By Marla Eggar

The CIA and the Mafia have more in common than meets the eye. Both enjoy working in the dark and a legal status which operates above the law. According to declassified documents, the CIA at one point planned to use the mob to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro for $150,000! Documents detail how the mob and “Cuban exiles” settled on a payment of $100,000 for assassinating Castro, $20,000 for his brother Raúl and $20,000 for revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara, plus $2,500 for expenses.

Not sure why there’s a difference of $7,500, but I digress.

As the story goes, following a meeting with the Office of security, Richard Bissell a CIA officer, employed a go-between, Robert Maheu a businessman and lawyer,and asked him to make contact with “gangster elements”.

Maheu then approached Johnny Roselli in Las Vegas. Roselli was a high-ranking member in the mob who had connections geared towards the Cuban gambling interests. From there, Roselli led the CIA to a friend, known as Sam Gold and his associate, known as Joe. Joe was actually Santos Trafficante, SR., Cosa Nostra boss of Cuban operations. At a meeting in Miami Beach, Gold suggested that rather than try to shoot or blow up Castro, a poisonous pill should be placed in Castro’s food or drink.

A corrupt Cuban official, named Juan Orta, who was in debt to the mob and had access to the Cuban leader was suggested to carry out the poisoning. The CIA obtained and supplied “six lethal pills” to Orta, but after several weeks of attempts, Orta demanded “out”. Another disgruntled Cuban associate was recruited to do the job, however, after the Bay of Pigs debacle all plans were cancelled. For those who don’t know, the Bay of Pigs was an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Castro regime without revealing U.S. involvement in the operation.

The invasion is named the Bay of Pigs, which is a literal translation of the Spanish name Bahía de Cochinos which is an inlet of the Gulf of Cazones at the southern coastal region of Cuba. The turning point for Cuba happens on January 1, 1959 when Cuban President Fulgencio Batista resigned and fled the country during the night. At the stroke of midnight, the protective shield that had enabled the mafia to control Cuba’s hotel and gambling concessions for the previous seven years had been removed. The details of the New Year’s Eve event in Havana is portrayed (somewhat accurately) in The Godfather Part II.

In the film, Batista arrives at a New Year’s party attended by his bodyguard and mafia associates and announces his resignation. This prompts chaos in Havana. You might remember this scene best by Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) approaching his brother Fredo (John Cazale) and dramatically giving him the “kiss of death”. Afterwards, Michael tells Fredo “I know it was you Fredo, I know it was you, you broke my heart”! Meanwhile, Batista’s regime demise was just as theatrical. Batista had underestimated the strength of the Castro rebels.

However, despite the danger and chaotic madness in the air most of the leading mobsters in Havana, including Meyer Lanksy (played as Hyman Roth in Godfather II by Lee Strasberg) did not flee immediately, but instead drove round the Havana Casinos collecting as much of their money as they could. Talk about dedication! All the while, angry crowds continued to ransack the hotels and casinos.

The Riviera, once the jewel in Meyer Lansky’s Havana crown was decimated. It was the Mafia and Batista’s dream to create a gambling paradise and tourist resort that would rival the success and glamour of Vegas. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of Batista relaxing gambling laws (allowing anyone who invested either in a nightclub or a hotel to obtain a gaming license) Castro’s transformation in Cuba’s politics won out.

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