Operation 40

[John Simkin]

Much of Don Bohning's article refers to this thread on the forum and the photo below and my caption: "This photograph was taken in a nightclub in Mexico City on 22nd January, 1963. It is believed that the men in the photograph are all members of Operation 40. Closest to the camera on the left is Felix Rodriguez. Next to him is Porter Goss and Barry Seal. Tosh Plumlee is attempting to hide his face with his coat. Others in the picture are Alberto 'Loco' Blanco (3rd right) and Jorgo Robreno (4th right)." In an interview with Bohning, Goss insists that he is not the man in the photograph.

[William Plumlee]

Much of Don Bohning's article refers to this thread on the forum and the photo below and my caption: "This photograph was taken in a nightclub in Mexico City on 22nd January, 1963. It is believed that the men in the photograph are all members of Operation 40. Closest to the camera on the left is Felix Rodriguez. Next to him is Porter Goss and Barry Seal. Tosh Plumlee is attempting to hide his face with his coat. Others in the picture are Alberto 'Loco' Blanco (3rd right) and Jorgo Robreno (4th right)." In an interview with Bohning, Goss insists that he is not the man in the photograph.

posted by Plumlee Jan 17,2006 in reference to Tim Carroll question:

"...As you know, part of the operation was a spin from the 5412 group. Operatives would come and go as specialized support personal and they were controlled and dispatched by the 40 group which was part of the 5412 group. In reality there was no covert team named as "Operation 40" that I am aware of and as some have claimed.

Liberties have been taken for whatever reasons and 40 has been cast into a different function than what it really was. Some of the operatives that from time to time did launch missions in behalf of the 40 or 5412 were mostly from the "School of The America" and other specialized operational personal and their training commands. Kind of like TDY ( Temp Duty assignments). As to the mechanics and various operations I can only name about four I was associated with and those are questionable as being dispatched solely by OPS-40 command and cleared by the 5412 Group. Our Teams were dispatched from the Pentagon with logistical support gave by the CIA. In most cases you could say ".. they were not really "CIA" operations, but in reality Military INTEL OPS with CIA logistical support..." At any rate the operations were "layered" and numerous "Locks" and "cut-outs" were assigned to protect the knowledge of these operations and the operational personal.

As to the picture? That is me (Tosh Plumlee, hiding my face) and there were NO CIA PEOPLE AT THAT TABLE I have said this hundreds of times but nobody will print it.

Edited April 22, 2009 by William Plumlee

[John Simkin]

As to the picture? That is me (Tosh Plumlee, hiding my face) and there were NO CIA PEOPLE AT THAT TABLE I have said this hundreds of times but nobody will print it.

Could you give the names of the other people sitting at the table?

[William Plumlee]

As to the picture? That is me (Tosh Plumlee, hiding my face) and there were NO CIA PEOPLE AT THAT TABLE I have said this hundreds of times but nobody will print it.

Could you give the names of the other people sitting at the table?

John I do not remember any of them for sure except Seal... but I do know this was not a CIA get together as some have claimed in the past. Also the picture was taken after JFK if I remember right... I sent you information on this years ago but guess it got lost somewhere. Tim Carroll also sent you background on what I told him... but I was never asked about any of this before it went to print.... I do remember telling you and some on this forum that Hopsicker's information was badly flawed, and not referenced; but I never received a reply from you... I did receive a few copies from some referencing secret emails sent to forum members not to believe anything I had to say about Black Ops and JFK... GPH was one of those secret emails as well as others still operating on your forum. I also told you that operation was only started with forty people and it was a Cuban operation and not an attack team or an assassination team... but you never replied to my concerns at the time.

Edited April 22, 2009 by William Plumlee

[Antti Hynonen]

The first fellow on the right (front) sure looks like Virgilio Gonzalez, no?

¿Quien Sabe?

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKgonzalezV.htm

[John Simkin]

Don Bohning argues in his The Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies (Volume 16 – Number 2 – Fall 2008) article: “The Simkin website provides a list of CIA officials and freelance agents who allegedly belong to Operation 40. Among the Americans cited is the late Gerry Hemming, another soldier of fortune type who had even less credibility than Sturgis did among those who knew him, me included.” Once again Mr. Bohning misreads the text on my website. The passage relating to the claim that Hemming was a member of Operation 40 is a quote from Daniel Hopsicker, that is clearly referenced as coming from Mad Cow Morning News (1).

I share Mr. Bohning’s view that Gerry Hemming was an unreliable witness. It was a subject that I discussed with him for several years on the Education Forum. One of my more reliable sources told me that he was “paid by the word” by the CIA for his disinformation campaign. However, I do believe he was telling the truth when he denied he was a member of Operation 40.

Mr. Bohning discounts Hemming's utility to the Agency by referring to his conviction for drug smuggling, as though Richard Helms and other much-admired Agency personnel were not also found guilty of criminal acts, without it necessarily impeaching their general veracity.

As Mr. Bohning well knows, another court was asked to consider – in a libel case launched and lost by E. Howard Hunt – whether Hunt had been libeled by an article, based upon a CIA document alleging that Hunt, Fiorini and Hemming were involved in murdering President Kennedy. A jury of Hunt's peers found that he had not been so libeled, and that all three named individuals had likely participated in the assassination. If Mr. Bohning wishes to use court records to argue his case, it would help to note the court records which also impeach his case, in the interests of full disclosure. (2)

The main thrust of Don Bohning’s article is to deny CIA involvement in Operation 40. According to the research carried out by Larry Hancock, two senior CIA officials, David Sanchez Morales and Carl E. Jenkins, were both involved in training members of Operation 40. “New documents also reveal that there was a separate paramilitary effort involving select exiles who were trained and infiltrated into Cuba in advance of the invasion – for military intelligence purposes as well as more radical activities, apparently including one or more projects to assassinate Fidel Castro prior to the invasion. These highly select small teams and individual agents appear to have been managed by Carl Jenkins, long time CIA paramilitary trainer and infiltration specialist.” (3)

Larry Hancock goes on to point out that Joaquin Sanjenis Perdomo, the “individual in charge of Operation 40, was actually the number one exile in the AMOT organization trained and prepared by David Morales.” (4) In their book Deadly Secrets, Warren Hinckle and William W. Turner argue: “After the Bay of Pigs, the CIA kept Operation 40 intact in Miami, and Sanjenis and Gutierrez became noncoms in the agency’s new Secret War. They continued to inform on their Cuban exiles, and played out the dirtiest hands in the CIA’s deck.” (5)

As Hancock explains: “This political action team was established for use in support of the Bay of Pigs invasion and was apparently hijacked for bombing, assassination and political intimidation activities in Florida for years afterwards. Operation 40 maintained an existence and agenda of its own and was apparently used by CIA officers for their own purposes for years, even after JM/WAVE had been disbanded.” (6)

In his article, Don Bohning, reveals that he had two interviews with Carl Jenkins on 28th August and 6th September, 2007, where he admitted he was involved in the Bay of Pigs but denied he had ever worked for Ted Shackley and never worked with him, “in either Miami or Laos." I tried to arrange an interview with Carl Jenkins to check these facts via his granddaughter. However, she told me that he was not at liberty to discuss his work with the CIA. It seems that he has now changed his mind about his freedom to do this.

Maybe Mr. Bohning could ask Carl Jenkins about the memo he wrote in September, 1963, about the activities of Manuel Artime (AM/BIDDY-1) and Rafael Quintero (AM/JAVA-4). In a section on Commandos, there is discussion of the use of abductions and assassinations targeted against Cuban G-2 intelligence informants, agents, officers, and foreign Communists to raise the morale of people inside Cuba.” (7)

The declassified documents on the AM/WORLD project reveals that Carl Jenkins is right to say that he did not work for Ted Shackley in Miami in 1963. As Larry Hancock points out: “There seems to be no doubt that Jenkins was indeed involved in a very special project in 1963 just as the CV Wheaton provided to the ARRB indicates. It should be noted that these AM/WORLD activities were completely segmented from JM/WAVE and communications from Jenkins and Hecksher were not run through JM/WAVE. In fact, the AM/WORLD group operated its own facility in Miami (cryptonym “LORK”). (8)

Notes

1. Daniel Hopsicker, Mad Cow Morning News (24th August, 2004)

2. For a detailed account of this libel case see Mark Lane’s book, Plausible Denial: Was the CIA involved in the Assassination of JFK? (1991)

3. Larry Hancock, Someone Would Have Talked, 2006 (pages 131-32)

4. RIF 104-10113-10082, memo from Anthony R. Ponchay (Miami Field Office)

5. Warren Hinckle and William W. Turner, Deadley Secrets, 1992 (page 366)

6. Larry Hancock, Someone Would Have Talked, 2006 (page 378)

7. RIF 104-10308-10094, Carl Jenkins, AM/BIDDY-1’s Operational Philosophy and Concepts, September, 1963

8. Larry Hancock, Someone Would Have Talked, 2006 (page 485)

[John Simkin]

In Don Bohning's article in the journal for the Association of Former Intelligence Officers he refers to Manuel Ray’s testimony before a board of inquiry appointed by President Kennedy to look into the Bay of Pigs failure. He points out that Ray was asked: "What was Operation 40?" and that his response was: "Operation 40 was a group that followed the invasion force, or it was planned for them to follow the invasion force, to organize each of the cities. It was outside of our organization."

This is of course true, but Ray had a lot more to say about Operation 40, that Mr. Bohning decides to ignore. Pat Speer has pointed out to me the existence of this document that appears on the CIA website. On 19th May 1961, J. C. King, Chief of the CIA's Western Hemisphere Division, sent a memorandum to Allen Dulles, Director of the CIA, that included a report of an interview with Manuel Ray that had taken place the previous day. It included the following: “He said that his own people, the members of the MRP, were afraid that if the invasion was successful they, too, would be executed by the invading forces or the succeeding governments. This, he emphasized, limited any support which could have been given to the invading forces. Much later in his presentation the Subject came back to the point saying that he and his people had learned about “Operation Forty” as a “mopping-up” operation, which was to have eliminated his followers in Cuba.”

[William Kelly]

http://cuban-exile.com/doc_351-375/doc0355.html

Operation 40

[sSCIA 157-1002-10057 MRD]

June 9, 1961

MEMORANDUM FOR MR. RICHARD GOODWIN

Sam Halper, who has been the Times correspondent in Habana and more

recently in Miami, came to see me last week. He has excellent contracts among

the Cuban exiles. One of Miro's comments this morning reminded me that I have

been meaning to pass on the following story as told me by Halper. Halper says

that CIA set up something called Operation 40 under the direction of a man named

(as he recalled) Captain Luis Sanjenis, who was also chief of intelligence.

(Could this be the man to whom Miro referred this morning?) It was called

Operation 40 because originally only 40 men were involved: later the group was

enlarged to 70. The ostensible purpose of Operation 40 was to administer

liberated territories in Cuba.

But the CIA agent in charge, a man known as Felix, trained the members of the group in methods of third degree interrogation, torture and general terrorism. The liberal Cuban exiles believe that the real purpose of Operation 40 was to "kill Communists" and, after

eliminating hard-core Fidelistas, to go on to eliminate first the followers of

Ray, then the followers of Varona and finally to set up a right wing

dictatorship, presumably under Artime.

Varona fired Sanjenis as chief of intelligence after the landings and appointed a man named Despaign in his place. Sanjenis removed 40 files and set up his own office; the exiles believe that he continues to have CIA support. As for the intelligence operation, the CIA is

alleged to have said that, if Varona fired Sanjenis, let Varona pay the bills.

Subsequently Sanjenis's hoods beat up Despaign's chief aide; and Despaign

himself was arrested on a charge of trespassing brought by Sanjenis.

The exiles believe that all these things had CIA approval. Halper says that Lt Col

Vireia Castro (1820 SW 6th Street, Miami; FR 4 3684) can supply further

details. Halper also quotes Bender as having said at one point when someone

talked about the Cuban revolution against Castro: "The Cuban Revolution? The

Cuban Revolution is something I carry around in my checkbook.

"Nice fellows,

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr

[John Bevilaqua]

The Washington Decoded link to Bohning's article on The Education Forum, Spartacus and John Simkin in case

it has not been posted as yet.

http://www.washingtondecoded.com/site/2008/06/simkin.html

[William Kelly]

http://cuban-exile.com/doc_351-375/doc0355.html

Does anyone have anything more on this?

BK

Operation 40

[sSCIA 157-1002-10057 MRD]

June 9, 1961

MEMORANDUM FOR MR. RICHARD GOODWIN

Sam Halper, who has been the Times correspondent in Habana and more

recently in Miami, came to see me last week. He has excellent contracts among

the Cuban exiles. One of Miro's comments this morning reminded me that I have

been meaning to pass on the following story as told me by Halper. Halper says

that CIA set up something called Operation 40 under the direction of a man named

(as he recalled) Captain Luis Sanjenis, who was also chief of intelligence.

(Could this be the man to whom Miro referred this morning?) It was called

Operation 40 because originally only 40 men were involved: later the group was

enlarged to 70. The ostensible purpose of Operation 40 was to administer

liberated territories in Cuba.

But the CIA agent in charge, a man known as Felix, trained the members of the group in methods of third degree interrogation, torture and general terrorism. The liberal Cuban exiles believe that the real purpose of Operation 40 was to "kill Communists" and, after

eliminating hard-core Fidelistas, to go on to eliminate first the followers of

Ray, then the followers of Varona and finally to set up a right wing

dictatorship, presumably under Artime.

Varona fired Sanjenis as chief of intelligence after the landings and appointed a man named Despaign in his place. Sanjenis removed 40 files and set up his own office; the exiles believe that he continues to have CIA support. As for the intelligence operation, the CIA is

alleged to have said that, if Varona fired Sanjenis, let Varona pay the bills.

Subsequently Sanjenis's hoods beat up Despaign's chief aide; and Despaign

himself was arrested on a charge of trespassing brought by Sanjenis.

The exiles believe that all these things had CIA approval. Halper says that Lt Col

Vireia Castro (1820 SW 6th Street, Miami; FR 4 3684) can supply further

details. Halper also quotes Bender as having said at one point when someone

talked about the Cuban revolution against Castro: "The Cuban Revolution? The

Cuban Revolution is something I carry around in my checkbook.

"Nice fellows,

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr

Good find and documentation Bill!

[Scott Kaiser]

On 11th December, 1959, Colonel J. C. King, chief of CIA's Western Hemisphere Division, sent a confidential memorandum to Allen W. Dulles, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. King argued that in Cuba there existed a "far-left dictatorship, which if allowed to remain will encourage similar actions against U.S. holdings in other Latin American countries."

As a result of this memorandum Dulles established Operation 40. It obtained this name because originally there were 40 agents involved in the operation. Later this was expanded to 70 agents. The group was presided over by Richard Nixon. Tracy Barnes became operating officer of what was also called the Cuban Task Force. The first meeting chaired by Barnes took place in his office on 18th January, 1960, and was attended by David Atlee Phillips, E. Howard Hunt, Jack Esterline, and Frank Bender.

On 4th March, 1960, La Coubre, a ship flying a Belgian flag, exploded in Havana Bay. It was loaded with arms and ammunition that had been sent to help defend Cuba's revolution from its enemies. The explosion killed 75 people and over 200 were injured. Fabian Escalante, an officer of the Department of State Security (G-2), later claimed that this was the first successful act carried out by Operation 40.

One member, Frank Sturgis, claimed: "this assassination group (Operation 40) would upon orders, naturally, assassinate either members of the military or the political parties of the foreign country that you were going to infiltrate, and if necessary some of your own members who were suspected of being foreign agents... We were concentrating strictly in Cuba at that particular time."

Over the next few years Operation 40 worked closely with several anti-Castro Cuban organizations including Alpha 66. CIA officials and freelance agents such as Porter Goss, E. Howard Hunt, David Morales, Bernard L. Barker, Frank Sturgis, Barry Seal, and William C. Bishop also joined the project. Cuban figures used by the Operation 40 included Antonio Veciana, Luis Posada, Orlando Bosch, Roland Masferrer, Eladio del Valle, Guillermo Novo, Carlos Bringuier, Eugenio Martinez, Antonio Cuesta, Hermino Diaz Garcia, Felix Ismael Rodriguez, Juan Manuel Salvat, Ricardo Morales Navarrete, Isidro Borjas, Virgilio Paz, Jose Dionisio Suarez, Felipe Rivero, Gaspar Jimenez Escobedo, Nazario Sargent, Pedro Luis Diaz Lanz, Rafael Quintero, Jose Basulto, and Paulino Sierra.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKoperation40.htm

The picture below is of interest. This photograph was taken in a nightclub in Mexico City on 22nd January, 1963. It is believed that the men in the photograph are all members of Operation 40. It has been suggested that closest to the camera on the left is Felix Rodriguez. Next to him is Porter Goss and Barry Seal. It has been claimed that Tosh Plumlee is attempting to hide his face with his coat. Others in the picture are Alberto 'Loco' Blanco (3rd right) and Jorgo Robreno (4th right).

I would be interested in the opinions of Gerry and Tosh on this photograph.

Tosh for sure could finally end the dispute (demopedia) between you and Daniel Hopsicker who claims in "Barry and the Boys" that the guy hiding his face is Frank Sturgis.

George

ps: somewhere I read that the first guy on the right is William Seymour (?)

Tosh for sure could finally end the dispute (demopedia) between you and Daniel Hopsicker who claims in "Barry and the Boys" that the guy hiding his face is Frank Sturgis.

The guy who is hinding his face is Frank.

[Scott Kaiser]

Deleted

Edited September 21, 2011 by Scott Kaiser

[Pat Speer]

In Don Bohning's article in the journal for the Association of Former Intelligence Officers he refers to Manuel Ray’s testimony before a board of inquiry appointed by President Kennedy to look into the Bay of Pigs failure. He points out that Ray was asked: "What was Operation 40?" and that his response was: "Operation 40 was a group that followed the invasion force, or it was planned for them to follow the invasion force, to organize each of the cities. It was outside of our organization."

This is of course true, but Ray had a lot more to say about Operation 40, that Mr. Bohning decides to ignore. Pat Speer has pointed out to me the existence of this document that appears on the CIA website. On 19th May 1961, J. C. King, Chief of the CIA's Western Hemisphere Division, sent a memorandum to Allen Dulles, Director of the CIA, that included a report of an interview with Manuel Ray that had taken place the previous day. It included the following: “He said that his own people, the members of the MRP, were afraid that if the invasion was successful they, too, would be executed by the invading forces or the succeeding governments. This, he emphasized, limited any support which could have been given to the invading forces. Much later in his presentation the Subject came back to the point saying that he and his people had learned about “Operation Forty” as a “mopping-up” operation, which was to have eliminated his followers in Cuba.”

While reading the Watergate testimony of Bernard Barker, I found another reference to Operation 40. While discussing his reasons for recruiting two of his employees, Eugenio Martinez and Felipe DeDiego, to participate in the break-in of the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, Barker claimed "DeDiego had been a member of Operation 40, which had been specially trained to capture documents of the Castro government."

Now, admittedly, that doesn't prove the members of Operation 40 were killers, but it does strongly suggest it was a team of covert specialists, precisely what some of us of the conspiracy view have long believed.

Edited September 21, 2011 by Pat Speer

[Scott Kaiser]

That's because Virgilio Martinez was CIA all the way.

[Pat Speer]

That's because Virgilio Martinez was CIA all the way.

Barker was, of course, himself CIA, at least for a time. In his testimony he also mentions that DeDiego received "further training as an intelligence officer in the Army of the United States."