Has the C.I.A. really murdered people?

Is the Pope a catholic?

Do bears defecate in arboreal areas?

The CIA have not only murdered people, but Presidents.

You know...for kids.

Interesting question. The funny thing is that in all the stories I've read about where the U.S. government got its hands bloody in a black op, the CIA never actually killed anyone. Even when they were involved neck-deep in the operation, they left the actual killing and bruising to others - either U.S. military units, or locals (insurgents, criminals, even cops and soldiers if it's a friendly country) hired for the occasion.

The CIA was neck deep into the hunt for Che Guevara, but they didn't kill him, the Bolivian Army did. The CIA was neck deep into the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, but they didn't kill him, they left that to the Navy SEALs.

You can say it's a distinction without a difference because they're clearly involved in these operations from head to toe, but I nevertheless find it interesting that their personnel aren't the ones getting their hands dirty in any of these cases. If there's a real world 00-section or IMF or Treadstone, it's kept pretty well under wraps.


That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did.

Well the best killers in the world are Delta and maybe Devgru. The most elite from both are picked to work for the CIA as operators. My guess is that they kill people. I think one of the first casualties of the war in Iraq/Afghanistan were CIA operators. It was actually in the news, which I am surprised of to be honest.

There was a law past that they weren't allowed to assasinate anyone... I can't recall the details, but think about it. If it hadn't happened would they need a law?

The CIA often works through external operators including rebels in other countries; rather than directly acting.

There were several attempts on Castro's life, how many were "encouraged" by the CIA is unknown.

--------------------------
RIGOLETTO: I'm denied that common human right, to weep.

I would tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

Love's turned to lust and blood's turned to dust in my heart.

You answered your own question with the drone strike thing. The CIA has its own drones and uses them, so yes they kill people.

And as others on this thread have said, even when they don't directly dirty their own hands, it's a distinction without a difference because they usually have others take care of the killing for them. In that way, they've killed many, many, many people.

 Sig under construction 

I have no doubt the CIA has murdered people before, but it's unlikely that knowledge of these killings would ever reach the eyes and ears of the public. Most of their targets would probably simply vanish into thin air. I think Snowden actually released some information showing the complicity of the CIA in targeted killings sanctioned by the government, which you could probably find on Google. You can also find a lot of interesting articles on the Wikipedia detailing some of the CIA's biggest scandals or alleged involvement in shady activities.

These days the guise of "national security" is used to cover up all sorts of horrific crimes committed in the name of the state, and the CIA does have a pretty shady record with past incidents (ex. helping to arm and create terrorist groups like Al Qaeda that later attack America and kill thousands of innocent people, smuggling drugs into the United States in the 80s to help fund the war in Nicaragua etc).

The list goes on and on, and those are only the things that have leaked out to the public. The true extent of what goes on behind the veil of secrecy that is National Security will never be known.