In international espionage, what was Operation Mongoose?

In the early 1960s, the Fidel-Castro-led Communist regime in Cuba held a strong presence and a close connection to Communist Russia. With the proximity of Cuba to mainland Florida, the dangers to the US after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion were evident and clearly more important. Operation Mongoose, a joint mission of the Central Intelligence Agency {CIA} and the US Air Force had a mission.

As plans continued, other parts of the US government including the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the FBI would add to the plans. In essence the operation was to assist rebels within Cuba to help overthrow the Castro regime, while simultaneously denigrating his speeches and claims of success. Although official records of the plan to assassinate Castro were not kept, those plans were often discussed. As the mission of Operation Mongoose became public, the US had to back down and instead try to win over the Castro group and work for mutual benefit to both the Cuban people and the security of the United States, This new plan, the Cuban Project, continued for an unknown number of years. The Cuban Project, as with the earlier Bay of Pigs invasion, is widely acknowledged as an American policy failure against Cuba.

With a budget of $50 million per year it remained secret for 14 years, from 1961 to 1975. It was revealed in part by the Church Commission. "It is possible that the operation is still ongoing {1989}, but it certainly lasted throughout all the 1970s.