Castro's sister worked with CIA, against brother

Juanita Castro initially supported her brother's 1959 overthrow of the Batista dictatorship, but became disillusioned shortly after the United States' failed invasion of Cuba in the Bay of Pigs in 1961. She became particularly upset with her brother's execution of opponents and the movement of the island toward communism. Her home became a sanctuary for anti-communists, and her brother warned her about getting involved with the "gusanos," or worms, which is what those who opposed the revolution were called.

The wife of the Brazilian Ambassador to Cuba approached Juanita Castro, persuading her to meet with a CIA officer during a trip to Mexico. She took the trip under the guise of visiting her younger sister Enma. While there, she secretly met with a CIA officer at the Camino Real Hotel. The officer identified himself as "Enrique," and was later revealed to be a CIA officer in Cuba named Tony Sforza.

During the meeting, Juanita Castro expressed concerns that those who supported the overthrow of Batista's government but were not communists were being pushed out. She agreed to help the CIA, but refused to accept money in return for her information, and did not want a part in any violence against her brother, nor any official in the regime.

Sforza asked Juanita Castro to smuggle messages, documents and money back into the country by hiding them in canned goods.

Juanita Castro and her handlers communicated through shortwave radio. She chose a waltz and a song from the opera Madame Butterfly as signals for them to let her know if they had information for her.

She stayed on the island while her mother was alive, believing she was protected from her brother. Juanita Castro's mother died in 1963, and she fled the following year. Eventually she settled in Miami, running a pharmacy until 2007.

Juanita Castro's Spanish-language memoir is called "My Brothers Fidel and Raul. The Secret Story." It was co-written by journalist Maria Antonieta Collins and released Monday by Santillana USA.

Written by Nicole Palmby