#9: The Plot Against Fidel Castro’s Beard
Fidel Castro’s beard was not merely facial hair by the early 1960s. It had become part of the revolutionary image seen in newspapers and television footage around the world, and that symbolism attracted the attention of U.S. intelligence planners. Among the schemes later revealed in government investigations was an idea involving thallium salts, chemicals capable of causing hair loss. One version considered placing the substance in Castro’s shoes during foreign travel so that absorption might make his beard fall out.
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