Short answers, pulled from the story.
President John F. Kennedy signed a formal order authorizing the Cuban Project on the 30th of November 1961. This document gave the Central Intelligence Agency permission to run an extensive campaign of terrorist attacks and covert operations against Cuba.
Edward Lansdale led the military side while William King Harvey managed the CIA effort for Task Force W at JMWAVE. The Special Group-Augmented oversaw all activities with Robert F. Kennedy chairing the committee alongside members such as John McCone, McGeorge Bundy, and Alexis Johnson.
The agency attempted to embarrass Castro by sneaking thallium salts into his shoes to make his beard fall out and laced cigars with chemicals causing temporary disorientation. Project ZRRIFLE began in May 1961 under Harvey's leadership handling eight assassination attempts involving solid botulin pills dissolving in liquid.
The budget for this initial phase was approximately $4.4 million and Noam Chomsky stated the project had a budget of $50 million per year employing 2,500 people including about 500 Americans. Large amounts of real estate were purchased in Miami and other cities to support these efforts through the Bender Group.
Formal activities ceased at the end of 1962 despite ongoing sabotage efforts after President Kennedy demanded cessation of Operation Mongoose as the Cuban Missile Crisis heated up. The operation was suspended on the 30th of October 1962 but three of ten sabotage teams had already been deployed.