Felix Rodriguez was born in Cuba in 1941, son of the Minister of Public Works. He was a senior police official under the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. During the revolution in 1959 he fled to the US and enrolled in army officer training. He was recruited to work for the CIA, and acted as liason officer for the Bolivian forces responsible for capturing and executing Che Guevara. He was part of several operations to overthrow Fidel Castro, as well as paramilitary operation in Vietnam.
He has also been connected with the Iran-Contra Scandal. He directed the supply operation in which pilots flew in weapons to Honduras and El Salvador, which would make their way to the US-backed rebels fighting in Nicaragua. He also managed the shipment of large amounts of cocaine and marijuana back to Miami. He wrote an autobiography in 1989 called Shadow Warrior, after he was forced to testify before the Iran Contra Committee.