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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. 14 …an anti-Castro program before Chief JMATE, Jacob D. Esterline, and I Robert K. Davis, met…
  • p. 54 …Batres. !±i/ Jacob D. Esterline, Chief of J~ARC project had some subsequent conversation with the…
  • p. 160 …Memo for Record from Jacob D. Esterline, 20 Jun 60, sub: Negotiations with President Miguel Ydigoras…
  • p. 163 …20 Oct 60. 36. Oral History Interview: Jacob O. Esterline by Jack B. Pfeiffer, 10-11…
  • p. 166 …to the Sec Def, OSO from Jacob D. Esterline, 16 Nov 60, sub: Emergency Evacua~ tion…
  • p. 168 …Memo for Asst~ Sec Def OSO from Jacob D. Esterline, 5 Jan 61, sub: Requirement for…
  • p. 170 …MR from Jacob D. Esterline, 5 Apr 61, sub: Meet- ing with Adolph sic A. Berle…
  • p. 171 …MR from Jacob D. Esterline,S Apr 61, sub: Meeting with Adolph sic A. Berle. 14…
  • p. 173 …Memo for Record from Jacob D. Esterline, 24 Oct 60, sub: Meeting withDCI and Assistant Secretary…
  • p. 174 …Memo for DDP/EMB from Jacob D. Esterline, 6 Dec 60, sub: Four JMARC Problems for…
in Washington, Carlos Alejos, the brother of Roberto
Alejos. y*
Portents of things to come followed shortly
after Esterline's first meeting with Roberto Alejos.
On 8 June 1960, Alejos, as he had indicated in his
initial meeting with Davis and Esterline, was in the
United States where he met with Esterline. Among .the
subjects discussed, in addition to the utilization of
Guatemalan territory for the training of anti-Castro
Cubans, Alejos said that he would be taking a look
at the airstrip at Retalhuleu to see if it was capable
of handling C-54 aircraft. Construction and renova-
tion of this airstrip would later give rise to both
some intra-agency squabbles and also some strain in
the relationships between the Agency and Alejos.
At this time, too, Alejos was very much concerned
about the United States ambassador to the OAS, John
Dryer, who, according to Alejos, was pressing the GOG
* Carlos Alejos apparently was appointed US ambassa-
dor a short time prior to Esterline's meeting with
Ydigo~as and Roberto Alejos. A cable to the Department
from Guatemala City on 18 May 1960 noted that Carlos
Alejos "Ambassador-designate to the US" would arrive
in New Orleans on 25 May 60. 4a/
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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.