Document
Creator
Interviewee: Winkler, Max
Interviewer: Goodbread, Stephany
Date
November 17, 1988
Description
Max Winkler talks about how he got started in the CIA, primarily through working on a program dedicated to eradicating the spread of foot and mouth disease in Mexico in the 1940s and 1950s. Mr. Winkler describes his adventures and exploits, spending much of the interview discussing his role in training Cuban nationals to overthrow Castro during the disastrous Bay of Pigs in Cuba in the early 1960s. He details how Fidel Castro took control of Cuba and instituted communism, due in large part to Hugo Chavez, whom Mr. Winkler interviewed. Along with describing the trainees, Winkler recalls how the CIA treated number of imprisoned defectors. Mr. Winkler also shares how the U.S. worked with President Ydigoras of Guatemala during this period. Eventually, Mr. Winkler and his wife (also a CIA agent) left the Foreign Service and moved to New Braunfels. Mr. Winkler administered LBJ's Head Start Program in Central Texas, the first in the U.S., before becoming principal of Seele Elementary.
Subject
Resource Type
Physical Form
Extent
1 item
Language
English
Member of
Identifier
Winkler_Max_1986-11-17_transcript
Rights
Researchers may make free and open use of the Alkek Library's digitized public domain materials. However, some materials in our online collections may be protected by U.S. copyright law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Use or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use (Title 17, U.S.C. ยง 107) requires permission from the copyright owners. The use or reproduction of some materials may also be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, privacy and publicity rights, or trademark law. Responsibility for determining rights status and permissibility of any use or reproduction rests exclusively with the researcher.
Source
University Archives, Texas State University
Texas Sesquicentennial oral history collection