CUBAN OPS 103Absent this unique opportunity and calamitous moment in CIA-DGI
history, it would have been foolhardy to recommend pitching him at this
stage.
There was a method to my madness. In the unlikely event Carlos
accepted the pitch, we’d have to assume he was still controlled by the
Cuban government. Another double agent. We would immediately subject
him to an intense, hostile interrogation and polygraph exam. An exam he
might pass, as did the other Cuban doubles.
If he rejected the pitch, or accepted the pitch but failed the polygraph,
we’d expel him from the country. Carlos would report everything to the
DGI upon his return to Palmera or Havana, sending a clear message to
Castro that despite our recent setbacks, we were not going to let up in our
efforts to aggressively target and recruit Cuban spies. We’re CI-fucking-A, and
we’re gonna keep coming after you!
If he accepted the pitch and passed the polygraph, we’d still have to
assume he was a double, although we’d handle him differently. We’d fully
debrief him and provide him with a basic communications plan and some
benign intelligence collection requirements. Nothing we couldn’t afford to
lose to the DGI. Maybe these requirements would give the false impression
we still had unilateral Cuban agents not controlled by the DGI. We’d send
him back to Palmera to await further instructions.
In the highly unlikely event he turned out to be a legitimate agent,
we’d handle him using denied area tradecraft. If our assumption that he
was a double was proved correct, we’d confirm this over time, but without
being embarrassed again. We’d run this operation on our terms and on our
turf. In my view, the CIA had lots to gain and little to lose with my plan,
including a much-needed morale boost.
As expected, headquarters rejected my proposal. They were in full-on
defensive mode and were unable or unwilling to even consider this kind of
counterattack. By enabling Carlos’s trip to New York without any kind of
monitoring or approach, we sent a strong message to Castro that he had
won. Again.