Executive Action is a term used by the Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...

 starting in the early 1950s to refer to their assassination

Assassination

To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

 operations. These operations were often conducted by the CIA's Division D, a subsection of the agency's Directorate of Operations. "Executive Action" operations conducted by the CIA ranged from an attempt to kill Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

 using a cigar injected with Botulism

Botulism

Botulism also known as botulinus intoxication is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by botulinum toxin which is metabolic waste produced under anaerobic conditions by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, and affecting a wide range of mammals, birds and fish...

 toxin to an alleged plan to kill rebel leader Che Guevara

Che Guevara

Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...

. The Ford administration forbade assassination in 1976 with Executive Order 11905

Executive Order 11905

Executive Order 11905 is a United States Presidential Executive Order signed on February 18, 1976, by President Gerald R. Ford as an attempt to reform the United States Intelligence Community, improve oversight on foreign intelligence activities, and ban political assassination...

. A Washington Post article, c. 1989, reported that a 'secret' ruling of the U.S. Department of State's Office of Legal Advisor interpreted Ford's Executive Order to ban only intentional killings of foreign leaders, thus clearing the way for 'accidental' killings of foreign leaders -- for example, during the confusion of a coup or invasion. As this ruling was one of at least four preceding the U.S. invasion of Panama

United States invasion of Panama

The United States Invasion of Panama, code-named Operation Just Cause, was the invasion of Panama by the United States in December 1989. It occurred during the administration of U.S. President George H. W...

, some saw the ruling as giving a green light for Manuel Noriega

Manuel Noriega

Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno is a Panamanian politician and soldier. He was military dictator of Panama from 1983 to 1989.The 1989 invasion of Panama by the United States removed him from power; he was captured, detained as a prisoner of war, and flown to the United States. Noriega was tried on...

to be killed 'accidentally.' Noriega survived the invasion and surrendered to US forces.