Operation 363

Operation 363 is the codename given to the assassination attempt on Ion Mihai Pacepa, a well known Romanian lieutenant general in the Securitate, the secret police of the Socialist Republic of Romania, who defected to the United States in July 1978. The Romanian Securitate was behind the assassination attempt, as Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romania's leader issued two death sentences against him and reportedly put a monetary bounty on his head.[1]

Background

Ion Mihai Pacepa was drafted by the Securitate in 1951, in which he played several roles. His last role was head of Romanian industrial espionage, which he managed until he defected in 1978. He was also Ceauşescu's national security adviser.[2] In July 1978 Pacepa defected to the United States.[2] He later claimed he'd rather defect than execute Ceausescu's order to assassinate Noël Bernard, head of the Romanian-language department of Radio Free Europe.[1] His defection was a serious blow to the Communist Romania and devastating for its intelligence network. His revelations caused severe damage to President Nicolae Ceaușescu's international credibility. In response to Pacepa's defection and revelations, Pacepa claims Ceaușescu issued two death sentences against him,[3] while conservative author Alfred S. Regnery claimed a bounty of $2M was put on him by the Romanian leader, with further $1M bounties by Yasser Arafat and Muammar Gaddafi.[4][1][5] During the 1980s the Securitate hired Carlos the Jackal, a well known terrorist to assassinate Ion Mihai Pacepa.[1]

Aftermath

The death sentence on Pacepa was cancelled on July 7, 1999 and the Romanian Supreme court ruled that his confiscated possessions will be returned to him by the Securitate.[6] Only in 2004 under a new government was the court order done along with restoring his rank as general.[7] Pacepa survived several assassination attempts living secretly in the United States until he died in 2021.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Obituaries, Telegraph (2021-02-25). "Ion Mihai Pacepa, Romanian spy and star defector who revealed the sordid reality of the Ceausescus and their regime – obituary". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  2. ^ a b Pacepa, Ion Mihai (2013). Disinformation: former spy chief reveals secret strategies for undermining freedom, attacking religion, and promoting terrorism. Ronald J. Rychlak. pp. 23–25. ISBN 978-1-936488-60-5. OCLC 826293965.
  3. ^ "Spy chief: My defection to the West". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  4. ^ Regnery, Alfred S. (22 October 2001). "Book Inspired Counter-Revolution". Human Events.
  5. ^ a b "Ion Mihai Pacepa obituary". www.thetimes.com. 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  6. ^ "Romanian spies under scrutiny". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
  7. ^ Eckel, Mike; Tomiuc, Eugen (2021-02-17). "Ion Mihai Pacepa, Highest-Ranking Soviet Bloc Defector To The West, Reported Dead At 92". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
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