COVERT CITY

A history of American-supported covert operations undertaken by Cuban exiles against Castro’s communist regime.

Although Houghton and Driggs claim that “this book is partially a retelling of the Cold War through the lens of our hometown, Miami,” the city is seldom discussed. Miami was a place where anti-Cuban CIA operations were headquartered, Cuban exiles were recruited and trained, Cuban refugees (and spies) took up residence, and propaganda was crafted, but this hardly makes Miami “a city built by spies.” Furthermore, claiming that it was “a clandestine battleground for intelligence” seems an exaggeration. Although U.S.-backed counterinsurgency efforts directed at Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Bolivia had ties to Miami, this still does not raise the city to the status the authors claim for it. Houghton and Driggs focus on the efforts by Cuban exiles, between 1959 and 1989, to overthrow the Castro government and the involvement of the U.S. government in enabling clandestine operations and welcoming (or not) Cuban refugees. In doing so, the authors chronicle the details of a number of well-known historical events: the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961, the Mariel boatlift that brought approximately 125,000 refugees to the U.S. in 1980, and the 1999 controversy over returning 5-year-old Elián González to his father in Cuba. However, the authors never create a strong enough framework to give these tales broader significance appropriate to the Cold War theme. Houghton and Driggs clearly understand the recent history of Miami and intelligence initiatives, have a wealth of knowledge about the many organizations and individuals in the Cuban exile community, and deftly reveal the roots of U.S.-Cuban political power, but they do not provide the perspective that would make Miami credible as a “covert city.”

An adequate account of a failed attempt at regime change and the ineffectiveness of Cold War spycraft.