Documents / FOIA release
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.
“Cooper”11 pages
provided protection for US military forces
in that country supporting project CROSS-
PATCH. A copy of this agreement was pro-
vided to DOD by memorandum dated 30 Decem-
ber 1960. 74/
H. The Changing Political Climate
Following resolution of the Special Forces program,
the beginning of the new year was marked by a spirit of
close cooperation between the Government of Guatemala
and the Agency's representatives.* Roberto Alejos, the
* The same could not be said for the degree of rapport
between the Department of State and the Government of
Guatemala. Between the end of November 1960 and the
beginning of 1961, there was a noticeable effort on
the part of the Department of State to keep US rela-
tions with Guatemala at something less than the level ,
of an abrazo. When planning a US response to President
Ydigoras's message thanking the US for instituting naval
operations which "prevented outside forces from giving
support to the Communist-inspired revolutionary movement,"
Secretary Herter cautioned the President that: "Since
the degree of direct involvement of pro-Communist and
pro-Castro elements in the recent Guatemalan uprising
has not yet been determined, the' text of the suggested
reply reaffirms that our action was aimed at prevention
of intervention from abroad." 74a/
In planning a response to President Ydigoras's
greeting for the New Year, Secretary Herter again
cautioned: "The Department feels that an exchange
concerning the Cuban question with President Ydigoras
would not be appropriate at the present time. It is
recommended, therefore, that you merely acknowledge
brie{ly his telegram." 74b/ Even though this advice
was followed, the Department directed the Amembassy
Guatemala to understand that after delivering Presi-
dent Eisenhower's message: "White House desires text
this message not rpt not become public." 74c/ Not linked to a story yet.
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.