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. 89 …strictly enforce the Pan American instruments governing terri- torial asylum. Whenever these have been overlooked or…
President reportedly:
Raised certain questions as to the
right of a [Congressional] committee to
ask questions on foreign policy affecting
the security of the United States. He
commented that when this is demanded as a
right you are "sunk," and wondered how
much right have they got, inasmuch as the
Constitution says that it is the responsi-
bility of the Chief Executive. 75b/*
In an attempt to divert attention from the Agency~
Chief, WHD apparently forwarded a suggestion that the
Agency sponsored Cuban exile organization, the FRD,
publicly acknowledge that it was involved in sponsor-
ing the military training in Guatemala. Jake Esterline,
however, noted that such an admission would contradict
statements already issued by the Government of Guate-
mala; and he also emphasized that it would be used by
* It is assumed that this was a. Special Group meeting.
In addition to the President, the attendees were the
usual members of the Special Group on Cuba -- National
Security Adviser Gordon Gray, Secretary of Dejense
Gates, Deputy Secretary of Defense Douglas, Under
Secretary of State Merchant, Assistant Secretary of
State Mann, and Ambassador Whiting Willauer. (Wil-
lauer was Eisenhower's appointee to assist the incoming
Kennedy Administration in the transfer of the anti-
Castro activities.) The memorandum of the meeting,
however, was prepared by Colonel J. C. King, Chief,
WH Division, not by Thomas A. Parrott who normally
acted as Secretary for Special Group sessions. 75c/

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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.