Anti-Communist League of the Caribbean
| Anti-Communist League of the Caribbean | |
|---|---|
|
Legión Anticomunista del Caribe Participant in Cold War | |
| Active | 1954–1970s |
| Ideology |
Right-wing politics Anti-communism |
| Leaders | Orlando Piedra, Guy Banister |
| Headquarters | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Area of operations | Americas |
| Part of |
Guatemalan Revolution Cuban Revolution Bay of Pigs Invasion Cuban Missile Crisis |
| Allies |
CIA (1954–1960s) Nicaragua (1954–1973) Dominican Republic (1954–1961) |
| Opponents | Cuba (1959–1970s) |
The Anti-Communist League of the Caribbean (Spanish: Legión Anticomunista del Caribe, LAC), also known as the Anti-Communist Legion of the Caribbean, was an anti-Castroist right-wing group based in the Dominican Republic[1] funded by the dictators Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, Anastasio Somoza of Nicaragua and former Cuban Secret Police Chief Orlando Piedra.[2] The purpose of the group was to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro in Cuba. The group eventually became part of the World Anti-Communist League in 1967.
The group was made up of Spaniards, Cubans, Croatians, Germans, Greeks and right-wing mercenaries trained in the Dominican Republic.[3] The group staged a failed attempt to overthrow Castro in 1959.[4]
The headquarters of the Anti-Communist League was at one time located at Guy Banister's New Orleans office.[5] The same location appeared on Fair Play for Cuba Committee leaflets distributed by Lee Harvey Oswald and such references to the league are often made in texts concerning conspiracy theories relating to Kennedy assassination.
Former FBI employee William Turner states in Rearview Mirror (2001) that Guy Banister headed the ACLC after he came to New Orleans in 1955 and that Banister's deputy Hugh F. Ward was also a member of the ACLC as well as Maurice Brooks Gatlin, Sr an attorney who served as a legal counsel to the group. Turner states that the ACLC acted as an intermediary between the CIA and rightist insurgency groups in the Caribbean, including Cuba after Castro gained power. The ACLC was also active in the Central America during the "troubles" in Guatemala.
References
- ↑ Nordlinger, Jay (September 19, 2013). "More from the Anti-Che". National Review Online. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
- ↑ Scott, Peter Dale (1993) Deep Politics and the Death of JFK, University of California Press, p. 88
- ↑ Anderson, Jon Lee (1997). Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0-8021-1600-0. p 435
- ↑ Robert D. Crassweller. Trujillo: The Life and Times of a Caribbean Dictator. MacMillan, New York (1966) p. 351
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/For_The_Record_288_Update_on_the_JFK_Assassination