Declassified files link CIA to Trujillo assassination
Santo Domingo.- Recently declassified documents on the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy have revealed new details about the CIA’s presence in the Dominican Republic and its possible role in the death of dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. One such document, identified as 157-10002-10105, records a conversation between CIA agent William King Harvey and Mr. Schwarz, in which Trujillo, Fidel Castro, and Patrice Lumumba were named as potential assassination targets.
Historical records confirm Lumumba’s assassination on January 17, 1961, followed by Trujillo’s execution on May 30 of the same year. Meanwhile, Castro survived multiple assassination attempts. The documents also reveal that in 1961, the Dominican Republic was the only Western Hemisphere country with two U.S. intelligence offices, reinforcing speculation about Washington’s strategic interest and possible involvement in Trujillo’s downfall.
William King Harvey, a former FBI agent turned CIA officer, was known for his covert Cold War operations. While the CIA has never officially admitted its role in Trujillo’s assassination, these declassified files add weight to long-standing theories of U.S. intervention in the regime’s collapse.