Bernard Barker
 Bernard Barker     (soldier, spook, deep political functionary) | |
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| Born | Bernard Leon Barker 1927-12-05 Havana, Cuba |
| Died | 2009-06-05 (Age 81) Miami, United States |
| Nationality | Cuban, American |
| Member of | Operation 40, Watergate/Burglars, Watergate/White House Plumbers |
A soldier/spook involved both in the assassination of JFK and the Watergate coup. | |
Bernard Barker was a WW2 veteran, a member of Operation 40 and a Watergate burglar.
WW2
"The day after the bombing of Pearl Harbor Barker became the first Cuban-American to join the American armed forces. He received his basic training in Tampa before moving to Houston where he eventually graduated as a second lieutenant. He flew patrol missions over the Gulf of Mexico before being sent to London to join the 331st squadron of 8th Air Force. Over the next few months he was a bombardier on board a B-17 Flying Fortress."[1]
Spook
After WW2 Barker returned to Cuba and joined the Cuban secret police under Fulgencio Batista.[2] He was later recruited by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and worked for them as an undercover agent. He also did work for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[1] He joined the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.[3]
JFK assassination
- Full article: John F. Kennedy/Assassination
- Full article: John F. Kennedy/Assassination
Barker is reckoned to have been involved in the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy.[3] Seymour Weitzman states that Barker was the man on the Grassy Knoll who was showing US Secret Service identification and ordering people out of the area.[1]
Watergate
- Full article: Watergate Coup
- Full article: Watergate Coup
Barker became a Watergate burglar after an invitation from E. Howard Hunt. In 1997, Barker told The Miami Herald that Hunt "said this would put us in a situation in which we can later ask for help for the freedom of Cuba."[1]
