MAN ESCAPED DEATH 634 TIMES!

(A rare picture of Fidel Castro with Indira Gandhi in 1976 - image by AFP)

Can anyone believe that a man escaped from death 634 times in life? More surprise will be there when you come to know the name of that remarkably fortunate person! The name is known to all of you! It's none other than Fidel Castro, the former Cuban President!

This Cuban leader had the distinction of being the only person survived most number of assassination attempts by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Six hundred thirty four, according to a book written by Fabian Escalante, former head of the Cuban secret service, also in charge of Castro's security.

Here are some of the failed attempts. Castro's love for cigars was well known. CIA apparently poisoned a box of his favourite cigars with a botulinum toxin strong enough to kill anybody who put one in their mouth. The cigars were delivered to "an unidentified person." This was in 1960-61 just after he siezed power. The cigar box never reached Castro!

When all else failed, the intelligence officials enlisted the help of a female named Marita Lorenz. She was recruited by CIA as a contract agent. Her task was to kill Castro. She was given botulism toxin pills to add in his drinks. Castro detected it. He immediately gave his gun and asked her to fire at him. She could not do. Then happened the obvious thing; they had sex.

Another attempt on Castro's life was by mafia men. They poisoned the milk shake that was supposed to be served him at a five star hotel. The details why this didn't work is not yet known. The milk shake might have filled on the floor, or the pill got stuck inside the freezer. Myth and fact could not be seperated.

Then there was the attempt of explosive sea shells during his scuba diving. Then there was the deadly diving suit. Altogether 634 attempts! All failed! What a fortune the strong man had!

( Indebted to the story and photo  to the Economic Times, wrtten by Masoom Gupte dated 22 December 2016)

K V George