When you think of a dirty secret, the CIA’s shadowy playbook instantly springs to mind. From coups that reshaped entire continents to covert vaccination drives that rattled public‑health trust, the agency’s most notorious operations read like a thriller novel. Below we dive into ten of the most eye‑opening, ethically questionable missions the United States intelligence community has ever pulled off.

10 PBSUCCESS Guatemala Coup

In 1954, the CIA orchestrated its first big‑time foreign intervention under the code name PBSUCCESS. The target? Democratically elected President Jacobo Arbenz of Guatemala, whose land‑reform agenda threatened the holdings of the United Fruit Company—a corporation with deep ties to the Eisenhower administration. CIA director Allen Dulles and his brother, Secretary of State John Dulles, were personally connected to the company.

Internal memos described Arbenz’s policies as an “intensely nationalistic program of progress colored by the touchy, anti‑foreign inferiority complex of the ‘Banana Republic.’” To topple him, the Agency deployed 480 CIA‑trained mercenaries led by exile Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas. The coup succeeded, Arbenz fled, and the option of assassination lingered until his resignation on June 27, 1954.

9 Operation Mongoose (Bay of Pigs Aftermath)

After the botched Bay of Pigs invasion, President John F. Kennedy tasked his brother, Robert Kennedy, with a new, wildly ambitious plan: Operation Mongoose. The goal was crystal clear—overthrow Fidel Castro at any cost. The operation, run jointly by the Department of Defense and the CIA, generated a bizarre list of assassination ideas: infecting Castro’s scuba gear with tuberculosis, planting exploding seashells, slipping a poisoned fountain pen into his hand, and even rigging his cigars with bombs.

Despite the sheer volume of schemes, none succeeded. Castro ruled Cuba for nearly five decades, stepping down in 2008. The operation remains a textbook example of how far the agency will go to eliminate a perceived adversary.

8 CIA‑Produced Pornography

When Indonesia’s President Sukarno was deemed too pro‑Communist for Washington’s liking, the CIA hatched a plan that sounds straight out of a comedy sketch: produce a fake pornographic film starring a Sukarno look‑alike, titled “Happy Days.” The idea was that Indonesian audiences would be scandalized by seeing their leader depicted in a compromising scenario, thereby eroding his credibility.

Stills were shot, a script was written, but the operation never aired—perhaps because the agency realized the stunt was absurd. A similar concept resurfaced before the Second Gulf War, proposing a fake gay porn featuring Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden, but it too fizzled out as officials admitted the plan would fall flat.

7 Pakistani Vaccine/DNA Collecting Drive

In the lead‑up to the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the CIA orchestrated a covert vaccination campaign in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A respected local doctor was recruited to run a fake polio‑vaccination drive, collecting blood samples from thousands of children—including members of bin Laden’s own family.

The operation succeeded in gathering DNA, but it also sparked a backlash. The doctor involved, Dr. Shakil Afridi, was later sentenced to 33 years for treason. More damaging was the erosion of trust in legitimate vaccination programs across Pakistan, Nigeria, and India, complicating global efforts to eradicate polio.

6 Secret CIA Base in Benghazi (Libya)

When the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi was attacked on September 11, 2012, the CIA’s hidden presence in the city was thrust into the spotlight. Agents from a clandestine base—established around February 2011, coinciding with the Libyan Revolution—rushed to the scene, coordinated evacuations, and later scrubbed the annex clean.

The revelation forced the agency to admit it had maintained a robust covert footprint in Libya throughout the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, contradicting earlier public statements that the CIA had no operational role there.

5 Operation Mockingbird

During the Cold War, the CIA launched Operation Mockingbird, a two‑pronged media manipulation scheme. Journalists were recruited to gather intelligence and spin stories favorable to U.S. interests, while others were outright paid to plant propaganda in newspapers, radio, and television.Through this network, the agency could downplay events like the 1954 Guatemalan coup and amplify the Soviet threat, shaping public opinion to justify military interventions. Congressional hearings in 1976 exposed the program, leading to a public promise by CIA director George H.W. Bush to cease paid relationships with news outlets.

4 Operation CHAOS

When anti‑Vietnam War protests swelled in the 1960s, the CIA feared foreign influence was seeding dissent. With the FBI’s COINTELPRO program falling short, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized Operation CHAOS, a domestic surveillance effort that infiltrated student groups, the Black Panthers, women’s liberation movements, and even certain Jewish organizations.

The program gathered intelligence on perceived foreign ties, attempting to subvert activist groups from within. Though CHAOS was officially shuttered after Watergate, its legacy persisted; in 2011 the CIA faced lawsuits for alleged cooperation with the NYPD in surveilling Muslim communities.

3 Phoenix Program

During the Vietnam War, the CIA spearheaded the Phoenix Program, a joint effort with U.S. Special Forces and South Vietnamese commandos aimed at eliminating the Viet Cong’s civilian infrastructure. From 1965 to 1972, the operation involved kidnapping, torture, and murder of thousands deemed “critical” to the insurgency.

Prisoners endured harrowing abuses: electric shocks to genitals, “water treatment” torture, and being suspended mid‑air by a rope tied to a ceiling hook. Congressional hearings in 1971 exposed the program’s brutality, prompting its official termination, though a successor operation (F‑6) quietly continued similar activities.

2 Operation Ajax

In 1953, the CIA and British intelligence executed Operation Ajax, a covert coup that reinstated the Shah of Iran after Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh nationalized the oil industry. Agents Kermit Roosevelt Jr. and Donald Wilber bribed officials, business leaders, and even street thugs to rally support for the Shah.

The operation succeeded: Mossadegh was deposed, the Shah took power, and a pro‑Western regime secured Iran’s oil for the United States. The episode set a precedent for future CIA‑backed regime changes worldwide.

1 Afghan Mujahideen Training

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the CIA responded by arming and training the Afghan Mujahideen. The agency set up covert camps, supplied Stinger surface‑to‑air missiles, and provided advanced weaponry that stalled Soviet air superiority.

While the strategy bogged down Soviet forces, it also birthed a new generation of battle‑hardened fighters. Many of these veterans later co‑founded extremist groups, including al‑Qaeda, turning the very tools the CIA supplied against U.S. interests in the years that followed.

Dirty Secret Revealed

Each of these operations underscores a recurring theme: when the CIA believes American interests are at stake, the line between strategic necessity and moral compromise often blurs. The dirty secret is that many of these covert actions have left lasting scars on the nations and peoples they targeted.

From covert coups to fabricated pornography, the agency’s playbook reads like a compendium of daring—and sometimes reckless—experiments. Understanding these episodes helps us grasp the true cost of clandestine power.