"Assassination Plots Against Foreign Leaders": The CIA Poison Hearings (1975)

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The hearings held in September 1975, by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence revealed critical details about the CIA's 18-year, $3-million project, code-named MKNAOMI, focused on developing poisons, biochemical weapons, and devices such as dart guns to administer them. Key points from the hearings include: Overview of MKNAOMI: The project began in May 1952 as a joint endeavor between the CIA and the Army Biological Laboratory at Fort Detrick, Maryland. It was halted in February 1970 following a Presidential order. The project aimed to stockpile severely incapacitating and lethal materials for use by the CIA’s Technical Services Division (TSD) and maintain operational readiness for disseminating biological and chemical materials. Demonstration and Capabilities: CIA Director William E. Colby presented a dart gun, patterned on an Army Colt semi-automatic pistol but electrically fired, capable of shooting a dart 100 meters almost silently. CIA documents made public showed a vast array of poisons and systems for destroying crops. The documents also revealed that the New York City subway system was used as a model for studying vulnerability to covert attacks. Unauthorized Storage and Stockpiling: The CIA stockpiled poisons like shellfish toxin and cobra venom in violation of President Nixon's directive. Dr. Nathan Gordon testified that despite the directive, these poisons were not destroyed because he believed the order did not apply to the CIA’s toxins. Dr. Gordon stored these poisons in a vault at his Washington laboratory without informing his superiors, planning to reveal them if higher authority requested effective poison suggestions. Secrecy and Documentation: The project operated with extreme secrecy, with limited documentation and only a few officers cleared for access. Colby acknowledged that due to the scarcity of records, he couldn't rule out that poisons had been used in aggressive operations. Potential Misuse and Ethical Concerns: The hearings disclosed instances where poisons were prepared for potential political assassinations, including those of Patrice Lumumba and Fidel Castro. Colby mentioned the preparation of fast-acting suicide pills and non-lethal incapacitating substances. An investigation discovered 19 other lethal substances stored alongside the shellfish toxin and cobra venom. Discrepancies and Further Investigation: Discrepancies in the amount of shellfish poison were highlighted. While the CIA reported 11 grams, Dr. Gordon's memorandum from 1970 indicated about 5.9 grams. Senator Frank Church expressed concerns over whether more shellfish toxin was transferred to the CIA, potentially subverting President Nixon's order, and planned to ask Department of Defense officials and former CIA Director Richard Helms for clarification.The hearings exposed the extent of the CIA's secret biochemical capabilities and raised significant ethical and legal questions about the agency’s compliance with Presidential directives and the potential misuse of toxic agents.

During World War II, British and American secret services developed the "L-pill" (lethal pill) which was given to agents going behind enemy lines.[2] It was an oval capsule, approximately the size of a pea, consisting of a thin-walled glass ampoule covered in brown rubber to protect against accidental breakage and filled with a concentrated solution of potassium cyanide.[citation needed] To use, the agent bites down on the pill, crushing the ampoule to release the fast-acting poison. Heartbeat quickly stops and brain death occurs within minutes.After the war, the L-pill was offered to pilots of the U-2 reconnaissance plane, who were in danger of being shot down and captured flying over Eastern Europe, but most pilots declined to take it with them.The Central Intelligence Agency began experimenting with saxitoxin, an extremely potent neurotoxin, during the 1950s as a replacement for the L-pill. According to CIA Director William Colby, a tiny saxitoxin-impregnated needle hidden inside a fake silver dollar was issued to Francis Gary Powers, an American U-2 pilot who was shot down while flying over the USSR in May 1960.According to Former CIA Chief of Disguise Jonna Mendez, the CIA hid poison pills in a number of items, including the caps of pens, and the frames of glasses. Operatives would bite down, and the poison concealed inside would be released. Special Operations Executive agents aiding the Cretan resistance usually carried grey rubber suicide pills, which were known as "cough drops." The agents typically had them sewn into the corners of shirt collars, so they could bite down on them if need be.[6] According to Alexander Meadows Rendel, one such agent, the pills contained cyanide and would kill in "a matter of minutes" if suckled and "'very painfully' three to four hours later" if swallowed.