Rafael Villaverde was a Cuban-born exile living in the United States and a veteran of the Bay of Pigs (Playa Giron).

[5] After the failed invasion, the CIA settled Villaverde into a job with the United Fund, where he learned the operating methods of social services and charities.

[8][9][10] 43 members were captured and arrested after officers from the Miami Police Department and federal agents from the Strike Force planted listening devices in the houses of the Tick Talk targets.

[15][16] Villaverde was cleared posthumously when the judge in the trial of Operation Tick Talk threw out the case on the grounds that the listening devices were placed illegally.

[20] One plaintiff in the court trial specifically identified Rafael Villaverde as being involved in CIA activities in South America and the Caribbean some time after his boat exploded in the Gulf.