Trained to Kill

Explosive account of the intrigue, hit men, and Cuban exiles in the CIA's war to destroy Fidel Castro

Antonio Veciana fought on the front lines of the CIA's decades-long secret war to destroy Fidel Castro, the bearded bogeyman who haunted America's Cold War dreams. It was a time of swirling intrigue, involving US spies with license to kill, Mafia hit men, ruthless Cuban exiles-and the leaders in the crosshairs of all this dark plotting, Fidel Castro and John F. Kennedy.

Veciana transformed himself from an asthmatic banker to a bomb-making mastermind who headed terrorist attacks in Havana and assassination attempts against Castro, while building one of the era's most feared paramilitary groups-all under the direction of the CIA.

In the end, Veciana became a threat-not just to Castro, but also to his CIA handler. Veciana was the man who knew too much. Suddenly he found himself a target-framed and sent to prison, and later shot in the head and left to die on a Miami street. When he was called before a Congressional committee investigating the Kennedy assassination, Veciana held back, fearful of the consequences. He didn't reveal the identity of the CIA officer who directed him-the same agent Veciana observed meeting with Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas before the killing of JFK.

Now, for the first time in paperback, Veciana tells all, detailing his role in the intricate game of thrones that aimed to topple world leaders and change the course of history.