The Jonestown Massacre of November 18, 1978, stands as one of the most haunting episodes in modern history, where over 900 members of the Peoples Temple perished in a remote Guyanese jungle under the leadership of Jim Jones.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out Part 1:

Operation Gladio

From Gladio to Guyana: Jonestown and the CIA (Part 1/3)

The White Rabbit Report

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Mar 8

THE SHADOWS OF JONESTOWN

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Officially branded a mass suicide, the event has long been shrouded in questions and details that challenge the mainstream narrative.

Among those voices is James Gordon "Bo" Gritz, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and Green Beret, who in his book Called to Serve posits a chilling hypothesis:

Jonestown was not a spontaneous act of cult fanaticism but an extension of the CIA’s MKUltra mind-control program.

Gritz suggests that the massacre, triggered by the murder of Congressman Leo Ryan, was a deliberate self-destruction to conceal a larger, sinister experiment. T

So, how close to the truth was he? From orderly corpses and missing forensic evidence to the presence of CIA-linked figures, the pieces of this macabre puzzle hint at a cover-up far beyond a simple tragedy.

TESTIMONY OF JAMES “BO” GRITZ

James Gordon “Bo” Gritz (rhymes with “rights”) was a prolific military figure. He was known for his service as a US Army Special Forces officer during the Vietnam War and even earned a reputation as one of the most decorated Green Berets of all time. He has even been speculated as the model for the “Rambo” movies.

So how “on the money” was Gritz?

Let’s look at the evidence.

THE EVIDENCE: CIA and MKULTRA

STAGED DEATHS: THE MACABRE SCENE

Let’s zoom in on that grim November day in 1978. Jonestown wasn’t just a mess of bodies scattered randomly. It was oddly... orderly.

The corpses were laid out in rows, almost as if someone carefully arranged them for a photoshoot. Adults were draped over children, and many bodies appeared unnaturally positioned.

This wasn’t just weird; it was suspicious.

Cyanide poisoning leaves bodies contorted—muscles cramp, faces twist, and limbs seize. But that wasn’t the case here. Many looked peaceful, almost too peaceful for victims of cyanide.

Dr. Leslie Mootoo, Guyana’s chief medical examiner, noted puncture wounds at the base of their necks—evidence of forced injections. And some bodies bore blisters, further proof that poison wasn’t ingested voluntarily.

Here’s where it gets even stranger: the crime scene was meticulously sanitized.

Needles? Gone.

Forensic samples Mootoo collected? Handed over to U.S. officials and never seen again.

And before autopsies could confirm causes of death, many bodies were embalmed, ensuring no further investigation could take place.

“I don’t believe (Jones) was a megalomaniac as people have said. I do believe he was power-drunk, but a person like that would never kill himself.”
- Dr. C. Leslie Mootoo

TIMING THAT DOESN’T ADD UP

If the evidence isn’t enough, let’s talk about timing. The CIA reported the “mass suicide” to the U.S. Department of Defense at 3:29 a.m.—hours before Guyanese authorities even arrived at the scene.

How did they know? It’s almost as if someone was there, watching everything unfold.

And then there’s the eerie tape found afterward. It captures muffled voices discussing news coverage—before local officials even confirmed the deaths.

Who were these voices?

CIA operatives?

Gladio agents?

Either way, they seemed less interested in the tragedy and more focused on controlling the narrative.

By the time the bodies were brought back to the U.S., the cover-up was in full swing.

Identification bracelets were removed, records disappeared, and questions were buried under a thick layer of red tape. Even Dr. Mootoo’s original conclusion—that at least 700 deaths were homicides, not suicides—was swept under the rug.

Adding insult to injury, some bodies weren’t even accounted for. In 1985, nearly eight years after the massacre, the Los Angeles Times reported that three Jonestown victims were found stacked in caskets in a Southern California storage facility.

What? How does that happen?

To make matters worse, Green Beret Scott Hooker (a psuedonym), had additional information.

He was part of the team sent to recover the remains. He admitted his mission included killing any survivors and injecting their bodies with cyanide.

This is not a one-off either. It corroborates Gritz from earlier.

Scott Hooker also shared a chilling account of his team’s arrival at Jonestown:

As their helicopter touched down, survivors emerged, waving for help. However, the Green Berets had been ordered to eliminate them. Hooker described firing his automatic weapon at the first man he saw, “watching as the blood dispersed into a misty red cloud around the victim.”

He explained that their instructions included searching the bodies for explosives before the CIA’s medical team took over. This sequence of events strongly suggests that the CIA had been closely monitoring Jonestown.

One survivor even recalled Jim Jones publicly mentioning—or threatening—the idea of using explosives on their bodies as booby traps, reinforcing the sense of deliberate orchestration behind the tragedy.

So was it the CIA?

It appears so, but let’s lay it all out, so there is no room for doubt.

And if they were involved, the question then is how much they were involved.

MKULTRA

MKUltra was the CIA’s long-running attempt to control minds—like a twisted sci-fi movie come to life. Jonestown, with its isolated, controlled environment, fit perfectly into that mold. You had Jim Jones, a man with a shady history of intelligence connections, and his People’s Temple, a group carefully curated for experimentation.

Who were these people?

The majority were from marginalized groups—many were Black, poor, or struggling with mental health issues. They were society’s forgotten, and in Jones’ temple, they found a community.

But in the hands of the CIA, they became ideal subjects.

Vulnerable. Isolated. And tragically expendable.

After all, the vast majority was African-American. And the US had not had a problem experimenting on them in the past…

And there’s Dr. Lawrence Layton, a U.S. Army chemical warfare specialist, was another name that came up in my research. A World War II veteran, he had a series of government jobs after the war. In the early 1950s, he was chief of Chemical Warfare at the Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah and, in 1954, was named Director of Research at the Navy’s munitions factory in Indian Head, Maryland.

Most of his work, to this day, is still classified.

And the "drinking the Kool-Aid" narrative raises eyebrows.

A mass suicide by poison, where 900+ people simply followed orders?

Or was it about 408, as originally counted? 500 bodies is easy to miss, I suppose.

Either way, it appears that foulplay, rather than suicide, was the culprit.

EVIDENCE OF MKULTRA IN JONESTOWN

Jonestown carried unmistakable echoes of MKUltra-style experimentation, where psychological and social control methods were tested on an unwitting and, as pointed out, malleable population. Just to name a few:

• Psychic Driving: Jim Jones employed techniques akin to psychic driving by subjecting his followers to continuous, repetitive messages. Loudspeakers broadcasted his sermons and directives throughout Jonestown, reinforcing his ideology and expectations, thereby manipulating the residents' thoughts and behaviors. ​

• Sleep Deprivation: Residents of Jonestown were subjected to extensive sleep deprivation. They were required to perform manual labor from early morning until evening, followed by lengthy evening gatherings where Jones delivered sermons that lasted for several hours, leaving the community sleep-deprived.

• Physical Exhaustion: The demanding daily routines in Jonestown led to significant physical exhaustion among its members. Most were required to perform manual labor from early morning until evening, contributing to a state of chronic fatigue that impaired critical thinking and resistance.

• Emotional Trauma: Jones orchestrated events known as "White Nights," during which he simulated attacks on the commune and conducted rehearsals for mass suicide. These drills induced severe emotional trauma, keeping the community in a constant state of fear and readiness to die for their leader.

• Isolation: Jones fostered a sense of isolation by warning his followers that any attempts to leave Jonestown or suggestions to do so might be "loyalty tests" designed by him. This tactic isolated individuals from external influences and reinforced dependence on the commune.

All hallmarks of MKUltra.

Plus, the medicine.

Here is just a partial inventory that has been authenticated by law enforcement sources:

• Thorazine (chlorpromazine), 10,000 injectable doses and 1,000 tablets in a size normally given only "for severe neuropsychiatric conditions." The drug acts "at all levels of the central nervous system."

• Quaaludes: A sedative-hypnotic drug frequently used in suicide attempts.

• Vistaril: Used for total management of anxiety, tension and psychomotor agitation; can render the disturbed patient more amenable to psychotherapy in long-term treatment of neurotics and psychotics.

• Noludar: A sleeping aid that produces both physiological and psychological dependence. Moderate overdoses can produce delirium and confusion; large overdoses, stupor leading to coma.

• Valium injectable: Useful in treating neurotic states manifested by tension, anxiety, apprehension, fatigue, depressive symptoms or agitation.

• Valium tablets: An overdose of Valium in either form tends to make suicidal patients more likely to make a death attempt.

• Morphine sulphate: This strong pain killer can be habit-forming and have complex psychological effects.

• Demerol: A narcotic analgesic, it should be used with great caution and has multiple reactions similar to those of morphine.

• Talwin: Similar to Demerol in morphine-like actions. The drug has a history of creating psychological and physical dependence.

• Seconal: An extremely dangerous sedative and hypnotic that can be habit-forming. Must be used under medical supervision.

These drugs, ranging from tranquilizers to sedatives, left members subdued and compliant, unable to resist Jones’ control. Most were used in documented MKUltra projects.

And they were tracked. Daily medical checkups. Who needs daily medical checkups?

However, an even deeper layer of intrigue connects Jonestown to government-sponsored experimentation.

We return to Dr. Laurence Layton, the father of two key members of the People’s Temple, Deborah and Larry Layton.

As previously mentioned, Dr. Layton was a prominent scientist with a background in biochemical warfare and psychological research. He was Chief of Chemical Warfare for the U.S. Army at Dugway Proving Grounds, Tooele, Utah.

His job, to put it simply, was to develop ways to kill people.

One of his kids (Larry) later wrote:

Additionally, Below is an excerpt from a 1978 New York Times article about the Layton family:

So, a military scientist with highly classified research who experimented with drugs in Berkeley in the 1960s...

If you’ve read anything about MKUltra, you know that this does not look good.

THE CIA’S OBVIOUS SHADOW OVER JONESTOWN

When you start piecing the data together, the CIA’s fingerprints seem to smudge the edges of every clue. Here are the top 9 key findings (all sourced) that point directly to CIA involvement in Jonestown:

• Textbook MKUltra playbook: estown’s practices bear similarities to the CIA’s MKUltra program, which focused on mind control through drugs and psychological manipulation. A significant stockpile of drugs, including Thorazine, Quaaludes, Vistaril, Noludar, Valium, Morphine Sulphate, Demerol, Talwin, and Seconal, was found, with quantities reported as "thousands of dangerous drugs".

• CIA Presence:

  • Richard Dwyer, the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Guyana, was suspected of being a CIA operative. He was identified in the 1968 “Who’s Who in CIA”. Despite this and the fact that Jim Jones said “Where is Dwyer? Take Dwyer and put him with the lawyers,” Dwyer denied being a CIA operative.

  • Philip Blakey, a key Peoples Temple member and early Jonestown pioneer, has been linked to the CIA, particularly regarding his role in the community’s establishment. Previously involved with UNITA in Angola, made the initial down payment on the Guyana property that became Jonestown.

• Operation Mockingbird: Operation Mockingbird, a CIA program to influence media, seemed to shape the narrative around Jonestown. The media’s initial portrayal of the deaths as mass suicide, while originally stated as mass murder, raises questions about potential manipulation.

  

• Massive Drug Stockpile: Jonestown’s drug stockpile was extensive, with thousands of doses of sedatives, hypnotics, and antipsychotics, including Thorazine and Valium, used to control members. Survivors like Dale Parks confirmed these drugs were used to manage defectors, aligning with mind control theories.

• Pre-Positioned Clean Teams: U.S. Air Force Colonel L. Fletcher Prouty, who held significant roles working alongside the CIA and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for many years, shared with Freedom Magazine that Congressman Leo Ryan had gotten too close to uncovering hidden truths that powerful entities wanted to keep buried.
  
  “The Joint Chiefs of Staff had prepared air shipments of hundreds of body bags. They didn’t normally keep that many in any one place. Within hours, they began to shuttle them down to Georgetown, the main city. They couldn’t possibly have done that without prior knowledge that it was going to happen. It shows that there was prior planning.”
  

  Regarding the Jonestown tragedy, he emphasized that the JCS not only provided the body bags but also coordinated the airlift and logistics on a schedule that strongly suggested foreknowledge.
  
  “The JCS wouldn’t have moved at all on their own. They didn’t give a damn about Jonestown… [this things are] the kinds of earmarks that define the hand of American intelligence.”

• Use of Dum-Dum Bullets: These types of bullets were banned in warfare under the 1899 Hague Convention. However, they have been used allegedly by the CIA before - JFK, MLK Jr, among others . They were also recovered from survivor Jackie Speier’s body. Another victim at the airstrip was killed by one.

  

• U.S. Embassy Connections: Ambassador John Burke and official Richard McCoy had CIA ties. John Burke later went to work for the "intelligence community staff" of the CIA. Richard McCoy, another embassy official, has acknowledged his counterintelligence work for the U.S. Air Force.

• Discrediting Mark Lane: Mark Lane gained prominence with his 1966 bestseller Rush to Judgment, which criticized the Warren Commission’s conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating JFK. Lane also represented James Earl Ray, convicted of MLK’s 1968 murder, arguing Ray was framed. After surviving the Jonestown Massacre, Lane co-authored The Strongest Poison (1980), defending Jones initially and claiming external forces (e.g., CIA) provoked the tragedy. “Critics” used his Temple affiliation (he was one of Jones’ attorneys) to label him a fringe figure, damaging his reputation and previous assertions.

• Congressional Investigation Results: The 1980 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence investigation into Jonestown claimed there was no evidence that there was CIA involvement. However, the absence of a publicly accessible report from the committee specifically detailing their Jonestown investigation, contrasts with their documented activities on other intelligence matters. Also, the committee’s chairman was “Edward Boland,” who had regular interactions with CIA director William Casey:

  

  
  

Even if only some of it was true, it would appear that the CIA was involved.

So now the big question...Why did they all die? And why then?

The answer: Congressman Leo Ryan.

Congressman Ryan was a vocal advocate for more congressional oversight of the CIA co-authored the Hughes-Ryan Amendment (which passed in 1974), requiring the president to report any covert CIA activity to congress.

Evidently that amendment didn’t really have any teeth.

But it, along with Ryan’s rhetoric, did ruffle feathers at the agency.

In 1978, Ryan got some disturbing information that people were being held in Guyana against their will at the Peoples Temple settlement. Ryan announced his intentions to investigate.

Surprisingly, the US State Department “repeatedly stonewalled Ryan’s attempts to find out what was going on in Jonestown” and told him that everything was fine. He didn’t believe the government (good for him), so he traveled to Guyana to investigate, complete with journalists and news crews.

As he was attempting to leave, Ryan (along with four other members of his group) was shot and killed on the tarmac of the airport. It was shortly after his death, that the Jonestown massacre occurred.

And the person who killed Congressman Ryan? Don’t know.

But one thing is for sure: Larry Layton - the son of Dr. Layton - was involved.

Or was he?

Layton was convicted in 1981 for the murder of Congressman Ryan. Leading up to that, his defense urged the courts to see that the government was trying to make Layton a scapegoat for the massacre. It was asserted that Layton “did not kill anybody”, nor did he “aid and abet or conspire to kill Leo Ryan.”

Now, Larry did kill the people in the airplane (a possibly coerced confession), but it was supposed to be a suicide mission. When Ryan was shot on the tarmac and the plane was obviously not taking off, that’s when he open fired.

In 2002, Larry was finally released from prison.

Congressman Ryan had seen firsthand the abuse, brainwashing, and corruption. If he had lived to tell the tale, the curtain would have been back to expose the CIA.

That couldn’t happen.

But the death of a congressman can’t be simply swept under the rug. Thus, the massacre was necessary. Even Jim Jones was said to not have killed himself, but was rather murdered.

• Killed by a .38 revolver, found more than 20 yards from his body.

• Gunshot entry wound was to the left-side of the temple. But Jones was right-handed.

Anne Elizabeth Moore, Jones’ personal nurse at Jonestown, (who was thought to maybe run away with Jones after the massacre), has been suspected of being murdered as well rather than suicide as well.

• Dr. Breitenecker said, and “Her head had just about been destroyed.”

• “The left rear quarter of her head was so badly damaged that the police could not tell where the bullet had entered.” (Sounds like dumdum bullets)

So, all in all, they wanted no survivors, no witnesses, and most importantly, no messy congressional investigations linking Jonestown to intelligence programs.

Since the event was deemed a suicide rather quickly by the US investigative team, no autopsies were needed.

Case closed.

CIA, MKULTRA, AND BEYOND

The evidence surrounding Jonestown—from the orderly arrangement of bodies and forced injections to the CIA’s uncanny foreknowledge and the silencing of Congressman Leo Ryan—paints a picture far more complex than a mere cult suicide.

If James Gordon "Bo" Gritz is correct, Jonestown was a testing ground for MKUltra that escalated to a deadly crescendo to protect its secrets.

The presence of figures like Richard Dwyer and the use of tactics mirroring mind-control experiments suggest a deliberate orchestration, possibly extending beyond American borders.

This raises a provocative question: could Jonestown be a thread in a larger tapestry of covert operations, like Operation Gladio, Operation Phoenix, and Operation Condor?

As we peel back the layers of Jonestown’s enigma, the final part of the series will connect these dots, exploring how the massacre aligns with Gladio’s playbook—where shadowy forces, including the CIA, engineered chaos to maintain control, leaving a trail of bodies and unanswered questions in their wake.