Gerard "Gerry" Droller (1905? - 1992) was a German
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
officer involved in the covert
1954 Guatemalan coup d'état
The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was the result of a CIA covert operation code-named PBSuccess. It deposed the democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz and ended the Guatemalan Revolution of 1944–1954. It installed the mi ...
and the recruitment of
Cuban exile
A Cuban exile is a person who emigrated from Cuba in the Cuban exodus. Exiles have various differing experiences as emigrants depending on when they migrated during the exodus.
Demographics Social class
Cuban exiles would come from various ec ...
s in the preparation of the
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion (, sometimes called ''Invasión de Playa Girón'' or ''Batalla de Playa Girón'' after the Playa Girón) was a failed military landing operation on the southwestern coast of Cuba in 1961 by Cuban exiles, covertly fin ...
in April 1961.
Biography
Gerard Droller was born in Germany. He worked with
Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the
Maquis in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
On 21 April 1959, Droller had a three-hour meeting with
Fidel Castro in a hotel room in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
after the latter's visit to Washington.
In June 1960, Droller was sent to Miami, as Chief Political Action (C/WH/4/PA) under
Jacob Esterline to help organize the overthrow of
Fidel Castro in Cuba. Adopting the name ''Frank Bender'', he posed as a wealthy steel tycoon. His main task was to recruit and organize the political leaders of anti-Castro Cuban exiles in the Miami area, assisted by
E. Howard Hunt alias "Eduardo". He recruited
Manuel Artime
Manuel Francisco Artime Buesa, M.D. (29 January 1932 – 18 November 1977) was a Cuban-American who at one time was a member of the rebel army of Fidel Castro but later was the political leader of Brigade 2506 land forces in the abortive Bay of Pi ...
who became the leader of
Movimiento de Recuperación Revolucionaria (Revolutionary Recovery Movement), (MRR), and later
Brigade 2506
Brigade 2506 (Brigada Asalto 2506) was a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exiles formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by Fidel Castro. It carried out the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion landings in Cuba on 17 ...
. During 1960 and 1961, Droller organized the setting up of training camps for Cuban exiles at
Useppa Island
Useppa Island is an island located near the northern end of Pine Island Sound in Lee County, Florida, United States. It has been known for luxury resorts since the late 19th century, and it is currently the home of the private Useppa Island Clu ...
, Florida, and at
Retalhuleu
The city of Retalhuleu () is situated in south-western Guatemala. It is the departmental seat of Retalhuleu Department as well as the municipal seat of Retalhuleu Municipality.
Retalhuleu stands at about 240 metres above sea level. The city has a ...
, Guatemala by arrangement with Guatemalan president
Miguel Ydigoras. He helped recruit Cuban exiles into a paramilitary force subsequently named Brigade 2506 that, with considerable finance from the CIA, carried out the abortive invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs on 17 April 1961. He did not speak Spanish, and he was not universally liked by the Cuban exiles.
[Wyden (1979), p.32]
See also
*
CIA activities in Guatemala
*
Cuban Project
Notes
References
*Anderson, Jon L. 1997. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life.
*Kornbluh, Peter. 1998. Bay of Pigs Declassified: The Secret CIA Report on the Invasion of Cuba. The New Press. New York.
*Rodriguez, Juan Carlos. 1999. Bay of Pigs and the CIA. Ocean Press Melbourne.
*Szulc, Tad. 1986. Fidel - A Critical Portrait. Hutchinson.
*Thomas, Hugh. 1971, 1986. ''The Cuban Revolution''. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. London. (Shortened version of ''Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom'', includes all history 1952-1970)
*
Wyden, Peter. 1979. Bay of Pigs - The Untold Story. Simon and Schuster. New York.
External links
*The Trujillo Conspiracy http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuban-rebels/trujillo-conspiracy.htm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Droller, Gerry
1900s births
1992 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
American Cold War spymasters
American spies
Cold War spies
Opposition to Fidel Castro
People of the Central Intelligence Agency
People of the Office of Strategic Services
German spies
German emigrants to the United States