◆ SpookStack

TOP SECrte r On is July 1960, the Cuban Government un- covered a plot to kill Prime Minister Fidel Castro Ruz on 26 July 1960 during his visit to Mina del Frio, an army camp in the Sierra Maestra mountains, between Bayamo and Manza- nillo in Oriente Province. Three captains and approximately 100 soldiers had been ar- rested and more arrests are expected. 10/ In addition to Richard Bissell and Dick Drain, Jake Esterline the Chief of Project JMATE was also very emphatic in denying that assassination of Castro or the Cuban lead- ers was a part of the JMATE Program. In response to a question of whether various of the special arms that were ..,. being forwarded to the PM training sites were intended for use against the Cuban leadership, Esterline responded: No, I think it [silenced weapons in par- ticular] is for hit and run operations, where they could" do their maximum damage and get out without necessarily alerting people .•. I know of no -- withinJMARC as I knew it -- I know of no attempt, no plans that were made to assassinate. As a matter of fact, the constant battle with Cubans during those years'was to tell them that we weren't going to get involved in any assassination, that if there was going to be an overthrow, it was going to be, obviously, a bloody op- eration; but no Cubans were going to be sent in there, to "make an assassination attempt." It was going to be a g~ound-roots revolution.* 11/ Some contradictory evidence, however, indicates that WH/4, if not principally responsible, was certainly * It is known that at least one assassination plot against Castro and his advisers -- an attack by four men using US rifle-grenades -- was proposed by anti-Castro Cubans to COS Havana, but the COS gave the originator" of the plan "no encouragement whatsoever." lla/ - 284 - Te fl ~ r:C It t::T