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CIA secretly contaminates 800 bags of sugar destined for Soviet Union in early 1960s
(MENAFN) Recently released documents on the assassination of John F. Kennedy have revealed that the CIA secretly contaminated 800 bags of sugar destined for the Soviet Union in the early 1960s.
According to records analyzed by journalist Ben Norton and The Washington Post, the operation took place just months before the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In August of that year, US intelligence discovered that a cargo ship carrying 80,000 bags of brown sugar from Cuba to the USSR would briefly dock in Puerto Rico for hull repairs. Seizing the opportunity, CIA operatives executed a covert operation to taint part of the shipment.
A declassified memo to General Edward Lansdale, then the Pentagon’s deputy assistant secretary for special operations, described how the contamination went undetected and was “not traceable.” The agency claimed the chemical used was not harmful but would give the sugar an irreversible bitter taste, making it unfit for human or animal consumption.
The CIA believed the sabotage would cause financial losses of up to $400,000 for the Soviet Union and ruin consumers’ enjoyment of food and drinks for an extended period. However, the ultimate fate of the shipment remains unknown, as no Soviet records about the incident have surfaced.
The operation took place in the context of the US economic embargo against Cuba, which began in 1960 following the Cuban Revolution. As Washington pressured its NATO allies to cut sugar imports from Cuba, the Soviet Union stepped in as one of Havana’s primary trade partners.
According to records analyzed by journalist Ben Norton and The Washington Post, the operation took place just months before the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In August of that year, US intelligence discovered that a cargo ship carrying 80,000 bags of brown sugar from Cuba to the USSR would briefly dock in Puerto Rico for hull repairs. Seizing the opportunity, CIA operatives executed a covert operation to taint part of the shipment.
A declassified memo to General Edward Lansdale, then the Pentagon’s deputy assistant secretary for special operations, described how the contamination went undetected and was “not traceable.” The agency claimed the chemical used was not harmful but would give the sugar an irreversible bitter taste, making it unfit for human or animal consumption.
The CIA believed the sabotage would cause financial losses of up to $400,000 for the Soviet Union and ruin consumers’ enjoyment of food and drinks for an extended period. However, the ultimate fate of the shipment remains unknown, as no Soviet records about the incident have surfaced.
The operation took place in the context of the US economic embargo against Cuba, which began in 1960 following the Cuban Revolution. As Washington pressured its NATO allies to cut sugar imports from Cuba, the Soviet Union stepped in as one of Havana’s primary trade partners.
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