Even though I am technically in the middle of the Noss Gold Treasure epiodes, I felt the need to go on a "wander" and produce a new episode for our core journey here at JFK The Enduring Secret. In Episode 323, we begin to explore one of the most intense backdrops of the Kennedy administration: the Cuba Project. Following the disastrous and public failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961, President John F. Kennedy and his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, did not choose to retreat. Instead, they doubled down, concluding that the next attempt to topple Fidel Castro needed to be smarter, tighter, more deniable, and relentless. This commitment birthed Operation Mongoose, a massive covert program led by counterinsurgency specialist Brigadier General Edward Lansdale and strictly overseen by the White House. To wage this secret war, the CIA established JM WAVE in the suburbs of Miami—a massive intelligence station that functioned as a "small spy city". Under the leadership of Ted Shackley, this operation directed thousands of Cuban exile operatives, commanded an enormous budget, and conducted hundreds of "pinprick" sabotage raids against Cuban infrastructure. However, beneath the official campaign lay a much darker shadow war. This episode delves into the deeply secretive "Operation 40," a targeted killing and counterintelligence unit originally intended to purge communist officials. We also explore "ZR RIFLE," the CIA's executive action program that astonishingly partnered with the Mafia to orchestrate assassination plots against Castro, and the chilling "Operation Northwoods," a declassified proposal by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to stage fake terrorist attacks on American soil as a pretext for a full-scale invasion of Cuba. Ultimately, the Cuba Project failed in its primary objective: Castro survived, and the secret war was effectively swallowed by the Cuban Missile Crisis. Yet, its true legacy was the creation of a vast, unaccountable paramilitary network. The operatives trained participants in the Florida swamps—including men like E. Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgis—and would later surface in some of the darkest chapters of American history, from the hunt for Che Guevara to the Watergate scandal. Tune in to explore how a secret machine built to kill a revolution ended up haunting the United States for the rest of the century. APPENDIX — A Chronology of the Secret WarMarch 1960 — President Eisenhower approves the original CIA covert-action program against Castro that Kennedy will inherit. January 3, 1961 — Eisenhower reportedly suggests to General Lemnitzer that the U.S. "could think of manufacturing something" to justify intervention in Cuba. January 1961 — Kennedy is inaugurated; the U.S. and Cuba sever diplomatic relations. Early 1961 — Richard Bissell directs William Harvey to build a "stand-by" assassination capability; the ZR/RIFLE Executive Action project takes shape. April 17–19, 1961 — Brigade 2506 lands at the Bay of Pigs and is destroyed within three days. April 22, 1961 — Kennedy appoints the Taylor–Kennedy Board of Inquiry (Cuba Study Group). June 13, 1961 — The board reports: "no long-term living with Castro as a neighbor." October 5, 1961 — NSAM 100 directs post-Castro and military-contingency planning. November 3, 1961 — Kennedy authorizes the covert program that becomes Operation Mongoose. November 30, 1961 — Kennedy's memorandum formally establishes Mongoose; Lansdale named Chief of Operations. December 1, 1961 — RFK tells the Special Group Cuba is now top priority; Castro declares, "I am a Marxist-Leninist." January 18–19, 1962 — Lansdale assigns 32 planning tasks; RFK calls Cuba "top priority — all else is secondary." The Special Group (Augmented) is established. February 1962 — Shackley brought to JMWAVE; soon made station chief. JMWAVE relocates to NAS Richmond under the Zenith Technical Enterprises front. February 20, 1962 — Lansdale submits the six-phase Basic Action Plan aiming at revolt by October 1962. (John Glenn's orbital flight occurs the same day — later a Northwoods pretext target.) February 26, 1962 — RFK orders Lansdale to stand down to intelligence-gathering for three months; the Joint Chiefs' frustration hardens. March 1962 — SGA approves Phase I (intelligence only). The JCS draft Operation Northwoods. March 13, 1962 — Lemnitzer signs the Northwoods memo ("Justification for US Military Intervention in Cuba") to McNamara. March 16, 1962 — Kennedy flatly rejects Northwoods and any overt U.S. military force in Cuba. April 1962 — Harvey reactivates the Roselli/Mafia plots under ZR/RIFLE; arms and poison pills delivered in Miami. August 23, 1962 — NSAM 181 orders Mongoose "Plan B plus" developed with all speed amid the Soviet buildup. August 30, 1962 — SGA authorizes the Matahambre copper-mine sabotage; the raid fails. October 1962 — U-2 flights discover Soviet missiles; the Cuban Missile Crisis erupts. October 30, 1962 — The SGA orders a halt to all sabotage; Mongoose effectively ends. 1963 — Mongoose disbanded; the SGA abolished; the regular Special Group resumes control. June 19, 1963 — A new externally based sabotage program against the Cuban economy is approved. Fall 1963 — The CIA passes AM/LASH (Rolando Cubela) a poison pen while the administration explores a UN back-channel to Castro. October 24, 1963 — The Special Group approves thirteen major sabotage operations. November 22, 1963 — President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas; both the AM/LASH plot and the Cuban back-channel are cut short.
