Falsyfikat » Counterfeit Money in the Face of Revolution

After the Cuban Revolution's victory, the United States found itself in a situation where its influence in Cuba was drastically limited. In response to the nationalization of American assets and the rapprochement of the Republic of Cuba with the Soviet Union, a strategy of destabilization was adopted—one with complex and long-term effects.

In April 1961, the world witnessed one of the most dramatic events of the Cold War—the Bay of Pigs invasion. This operation was an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro's socialist government in Cuba by armed forces composed of Cuban exiles, trained and equipped by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

In the face of Cold War operations, there are reports suggesting that the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) might have been involved in the production of counterfeit Cuban banknotes with a denomination of 20 pesos from 1961. These allegations are linked to the Bay of Pigs invasion and aim to undermine the stability of the Cuban economy by introducing high-quality counterfeits into circulation.

According to available information, each soldier of the invading forces was to receive one hundred of these counterfeit banknotes. Nevertheless, an article published in June 1987 by Bank Note Reporter, titled "Cuban counterfeit deleted from Pick," presents an alternative narrative. According to Cuban sources, the mentioned banknotes were produced by private entities, not by the CIA. It is worth noting that the credibility of this report is questioned, considering its 25-year delay in publication and a range of conflicting content. In the book "Bay of Pigs" by Peter Wyden, published by Simon and Schuster in New York in 1979, the issue of these counterfeits is also addressed. These counterfeits are considered relatively easy to identify, mainly due to the serial numbers or their absence.