There are many moments in the history of the United States when the government shamelessly overstepped its boundaries, trying to stick its nose where it didn’t belong, including back when the Cubans were led by Fidel Castro, so we’re going to take a look at 6 facts about Operation Northwoods conspiracy theory.

History hasn’t always been nice in the United States and this particular case is one of those times. Operation Northwoods, in case you didn’t know, is proof of just how dirty the country’s administrations are willing to play to get what they want.

Back in 1962, when Fidel Castro came to power, Washington wasn’t really a big fan of the fact that a communist country was just a stone’s throw away from their borders. The Department of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff came with the “brilliant” idea to commit various acts of terrorism on US territory in order to blame it all on the Cubans and justify military action in the country, hoping to cause “regime change” — a US euphemism for overthrowing foreign governments. Considering just how things went, it’s no wonder that some people in the United States and all over the world have a hard time believing 9/11 wasn’t fabricated, at least in part, by the US government.

Thankfully, the plan never came to be since the Kennedy administration eventually rejected the idea. Even so, the intent was there and sometimes that’s worth quite a bit and leaves enough scars on society as a whole. The whole thing became official public knowledge when a series of documents were declassified.

There are plenty of conspiracy theories out there, including about this particular operation. If you want, you can also check out 6 Elvis Presley conspiracy theories. Unlike those, however, most of the theories regarding Operation Northwoods turned out to be true. This is why we’re going to take a look at 6 facts about Operation Northwoods conspiracy theory.