Mysterious Cuba Holiday (Part 2): Death of Ernest Hemingway; Was He a KGB spy?

The previous Part (Part 1) : Fidel Castro & His Poisonous Love Morita

Morita's attempt is not the last assassination attempt that the CIA plots against the Cuban leader. In fact Castro alludes over 600 attempts on his life. Including one in which a wet suit is lined with a deadly bacteria. These efforts only work to emboldened the dictator. He rules Cuba for nearly half a century before stepping down and handing the reins to his brother Raul in 2008. Today the Havana Libre Hotel still stands as a monument to a time when a poisonous love affair almost changed history. Just 10 miles east of Havana is the beautiful village of San Francisco de Paola nestled among the quiet coves and rocky bays. 

Things to do in Cuba: visit the house of Ernest Hemingway, the writer of "Old Man in the Sea" 

That line the coast is an idyllic 15 acre property finca la vie here built in 1886. This striking property was the home and inspiration to one of the most enigmatic authors of the 20th century Ernest Hemingway for nearly two decades. The writer lived and worked here today his beloved boat his tower office. Even his original typewriter are preserved just as the famed author left them. But behind this writers paradise is a darker tale of espionage. The treachery and paranoia 1961 Ketchum Idaho just a year after leaving Cuba. The iconic American author Ernest Hemingway is found dead in his home. The cause of his demise a shotgun wound to his head. 

Thinking of Virgin Holidays to Cuba: Just 10 miles east of Havana is the beautiful village of San Francisco de Paola

The tragic event leaves the American public really once the news breaks about Hemingway's death. People are devastated they can't believe that this man larger than life itself has now died. It appears that Hemingway took his own life. But one question remains why in search of answers Hemingway's friends and family looked to a series of bizarre events that took place in Ketchum in the months leading up to the writers death. Before he died, Hemingway had told them he believed that in the previous year he was being followed. He looks at his mail he believes it's been tampered with he picks up his phone. He believes they're people listening to his conversations. He becomes somewhat paranoid according to his friends and family. Hemingway's behavior and also become increasingly strange. He starts driving at night with his lights turned off. He asked to use other people's phones as not to have his phone conversations taped. His relatives had taken the desperate step of sending Hemingway to a mental institution for treatment. But to no avail his paranoia continues. His delusions continue. He's starting to spiral down depression. It seems as if Hemingway's suicide was simply the result of the author slowly losing his mind. 

But not everyone buys this theory in 1983. Jeffrey Myers a literary scholar. Using the Freedom of Information Act obtains an FBI report that reveals shocking new clues about the author's life and death clues that lead back to the mysterious land of Cuba. Investigating the life and mysterious death of Ernest Hemingway, a scholar named Geoffrey Myers uncovers a clue that could change everything we know about the iconic author. It leads back to Hemingway's time on the island of Cuba. So what Myers discovers in this FBI report is really quite amazing. As it turns out J Edgar Hoover the head of the FBI had ordered that Hemingway be tracked. He was really concerned about his verse of politics about his points of view about his time in Cuba in 1939. Hemingway had moved from the U.S. to Cuba and taken up residence in this stunning home. Really feels at home in Cuba. He found that his political views were welcomed in Cuba, and really accepted there. It's here that Hemingway pens some of his best works such as the old man in the sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. But his time in Cuba also saw the famed writer embark on a very different career as a Russian spy. Anyways subversive politics were known to the Russians. 



Short biography of the famous writer that lives in Cuba: 

And so, he was shortly approached by the KGB. Hemingway was asked to collect valuable information on the US government for the Russian Secret Service. They even gave him a codename agent Argo. But when the FBI finds out about Hemingway's communist connections, they begin a surveillance operation following him around. Reading his mail and even tapping his phone. As Hemingway's career flourished, so too did his file. At the FBI during this time Jagger Hoover put together page after page of detail on Ernst Hemingway's every move. But according to the FBI reports Hemingway ended up being a poor resource for the KGB as it turns out Hemingway was a very failed spot. And in 1960, when Hemingway fled Cuba to return to the United States, the FBI continued to monitor him right up to the author's final days. With this piece of information in hand the mystery of Hemingway's death is solved. It seems that far from being paranoid, Hemingway was right. He was being watched by the FBI. That is likely what contributed to a suicide that ultimately pushes him over the edge. Today, visitors to Hemingway's house, hear a reminded of a renowned American who also served as a KGB spy.