Office of the Historian

425. Memorandum From the Chief of Operations, Operation Mongoose (Lansdale) to the Department of State Operations Officer for Operation Mongoose (Hurwitch)0

Washington, September 13, 1962.

SUBJECT

  • Activity 54, Phase II

Your 12 September memorandum1 regarding Activity 54 (post-Castro) suggests some further development of information and planning without loss of time.

The idea of listing qualified anti-Castro Cubans and of compiling all available data for assessing their leadership potential is very much to the point. Request that you take the necessary steps to do this, in conjunction with CIA and the FBI, and keep me advised on a continuing basis.

The proposal concerning a high-level statement regarding a post-Castro era is one for priority attention, but should not be restricted to the single theme of “not turning back the clock.” This is an actionable idea and follows our earlier discussions on developing a sound frame of reference for anti-regime activities by Cubans and their friends.

Incidentally, your statement that we develop leadership to the extent that we support them leads me to request that you prepare a paper for me indicating the “who and why” of such support.

  1. Source: Department of State, ARA/CCA Files: Lot 66 D 501, Operation Mongoose, Phase II. Top Secret.↩
  2. Document 424.↩