban People section. 13 Complying wih the law the Clinton White House compiled a report entitled Support for a Democratic Transition in Cuba.…”