# Poisoned Cigars? So stupid it HAS to be true! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2001, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570 "2001-09-09T23:08:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/1 "2001-09-09T23:08:23Z")
Lately I’ve been hearing about the CIA having some old plot involving killing Castro by soaking his cigars in LSD or some such chemical. I have found some information saying that this is true, but I have a few doubts trusting a man who made a submarine for his cat. Does anyone know the real story? ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/2 "2001-09-09T23:11:57Z")
No cite, but it’s true. It wasn’t LSD, though, and they never actually tried it. But it was definetly one of many plans that they considered. ---
**Author:** ![JillGat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@JillGat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JillGat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/3 "2001-09-09T23:14:05Z")
The CIA did try to have someone put poison in the milkshake Castro walked across the street to buy every day. The only thing that foiled that plan was that the poison was put in the freezer and wouldn’t dissolve. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/4 "2001-09-09T23:14:36Z")
I think it’s pretty difficult to get a fatal dose of LSD. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2001, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/5 "2001-09-09T23:22:41Z")
I always heard it was plutonium to give him lung cancer (which believe me, it would have!) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/6 "2001-09-10T00:15:03Z")
If you go to Google and type in “poison cigars” you can read a cache of a 1998 US News and World Reports article in which it says that the cigars were definitely under consideration. And many other bizarre schemes. ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/7 "2001-09-10T00:36:58Z")
IIRC, they actually tried exploding cigars and poisoning his SCUBA tank. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/8 "2001-09-10T00:57:59Z")
[Here’s](http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1990_cr/s900123-hit.htm) an article on various CIA plots to kill Castro, generally by poisoning. My personal favorite has to be “poison shoes” bit - is that reaching, or what? ---
**Author:** ![JRootabega](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e7dd6/32.png) [@JRootabega](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRootabega)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/9 "2001-09-10T01:07:34Z")
I heard poison bullets. ---
**Author:** ![Ell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@Ell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ell)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/10 "2001-09-10T01:47:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JRootabega \* > \*\*I heard poison bullets. \*\* LOL. Welcome to the boards. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2001, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poisoned-cigars-so-stupid-it-has-to-be-true/80570/11 "2001-09-10T01:59:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JRootabega \* > \*\*I heard poison bullets. \*\* Poison bullets are real. _, in an attempt on the life of a high-ranking civil servant in the General Government, Russian revolver ammunition had been used in which hollow bullets had been filled with aconitine poison. This use of poisoned Russian bullets, and Henderson’s book which described the preparation for the use of poisoned bullets in the First World War, bad increased the concern that poisoned bullets would shortly be used at the front._ From [here](http://www.mazal.org/archive/nmt/01/NMT01-T634.htm).