oe ot SECRET yo hues “Die? i wps/ao/FI-CL Projects | a> fe i Ey en, i ~ —— cose |'3'B 440s APPROVAL teven REVIERINS COMPONENTS Routine OFFIcd CowmmENTS COmecRly FOR INTERNAL Stare USE (Not ¢o ge foreard to the Divialon) COMMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS (To go ferward te the Division} : The CI Staff concurs in the renewal of this extremely valuable project. The Staff strongly urges that the Station continue to be constantly alert for any Sov. interest in the project's agents and installations and in particular any Sov. investigation or activities against same--also, Station contingency plans should be formulated to cope with such Sov. interest or activities. : RCvViCwING OFFICER eal ° svar S26 cosovara racvious coitroa SECRET eet ~} (49.20.40) L__. femme :
am, ne a seer MPs/BG/FI 8 May 68 PROJECT BRIEFING _ PROJECT : LIEMPTY WH - Mexico ACTION : ADD/P approval of renewal (19 mos.) 1 Dec 67 - 30 Jun 69° : PURPOSE : An operational support project providing three basehouses and cot a mobile surveillance unit to monitor primarlly the Soviet Embassy, its personnel and its visitors, by physical and photoe graphic surveillance. BACKGROUND: The project covers three properties near the Soviet Embassy (two in front of the Embassy's sole entrance and one behind the garden) from which visual and photographic surveillance is carried ne out. It also covers a darkroom and a mobile photographic truck. : Some of the project personnel are used at times for miscellaneous support tasks such as servicing postal boxes and for countere surveillance and other protective services. PROGRESS: During the past year the project provided nearly all of the operae ‘ tional photographs and physical surveillance reports used in the ; Station's operations against the Soviet Embassy and its personnel. SB Division says, "This rather unique operation has unquestionably made a major contribution to the increasingly effective Soviet Operations program of the Mexico Station." The project produces primarily operational data and counterintelli- gence information. It provides leads, evidence of which Soviet officers have been in the Embassy and which ones have been away, who has used which car, who has been talking to whom or golng out of the building with whem. (One photograph from this project was used in the Warren Commission Report.) FUNDS : $69,725 (19 mos.) (Programmed FY €9 $46,000) FY 68 (7 mos.) FY 69 Salaries (9) and bonuses $19,475 $32,020 Vehicle maintenance 1,165 2,000 Rent and utilities 4 665 8,000. Equipment 300 500 Operational expenses 600 1,000 Cat od 9 =o rr
14-00000 SECRET. i \ ; . , ‘ PREVIOUS APPROVAIS: 1 Dee 66 = 30 Nov 67° $45,000 — : ‘ 1 Dee 65 = 30 Nov 66 41,500 ; : 1 Dec 64 + 30 Nov 65 “45,300 : 1 Dec 63 = 30 Nov 6+ 49,700 \ ; L Dec 62 = 30 Nov 63 49,900 ; , * 3 pee 58 = 30 Nov 59 95 380 STAFF | RECOMMENDATIONS : FI and CI Staffs concur. SECRET,
, pies pais) i ae20} take MEMORANDUM FOR: Assistant Deputy Director for Plans THROUGH: MPS/BG SUBJECT: Project LIEMPTY 1. WH Division requests renewal of LIENPTY for the 19-month period 1 December 1967 through 30 June 1969 in the amount of $69,725. While this represents a slight reduction-on a pro rata basis from the $45,000 for which _LIEMPTY was approved for the 12-month period starting 2 December 1966, it reflects a proportionately modest increase in cost for the 19-month renewal period over the estimated total disbursement of $40,130 for the past project year. This will provide for small salary increases to meet the rising cost of living for certain of the agents involved in the project who have not received raises in some time as well as for slightly higher rental fees for the various basehouses. The project, now in its tenth year, is designed primarily to provide for the collection .Of operational information on the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City, including the identification and muovencnts of its personnel and visitors. To this end, LIEMPTY. provides for the maintenance and cxploitation of threé basehouses for fixed visual and photographic surveillance of the Soviet Embassy and a mobile basehouse in the form of a panel truck used for moblle photography against the Polish Embassy, leaders and mecting sites of local communist parties, and other targets of opportunity. An important corollary objective of LIEMPTY is operational support in the form of countersurveillance for Agency personnel and operations, including those of other bases and stations as the needs and requirements of the Mexico Station permit. The funds requested include $43,520 for the period 1 December 1967 through 30 November 1968 and an additional $26,205 to cover the period 1 December 1968 through 30 June 1969. The latter tunds are asked for in a supple- mental request td put the project on a fiscal year basis. 2. <A long-term contract agent and eight other support agents are involved in the management and operation of the
14-00000 LIEMPTY facilitics and in surveillance activities directed at the primary Soviet target. Some of these agents are used also'in dark room photographic processing, letter drop, and, on occasion, moving surveillance activities. 3. This project is only part of the complex:of ‘Mexico City Station instruments for meeting requirements from a number of U.S. agencies, including the FBI. [t- is clearly an effective, well-managed support operation serving important needs. 4. No major or significant changes in LIEMPTY personnel or operational techniques have been introduced nor have there been any known incidents adversely affecting. the security of the project or its personnel since the previous project renewal period. As a uni-~ lateral operational support effort, LIEMPTY cont inues to be a most useful station asset supporting a number of station activities. In spite of small increases in costs as discussed above, the project is considered to be ,holding the line on cost and personnel. 5. The objectives of project LIEMPTY are in direct support of priority A objectives 1, 2, and 4 of the current Operating Directive for Mexico. It is considered by SB Division to have made significant contributions to the Station's well developed, high priority Sovict Operations Program. During the past year the various LIEMPTY base- house installations produced valuable information in the form of photographie coverage and physical surveillance reports on the daily movements, personal associations and ; habit patterns of selected targets of special interest. In numerous instances this coverage confirmed the specific intelligence service connections of Soviet officers in the Embassy. Often the identities of Mexicans and nationals of other countries in contact with the Soviets were estab- lished. The mubile panel truck unit was exploited regu- larly to provide information on not only the Soviets but also the Cuban target as well as local Communist Party targets. A Chief Foreign Intelligence Attachment Project