Prior to visiting Havana, the Cienfuegos put in at Nassau, Bahamas, to discharge general cargo. Two of the buses were temporarily unloaded onto the dockside to avoid possible damage during unloading other cargo. However, the buses disappeared during the night!
On arrival back in London, nothing was said. John was always intrigued
as to what happened to them. His investigations turned up some fascinating and disturbing facts relating to details of CIA sabotage and other incidents
The result is this book titled 'The Cuban Bus Crisis. Tales of CIA Sabotage'"
The book is available for download to Kindle on www.Amazon.com $2.99 and www.Amazon.co.uk at £2.14.
E.John McGarry
Few would be surprised to learn that the CIA had assassinated a dictator, arranged a military coup in the Middle East or Latin America. However, causing a ship to sink in the principal river of America's closest ally, a partner in the so-called special relationship, would not only be contrary to international law and the American Constitution, but a step too far, even for the CIA.
Such an incident spawned a number of conpsiracy theories, but this is what happened in October 1964, when CIA agents were involved in the sinking of the mv Magdeburg on the River Thames. The East German freighter was carrying 42 Leyland buses to Castro's Cuba. Leyland had secured a massive contract in the face of strong international competition to supply buses despite intense pressure from Washington. The deal, according to the White House, would have driven holes through its Trade and Credit embargo launched against the Caribbean island.
A lasting conspiracy theory held that not only did the CIA deliberatgely cause the sinking of the East German vessel but that the UK Government knowingly induced institutions such as Trinity House, the Pilots' Association, the Board of Trade and the Port of London Authority to create and foster the belief that the sinking was an "accident" occurring in "thick fog".
These allegations gathered strength following investigations by the renowned Washington Post Reporter, the late Jack Anderson, in 1975 in his "Merry-Go-Round" column. Since then, the issue has also been raised in the British Parliament, featured in the Observer Sunday newspaper and aired in a BBC Radio 4 Programme, "Document". None of these parties had had sight of documents deposited in a former East German Archives, only made publicly available following German re-unification. They underpin the credibility of the earlier conspiracy theory.
The East German freighter, mv "Magdeburg", sank after being rammed by a Japanese vessel, mv "Yamashiro Maru" off Broadness Point on the River Thames. A sinking as serious as this would normally require an immediate investigation followed by a later British Public Inquiry. In 1965, the Editor of the Port of London's House magazine stated, "an accident anywhere on this section of the Thames, being the main artery to the Port of London, was as welcome as a crash on a motorway". No British Inquiry ever took place, at least not publicly.
The discovered documents reveal that the Seekammer, the East German equivalent to the British Board of Trade's Marine Investigation section, had in 1965, held an exhaustive Inquiry into the incident in East Germany. Surprisingly, Trinity House had then obliged its two River Pilots to submit their testimonies directly to the Seekammer, so it clearly knew that an Inquiry had taken place, albeit in East Germany. Consequently, they would surely have been aware of its findings yet information relating to this event was kept secret.
Both Pilots' reports and the Seekammer verdict are detailed in the book. Their content together with other evidence is analysed against photographs of the wreckage. Comments of experts and academics have been obtained and quoted.
In an attempt to undestand the considerable effort and finance pumped into CIA covert operations, a detailed examination is included of the onset and development of American neuroses towards Cuba, from the mid 19th Century to the 1959 Castro Revolution. It indicates the motives and modus operandi of the CIA.
Accounts of the American Agency sabotage, many displaying a callous disregard for life, are described. Not only Cuban lives were threatened but also plans were formulated to kill American citizens in their own country, in order to solicit national and international sympathy to justify invading Cuba to effect regime change.