Our men in Havana: Canadian foreign intelligence operations in Castro's Cuba

Abstract

Diplomats based at the Canadian embassy in Havana conducted extensive foreign intelligence operations in Fidel Castro's Cuba from the early 1960s through the early 1970s. They collected human intelligence of both a political and military nature, using covert as well as overt means. They did so generally at the behest of the United States, and undertook specific "tasked" operations on request from the State Department and the US intelligence community. The diplomat-spies also collaborated operationally with United Kingdom personnel. This article represents the first detailed survey of the Cuba operations and attempts to place Canada's foreign intelligence program in the context of its relations with the United States and of Canadian foreign policy generally.