Cryptonym: OPERATION_EAGLE
A cable from JMWAVE in July of 1967 stated that "Grayston Lynch lost $980.00 of official funds during training phase of Operation EAGLE. Complete report will follow after investigation."
Peter Dale Scott and Jonathan Marshall, in their book, Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America, mentioned "Operation Eagle", the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD)'s arrest of 150 suspects in cities across the United States on June 21, 1970. It was believed that anti-Castro Cuban exiles made up a significant proportion of those arrested.
Also, former Miami CIA officer Grayston Lynch was quoted in the book as commenting to the St. Petersburg Times in May, 1982, that his trainees "were actively sought out by other people in the drug trade, because of their (smuggling) expertise. When I'm talking about expertise, let me put it this way: Some of them made over 100, 200, 300 missions to Cuba. They (had been) going in against the most heavily patrolled coast that I've ever heard of...These people came out knowing how you do it. And they found it absolutely child's play when they started in (with drug smuggling) over here, because we (U.S. law enforcement) didn't have that type of defense. They didn't even need most of their expertise.'"
104-10172-10114: HERNANDEZ SANCHEZ, CARLOS EDUARDO.
Handwritten note: "On boat operation Eagle 3..."
104-10224-10000: LYNCH, GRAYSON L., OP
07/11/67: Cable from JMWAVE to Director: REF: FHB 30-1 PARA 44: Handwritten: Devuono: "Mr. Grayston Lynch lost $980.00 of official funds during training phase of Operation EAGLE. Complete report will follow after investigation."
1993.08.11.16:17:27:310028: DEBRIEFING OF MR. GRAYSTON LYNCH
01/17/77: Contact report by Grady A. Vickers, Jr., LA/Ops: Subject: Debriefing on Training and Demolitions Given to Anti-Castro Cuban Exiles: ..."l. Lynch & DEA: When Lynch retired from the Agency, he moved to Key West. He came to the attention of DEA, especially to Lou Conein, an ex-Agency officer now with DEA. Lynch calls Conein an SOB and worse. He went into a long explanation of his activities with DEA in Key West. In summary, he was a P/A and ran a string of informants. Because of internal DEA politics, he was blown and left dangling on a string in Key West. He had to leave town within 24 hours and left his people (informants) there without calling or warning them. As a result, he lost friends, prestige with his informants (many of them Cuban exiles) and his business in Key West. In general terms, he was treated very shabbily by DEA and regrets ever having mixed with them. He is still in contact with one of our ex-officer's, Gary Maddox. According to Lynch, Maddox will be returning to the Agency shortly...Another ex-Agency employee was also involved in this operation, one Bill Logay...Lynch was also aware of another ex-Agency employee, (fnu) Rodriguez, who was to go to Mexico under DEA 'deep cover.' According to Lynch, Rodriguez was to be involved in assassination operations against Mexican dealers and pushers. Instead, Rodriguez ended up in El Paso for about a year and is now in Miami. The undersigned personally knew Rodriguez, but did not know of his specific assignment within DEA..."
Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America (1998) by Peter Dale Scott and Jonathan Marshall
Pages 26-27: ..."The CIA-Cuban-Drug Connection: On June 21, 1970, agents of the federal Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) arrested 150 suspects in cities around the country. The agency termed it 'the largest roundup of major drug traffickers in the history of federal law enforcement'...The syndicate smashed in 'Operation Eagle' was remarkable for its size but also for its composition. As many as 70 per cent of those arrested had once belonged to the Bay of Pigs invasion force unleashed by the CIA against Cuba in April 1961. (18) The bust gave a hint of evidence that would accumulate throughout the coming decade of the dominance of the U.S. cocaine and marijuana trade by intelligence-trained Cuban exiles. Chief among those arrested in Eagle was Juan Restoy, a former Cuban congressman and member of Operation 40, an elite CIA group formed to seize political control of Cuba after the Bay of Pigs landing. (19) His attorney, Frank Ragano, had also served the powerful Tampa Mafia boss Santos Trafficante (20); the drug ring was, in fact, an outgrowth of Trafficante's crime empire, which had flourished in Cuba before the revolution as it did in Florida thereafter...Former CIA commando leader Grayston Lynch noted that his trainees 'were actively sought out by other people in the drug trade, because of their (smuggling) expertise. When I'm talking about expertise, let me put it this way: Some of them made over 100, 200, 300 missions to Cuba.' He added, 'They (had been) going in against the most heavily patrolled coast that I've ever heard of...These people came out knowing how you do it. And they found it absolutely child's play when they started in (with drug smuggling) over here, because we (U.S. law enforcement) didn't have that type of defense. They didn't even need most of their expertise.'" (22)..." (CONTINUED BELOW)
Cocaine Politics: Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America (1998) by Peter Dale Scott and Jonathan Marshall
Page 28: ...(Note: Lucien) "Conein established a tightly compartmentalized, secret unit within the drug agency. Its Miami operation, known as DEACON 1, recruited only 'former Central Intelligence Agency assets who operated in the Miami area during the 1960's,' a description that fit (note: Ricardo) Morales and his peers. (27) Originally it targeted the Trafficante organization, based on leads from Operation Eagle. But its focus quickly shifted to a much broader look at political intelligence of greater interest to DEACON's CIA patrons, including 'violations of neutrality laws, extremist groups and terrorism and information of a political nature' as well as information 'of an internal security nature.' (28) DEACON 1's principal agent was said to be 'reporting on civic and political groups' as well as supervising other agents. (29)..." - - - Pages 199-200: Chapter 2 notes ..."(18). John Cummings, 'Omega 7,' Parapolitics/USA, No. 5. (19). Hinkle and Turner, Fish Is Red, 314. (20). St. Petersburg Times, December 29, 1980...(22). St. Petersburg Times, May 30, 1982...(27). 'Project Buncin: Summary, September 1972 - March 1973.' (28). 'Overall Assessment of Project DEACON 1,' December 2, 1974. (29). 'Project Buncin: Summary, September 1972 - March 1973'"...