Another CIA plot

Hugo Chavez accused the CIA of spreading cancer among Latin America's leftist leaders. Not only Chavez but dozens of Latin leaders such as Lula of Brasil and Cristina of Argentina have the disease. It is no secret that the CIA has conceived many bizarre plots including hundreds against Fidel Castro (see "638 Ways to Kill Castro"). The best known attempts are the exploding cigar that was intended to blow up in Castro's face, but others have been equally bizarre.

Knowing his fascination for scuba-diving off the coast of Cuba, the CIA at one time invested in a large volume of Caribbean molluscs. The idea was to find a shell big enough to contain a lethal quantity of explosives, which would then be painted in colours lurid and bright enough to attract Castro's attention when he was underwater. Another plot was a diving-suit to be prepared for him that would be infected with a fungus that would cause a chronic and debilitating skin disease. One improbable story says that the CIA offered a succulent botuline loaded cigar to Castro - on the day he had decided to give up smoking.