JMWAVE
JMWAVEorJM/WAVEorJM WAVEwas thecodenamefor a major secretUnited Statescovert operationsandintelligence gatheringstation operated by theCentral Intelligence Agencyfrom 1961 until 1968. It was headquartered in Building 25[1]at the formerNaval Air Station Richmond,anairshipbase inMiami,about 12 miles south of the main campus of theUniversity of Miamion what is the university's present-day South Campus.
The intelligence facility was also referred to as the CIA's "Miami Station" or "Wave Station."[2][3][4][5][6]
History
[edit]JMWAVE began as the operations center for Task Force W, theCIA's unit dedicated toOperation Mongoose,[3][7][8]a U.S. effort to overthrowFidel Castro'sCommunistgovernment inCuba.JMWAVE was also active in some form during the failed U.S.-sponsoredBay of Pigs invasionof Cuba in April 1961.[9]The JMWAVE operation grew out of an earlier fledgling CIA office inCoral Gables.[2]
The station's activities escalated, reaching their peak in late 1962 and early 1963 around theCuban Missile Crisis.UnderTheodore Shackley's leadership from 1962 to 1965, JMWAVE grew to be the largest CIA station in the world outside of the organization's headquarters inLangley, Virginia,with 300 to 400 professional operatives and possibly including about 100 based in Cuba and an estimated 15,000 anti-CastroCuban exileson its payroll. The CIA was one ofMiami's largest employers during this period. Exiles were trained incommandotactics,espionageandseamanshipand the station supported numerous exile raids on Cuba.[2][3][10]
The mainfront companyfor JMWAVE was "Zenith Technical Enterprises, Inc." In addition, about 300 to 400 other front companies were created throughout South Florida with a large range ofsafe houses,cover businesses, and other properties. With an annual budget of approximately US$50 million (in 1960s dollars; US$50 million in 1962 dollars are worth US$403 million in 2017 dollars (PPP)[11]), the station had a major impact on the economy of South Florida, creating a localeconomic boom,particularly in thereal estate,banking,and certainmanufacturingsectors. It also operated a fleet of aircraft and boats that was the third-largest navy in theCaribbeanat the time after theU.S. Navyand theCuban Revolutionary Navy.JMWAVE's activities were so widespread that they became an open secret amongst local Florida government and law enforcement agencies.[2][3]
On June 26, 1964,Lookmagazine published anexposébyDavid Wiseand Thomas B. Ross which revealed that Zenith was a CIA front.University of Miamiauthorities denied knowledge of the CIA operation, though Shackley claimed privately that University PresidentHenry King Stanfordwas fully aware of it, and JMWAVE changed its main front company name from Zenith to Melmar Corporation.[2]
By 1968, JMWAVE became increasingly obsolete, and concerns emerged that the CIA station would become a public embarrassment to the University of Miami. Consequently, it was deactivated and replaced with a substantially smaller station atMiami Beach.[2]
As of 2004, the facilities on the Richmond Naval Air Station site were still used by severalU.S. government agencies,including the CIA'sForeign Broadcast Information Service,theUnited States Air Force,and theUnited States Army.Several original JMWAVE buildings are still standing. As of 2007, a local government effort was focused on converting Building 25 to a military museum and memorial.[3][12][13]
References
[edit]- ^At25°37′13″N80°23′56″W/ 25.6202°N 80.3990°W
- ^abcdefThe Castro Obsession: U.S. Covert Operations in Cuba, 1959-1965,Don Bohning, Potomac Books, 2005,ISBN1-57488-675-4
- ^abcdeCold War in South Florida: Historic Resource Study,Steven Hach (ed. Jennifer Dickey),National Park ServiceSoutheast Regional Office,U.S. Department of the Interior,October 2004
- ^"Twilight of the Assassins",Ann Louise Bardach,The Atlantic Monthly,November 2006
- ^South Campus history pageArchived2009-05-08 at theWayback Machine,University of Miami Libraries, accessed Jan. 24 2007. The first photograph on the page apparently shows Building 25 in 1946.
- ^"South Campus site formerly home to spies, surveillanceArchived2007-01-24 at theWayback Machine",Walyce Almeida,The Hurricane(University of Miami student newspaper), December 1, 2006
- ^Spymaster: My Life in the CIA,Theodore G. Shackley, 2005, Brassey's,ISBN1-57488-915-X
- ^National Security Archives interview with Samuel Halpern,George Washington University, first broadcast Nov. 29 1998 onCNN
- ^Official History of the Bay of PigsArchived2007-09-30 at theWayback Machine(Vol. I excerpt), Jack Pfeiffer, CIA, unpublished, excerpt released in 1997/98 under CIA Historical Review Program, CIA Freedom of Information Act database
- ^"How the Kennedys hoped to take down Castro"(review of Bohning's book), Joseph C. Goulden,Washington Times,July 24, 2005
- ^MeasuringWorth.com historical currency converter,accessed Jan. 24 2007
- ^Press releaseArchived2006-10-12 at theWayback Machine,October 5, 2004, Miami-Dade County
- ^Richmond Naval Air Station Relocation and Rehabilitation[permanent dead link],Miami-Dade County Building Better Communities website, accessed Jan. 27 2007
