Documents / FOIA release

Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation- Volume 2- Part 1

Central Intelligence Agency · 179 pages · text from the file's own layer

This is Volume II, Part 1 of the CIA History Staff's Official History of the Bay of Pigs Operation, a Top Secret history dated October 1979 and approved for release in July 2011. It looks at how the Agency took part in shaping US foreign policy toward Guatemala and Nicaragua during the anti-Castro program. It covers dealings with President Ydigoras Fuentes and Roberto Alejos, training sites such as Retalhuleu, cover stories, and negotiations with the Somoza brothers for an air base and port. It contains no UFO material.

  • p. 71 …formalized (16 November 1960), then J. C. King, Chief, Western Hemisphere Division, prepared a memorandum for…
  • p. 76 …C. King, "J. C., this kind of ... " "No, no," he said. "I don't think I…
  • p. 88 …however, was prepared by Colonel J. C. King, Chief, WH Division, not by Thomas A. Parrott…
  • p. 89 …King must have ignored Esterline's warning; but the DCI failed to support King's Plan…
  • p. 117 …of State of the trip and Col. King had informed Thomas Mann. 9/*. In a meeting…
  • p. 120 …to Chief, WH Division (Col. J. C. King) that Robertson be brought into the JMARC program…
  • p. 138 …discuss Project JMATE with President Somoza. Col. King, in speaking of Whelan r~marked as follows…
  • p. 160 …2. Memo for DCI from J. C. King, 29 Feb 60, sub: What We Are Doing…
  • p. 163 …35. Memo for DCI from J. C. King, 21 Oct 60, sub: Observations on Briefing of…
  • p. 167 …TRAV. Memo for DDP from J. C. King, 28 Oct 60, sub: Employment of U.S…
  • p. 169 …10 Jan 61. MR from J. C. King, 11 Jan 61, sub: Meeting to Discuss Proposed…
  • p. 173 …Irving G. CADICK (P) from J. C. King, 2 Dec 60, sub: Letter of Instruction. Ibid…
  • p. 175 …IN 1797). 42. Memo from J. C. King for DCI, 19 Jan 61, sub: Visit of…
I resires commend Robertson for
excellent presentation and accomplishment
mission. Robertson's detached objective
approach, vis-a-vis Somoza. Ambassador and
I underlined positive results. 52/*
----
F. Who Would Do What for Whom?
Robertson's suggestions for discussions were
taken to heart in Nicaragua and in Washington. Almost
immediately upon his departure, a series of cables
indicate that meetings were held between the President
of Nicaragua and Ambassador Whelan and, in Washington,
between Lou Napoli and Ambassador Sevilla-Sacasa. A
principal subject of the conversation was the status
of Nicaragua's pending loan applications to the USG
and the DLF. In neither Managua nor Washington did
Nicaragua get any commitment that the loans were going
* It should not be inferred from the foregoing that
all of Robertson's activities were devoted to hand-
holding with the Somozas. He got down to the very
nitty-gritty things directly related to the planned
operation against Fidel Castro, concerning himself
with such matters as port security, planning for
fueling and watering the vessels which would be used
to transport the Brigade to Cuba, and, probably, to
negotiating an agreement with Nicaragua to dispose of
the Brigade dead resulting from the invasion. One ~
knowledgeab~e source recalled that an arrangement was
made whereby the bodies would be transported to Nica-
ragua by boat or air, and that Somoza had offered to
give them a hero's burial. ~/

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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 179 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.