Mariano Faget Diaz

Not to be confused with Mariano Faget Jr., his son, who from 1999-2001 was also involved in a scandal while employed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Miami.
Mariano Faget
Director of the Enemy Activities Investigation Service
In office
1940–1944
PresidentFulgencio Batista
Succeeded byMario Salabarria
Deputy Director of the Bureau of Investigation
In office
1954–1956
PresidentFulgencio Batista
Preceded byRicardo Medina
Director of the Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities
In office
1956–1958
Preceded byJosé de Jesús Castaño
Personal details
BornSeptember 9, 1904
Holguin, Cuba
DiedMay 29, 1972
Miami, United States
SpouseElena Faget
ChildrenMariano Faget Jr.
Military service
RankColonel
Battles/wars

Mariano Faget y Diaz was a Cuban secret police commander and counterintelligence officer for over twenty years in the Republic of Cuba.[1] Faget was the director of the Enemy Activities Investigation Service (SIAE), where he was responsible for hunting Nazis and Abwehr agents in the Republic of Cuba during World War II.[2] With the rise of the Cold War, Faget was made Director of the Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities (BRAC).[3] He is regarded by many Cuban and American historians today as one of the most violent anticommunist police officers in Cuban history, but also its most shrewd and intelligent Nazi hunter.[4][5]

Ironically, Faget's son - also named Mariano Faget - was arrested by the United States in 2000 on charges of espionage for the very communist regime that Faget fought so hard against in the 50's.[6] The junior Faget denied these charges.

  1. ^ Chapter 5. "They Are Proud People": The United States and Refugees from Cuba, 1959–1966, Princeton University Press, 2008-09-15, pp. 106–132, doi:10.1515/9781400829033.106, ISBN 978-1-4008-2903-3, retrieved 2024-09-24
  2. ^ Maxwell, Ian. "IT CAME TO LITTLE | CIA FOIA (foia.cia.gov)". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
  3. ^ "What´s Behind the Hatred of the Cuban Revolution". Cuba Si. 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  4. ^ "The Abwehr's Man in Havana". Warfare History Network. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  5. ^ Schoonover, Thomas David (2008). Hitler's man in Havana : Heinz Lüning and Nazi espionage in Latin America. Internet Archive. Lexington, Ky. : University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2501-5.
  6. ^ "Mariano Faget Espionage Case". www.latinamericanstudies.org. Retrieved 2024-09-24.