In the '60s John Kennedy and the CIA wanted to kill Castro with poisoned pens and exploding cigars, but for all the U.S. angst him, he survived and thrived.
U.S. determination to oust Castro outlived the 60s.
A report out in the Miami Herald Monday reveals that Richard Nixon even tried to enlist Brazil in an effort to oust the Cuban dicator.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon and Brazil's military dictator discussed coordinating efforts to help Cubans and Chileans overthrow Fidel Castro and Salvador Allende, respectively, according to a recently declassified White House memo on their meeting.
Gen. Emilio Garrastazú Médici first raised the issue of helping anti-Castro Cubans.
Excerpt from the Herald:
"These men claimed that they had forces and could overthrow Castro's regime. The question arose, should we help them,'' said the memo written by national security advisor Henry Kissinger.
Nixon "pondered this question and said he felt we should, as long as we did not push them into doing something that we could not support, and as long as our hand did not appear,'' the document noted. Médici agreed, it added.
Kissinger's account of the Dec. 9, 1971, White House visit by Médici was written "for the president's file'' and classified Top Secret. It was declassified Sept. 4, 2008, and made public in July as part of a State Department publication on U.S. foreign policy.
The National Security Archive (NSA), a private research institute in Washington, posted the memo and related documents Sunday on its website, www.nsarchive.org.
Nixon noted that "if the Brazilians felt there was something we could do to be helpful in this area, he would like [Médici] to let him know. If money were required or other discreet aid, we might be able to make it available,'' the memo added.
"This should be held in the greatest confidence. But we must try and prevent new Allendes and Castros and try where possible to reverse these trends,'' Nixon noted. Médici ``said he was happy to see that the Brazilian and American positions . . . were so close.''
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