Title: Declassified: The Senate Probe That Exposed Covert CIA Programs and “Undetectable” Weapons
Article:
A declassified U.S. Senate investigation from the post-Cold War era has shed light on a range of clandestine programs, including the development of a so-called “heart attack gun,” a weapon designed to induce a death that would be indistinguishable from natural causes.
A Weapon of Stealth
According to reports cited by European news outlets, the project involved a toxin that would create an apparently natural death. The manufactured poison, identified in reports as “saxitoxin,” was to be frozen into a dart. Upon penetrating a target’s body, the dart would melt, releasing the toxic agent into the bloodstream. The key feature was the toxin’s rapid decomposition, leaving virtually no trace for forensic investigators.
Saxitoxin, derived from marine algae, could be delivered through clothing via the dart, leaving only a small mark on the skin. Once inside the body, it would cause fatal cardiac arrest.
The Church Committee Revelations
Information about this and other covert initiatives came to light following investigative journalism by figures like Seymour Hersh and subsequent, extensive inquiries by the Senate’s “Church Committee” in the early 1970s. The committee, led by Senator Frank Church, was formed to investigate the scope and legality of U.S. intelligence activities.
The committee’s findings revealed that American intelligence agencies had, systematically and over a long period, engaged in programs that crossed legal and ethical boundaries. These included widespread surveillance of American citizens, the unauthorized opening of domestic mail, and plots to assassinate foreign leaders, including prominent figures.
A New Era of Oversight
One of the most notable aspects of the reports was the effort dedicated to developing “deniable” assassination methods. This involved the use of poisons that left minimal evidence, making the cause of death difficult to determine.
During a congressional hearing, committee members displayed a prototype of the weapon, which was visually similar to a standard 1911-model pistol but modified to fire specialized darts.
While no documented evidence has been publicly released confirming the CIA’s operational use of this specific weapon, its notoriety grew due to the agency’s established history of assassination attempts, such as those against Fidel Castro using poisoned cigars and contaminated diving gear.
In the wake of the Church Committee’s explosive findings and the resulting public outcry, successive U.S. administrations, starting with President Gerald Ford and later President Ronald Reagan, established a series of restrictions and executive orders aimed at prohibiting targeted assassinations by intelligence agencies. Despite these official bans, reports suggest that research into effective, untraceable tools may have continued, with the ultimate fate of programs like the “heart attack gun” remaining unclear.