Castro's Secrets: Cuban Intelligence, The CIA, and the Assassination of John F. Kennedy - Softcover

Latell, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1137278412 ISBN 13: 9781137278418

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2013

Synopsis

Published to glowing reviews, this riveting narrative takes us back to when the Cuban Revolution was young and offers a new and surprising look at Fidel Castro. Drawing on interviews with high-level defectors from Cuban intelligence, Cuba expert Brian Latell creates a vivid narrative that chronicles Castro's crimes from his university days through nearly 50 years in power. As Cuba's supreme spymaster Fidel built up an intelligence system that became one of best and most aggressive anywhere. Latell argues that the CIA grossly underestimated the Cubans' extraordinary abilities to run moles and double agents and to penetrate the highest levels of American institutions. He reveals new details about the CIA's most deplorable plots against Cuba and shocking new findings about what Fidel actually knew of Lee Harvey Oswald prior to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

About this title

About the Author

Brian Latell is the author of After Fidel, which has been published in eight languages. He began tracking the Castro brothers for the CIA in the 1960s. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Time, The Miami Herald, and The Washington Quarterly. Currently senior research associate at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies at the University of Miami, he previously taught for a quarter century at Georgetown University. He lives in Lancaster, Virginia.

Review

“Attention-getting... point[s] to crucial unresolved questions that still trouble our national soul.” ―Slate

“Brilliant . . . This unique book not only traces Fidel Castro's extraordinary intelligence service and its acts against the U.S., but it also analyzes America's -- and especially the overeager Kennedy boys' -- attempts to kill Castro . . . informative (and wonderfully readable) . . . Latell's book, enhanced by the author's rich experience, radar-like understanding of the peculiar people involved and mastery of history, is an important contribution to understanding this crucial period that changed us much more than we imagine.” ―Georgie Anne Geyer, The Columbus Dispatch

“Castro's Secrets begins like a slow murder mystery then builds damning fact after damning fact into a conclusive, ground-breaking portrait, based on firsthand sources, of how the Cuban strongman--in all his evil brilliance--frequently ran circles around the CIA . . . The most interesting parts of his narrative revolve around how much Castro knew about the plot to kill Kennedy, and a parallel attempt, on the part of the CIA, to assassinate the Cuban dictator . . . One of the successes of Castro's Secrets is that it offers readers a view of both sides of the shadow war.” ―The Daily Beast

“A fascinating study of Castro's intelligence network and its early battles with the CIA to secure Castro's hold on power.” ―The Sunday Times

“Britan Latell, for four decades the CIA's ranking authority on all matters Castro and Cuban, has ripped the shroud off the circumstances behind one of the more flagrant instances of journalistic malpractice ever in the Washington media.” ―The Washington Times

“Authoritative exposé ...[and] a lively and revealing account of the long intelligence war between the U.S. and Cuba.” ―Publishers Weekly

“[Latell] offers considerable information about how the U.S. government tried continually to overthrow the Castro regime, including plans that could have led to the assassination of one or both Castro brothers. In addition to information about assassination plots, Latell explains how a small island nation built an impressive spy agency . . . An insider's account.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“An insider's look at Castro's Cuba, and its tortured relationship with America, from one of the most knowledgeable Cuba experts around. Brian Latell draws on exclusive interviews with Cuban spies and troves of declassified documents to provide the most authoritative account yet of the decades-long U.S. Cuba intelligence war.” ―Michael Dobbs, author of One Minute to Midnight: JFK, Khrushchev, and Castro on the Brink of Nuclear War

“I have been waiting more than 35 years for this book. Since my service as a member of the Senate's Church committee I have never believed Fidel Castro's denials of prior knowledge of the Kennedy assassination. Brian Latell has performed a national service by writing a book that lays bare the duplicity of the Cuban government.” ―Robert Morgan, former US Senator

“No one knows more about Cuban intelligence than Brian Latell. In this page-turner, he not only tells compelling stories that reveal the strength of Cuban actions in Le Carre's world of spy vs. spy but raises unsettling questions about Lee Harvey Oswald's Cuban connections. By the end, the reader is asking, What did Fidel know and when did he know it?” ―Timothy Naftali, Blind Spot: The Secret History of American Counterterrorism

“A remarkable look at Fidel Castro's intelligence machine. This is a must read for anyone curious about the long history of Fidel Castro's intelligence preoccupation with the U.S. ” ―Frederick P. Hitz, former Inspector General of CIA and author of The Great Game

“Castro's Secrets is a must read for anyone who cares about how JFK died, how Fidel Castro lied to a congressional investigating committee, and whether the CIA is still covering up crucial knowledge.” ―G. Robert Blakey, Former Chief Counsel and Staff Director to the House Select Committee on Assassinations

“In this provocative book, Brian Latell brings to bear all his experience and knowledge as a former intelligence analyst on Cuba for the CIA. This is a book that should be read, regardless of whether one agrees with Latell about Castro's complicity in JFK's assassination.” ―Max Holland, author of The Kennedy Assassination Tapes

“[CASTRO'S SECRETS is] the first substantial study of Fidel Castro's intelligence operations. Based on interviews with Cuban spies who defected as well as declassified documents from the CIA, the FBI, the Pentagon and other national security organs, it contains a good deal of material likely to stir controversy . . . Latell's book makes some new revelations and adds detail to older ones in making the argument that Castro played at least an indirect role in the assassination [of JFK].” ―The Miami Herald

Edition details

• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1137278412
• ISBN 13: 9781137278418
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 304