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. 20 …was known to the Cubans as Frank Bender -- a cover identity that wasn't blown until…
invasion. He then leaked the word that he was ac-
cepting offers of Cuban exiles in Guatemala to as-
sist his country in its defense against a Castro
attack. All of these activities were being carried
on directly between the President of Guatemala and
the Agency's representatives in the field. The
Department of State, if informed of the GOG support
for JMATE, chose to appear ignorant of any involve-
ment of the us Government.
Beginning in early August of 1960, Guatemala
Air Force B-26's and P-Sl's flew to all parts of
the country to provide additional support for the
cover story; and as Ydigoras had indicated in the
earlier part of the month, joint Army/Air maneuvers
began in the San Jose, Retalhuelu, and Champerico
areas to give further support to the story that the
increase in training activity was related to improv-
ing the status of the GOG's own military. To insure
the security of the area where the Agency activities
were centered, the newspapers and the public were
advised that they should not trespass in the training
areas because live ammunition was going to be
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About this file

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.