Fabian Escalante Knihy

“Escalante’s review of CIA covert operations against Cuba in the early years is to be welcomed, and should be widely read—and pondered.”—Noam Chomsky A unique view presented by the man responsible for countering innumerable assassination attempts against the Cuban leader. As Cuba’s former counterintelligence chief, Fabián Escalante reviews more than six hundred CIA plots to assassinate Fidel Castro, a project code-named “Executive Action.” Although melodramatic and at times quite comical, these CIA plans were deadly serious—and -unconstitutional—as subsequent US government inquiries concluded, including the 1975 commission headed by Senator Frank Church. This book is the basis of a forthcoming Channel 4 (UK) documentary about attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro. Published as part of the Secret War series. 

"A sprawling account of the various, creative, often bizarre, yet incredibly disturbing attempts to assassinate Fidel Castro... Fabián Escalante, the founder of the Cuban intelligence services, and head of the Cuban State Security Department, provides a clear-eyed first-person account of his experiences defending Fidel Castro from the extraordinary attempts to take his life. From lethal poisons to plastic explosives to bazookas, Escalante introduces and describes an array of assassination plots and historical figures and depicts the ensuing cat-and-mouse game in the midst of the Cold War. Written in the style of a political thriller yet based on real events, 634 Ways to Kill Fidel Castro is a well-researched and documented series of vignettes put together by multiple investigations in Cuba and the experiences of the author, who participated in several of them; dozens of interviews with participants; extensive documentary evidence; and the collaboration of officials, and undercover agents who dismantled these plots. Filled with harrowing stories of deceitful FBI tactics such as moles who infiltrated the revolutionary Cuban government and gained a reputation with them with the ultimate goal of bombing their military bases. As well as undercover attempts to give Fidel poison laced cigars, Escalante takes the reader from DC to New York, Miami to Havana and uncovers the intricate conspiracy to silence dissent and kill Fidel Castro. 634 Ways to Kill Fidel Castro is filled to the brim with historical details on the CIA, Cuba, the communist movement, US government officials, and Fidel himself. Escalante's first-hand account provides evidence of the lengths to which the CIA went through to assassinate Fidel Castro and the determined efforts to protect him and what he stood for." -- Provided by publisher

Expansivo recuento de los diversos, creativos, frecuentemente extraños y sin embargo increíblemente inquietantes intentos de asesinar a Fidel Castro. Fabián Escalante, el fundador de los servicios de seguridad cubanos y jefe del Departamento de Seguridad del Estado Cubano provee un lúcido recuento en primera persona de sus experiencias defendiendo a Castro contra extraordinarios intentos de homicidio. Escrito en el estilo de una novela de suspenso político, pero lleno de detalles históricos sobre Fidel, Cuba, el movimiento comunista y los intentos de Estados Unidos de silenciar la rebelión, este libro clarifica los peligros inherentes que conlleva luchar por un mundo mejor. 634 maneras de matar a Fidel ilumina la amenaza que Castro y el movimiento revolucionario cubano presentaban para la hegemonía estadounidense. El resultado es un inquietante retrato de cómo los impuestos de ciudadanos estadounidenses financian campañas para reprimir el disentimiento e intentar quebrar movimientos en el Sur Global que luchan por la soberanía, la justicia, la autodeterminación y, básicamente, un mundo mejor. "Planes de asesinato concebidos contra Fidel Castro a lo largo de muchos años involucraron armas tales como venenos letales, potentes explosivos plásticos, cigarros conteniendo sustancias peligrosas, granadas a lanzar en espacios públicos, armas con telescopios sofisticados, jeringas llenas de veneno con agujas tan finas que el contacto con la piel pasaría desapercibido, lanzadores de misiles y bazucas, y cargas explosivas escondidas en caños bajo tierra con un temporizador contando los minutos y segundos hasta la explosión."

Fabián Escalante is a former head of Cuban counterintelligence and a respected and much-sought-after authority by US researchers on CIA activities. Following the Watergate scandal and the 1975 US Senate commission, which revealed an extensive program of CIA plots against foreign leaders, the US government established a congressional committee to re-examine the Kennedy assassination. As there was growing speculation about the role of anti-Castro exiles hostile to Kennedy after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, the Cuban government was asked to provide any information it might have. President Castro assigned Fabián Escalante to direct this Cuban investigation in 1978. Escalante was a key source for Oliver Stone’s movie JFK.Published as part of the series The Secret War.