2 Ostober 1963 MEMORANDUM FOR: Chief, Foreign Intelligence SUBJECT: TDY to Mexico City | | 1. After teking a good look at LIZNVOY and LIFEAT, I would agree with the persons J talked with in Mexico; they maintain that any well- run tap operation should produce substantial intelligence information, provided the targets are of intelligence interest, and provided also : there are people at the station who look for it and are able to recog- ‘ nize it. The case of LITBAT is interesting in this reapects: It has been deprived of its most productive linea in faver of LIZNVOY, and yet ite intelligence oreduction compares favorably, with that of the other productive taps, except LIENVOY. 2. Mexico has people who can detect any little item of intelli- gence significance. Thia includes the Chief of Btacion, who goes over the highlights of the previous day's take every morning and marks certain items for action by station case officers or reports officers. The reports officers work on coples of the take at the same time. 3. There are several aspects of LIENVOY that make it an excellent operation and an outstanding producer of intelligence. I will deacribe thew in detail when my notes cet here from the station. The principal factors in the success of LIENVOY seem to be the following. - @. The agreement mede with top Mexican officials, unlike many such sgreewents elsewhere, is as much in effect today as it ¥ was at the atart: the targeting is not based on personal politics; ‘y the intercept staff has stayed on the job; the equipment is con- \ sidered to be on loan from CIA. b. The native monitoring staff has reached a peak of effec- tiveness that evaryone at the station praises very highly. ec. The station is organized to handle the tuke speedily aa soon ag it comes in. The Chief of Station, the case officers, the reports officers, all work on it at the same time and excnange views on hot items. They de not let reports backlogs accumulate.
14-00000 — or wy bobeortat qd. Each new ites on a target person is linked to a past histery; what appeare as a fragnentary bit in e-.canversation becames a meaningful development in a contimuous atory. Contie muity on the job makes this possible. @. The equipment is kept in gocd working order by complete Cleaning dod checking of aach unit once a month. The jZ unite in use today are those installed in 1959. kh, A detailed description of LIENVOY and ite counterpart LIFEAT should provide good models with which to compare other tap operations. . it should give criteria for good procedures. [It should give some. idea of. the desirable size of such operations, considering the available targets, the size of the station, and the other taska and operations of the station. {It should show what the station pute into ite tap operae tions and what it gets out of them. LIENVOY and LIFBAT are an interesting example of twd interacting operations, one joint and the other independ- ent. 5. Ny otay in Mexico was as interesting and fruitful as it was enjoyable. And I hope it was not too great a burden on the station. ye ec: § CAWH/3
é ontg:* JM, WHITTEN: jpm . ~~ ~ ROLE NG UNT: WWH/3 oONeoS | Ww SRGRET | Tp ext s "8613s LE NO IN DEN Peters comme at nates ence cnt enone (a eed 700: MEXICO CITY From: DIRECTOR CONF: C/WH 5 INFO1 = ADOP, C/CI, RF, VR 19 MERI info eee CITE DIR 6 8 9 0 6 RYBAT LIENVOY CERLRRED Bi rounneé IDEN IN BRILLARD MESSAGE TO CURTIS TRANSHITTED BY GALBOND 18 MR. | END OF HESSAGS an i ms } 4 os, -? W/COPS _ Se oO . J.M. WHITTEN ; COORDINATING OFFICERS “  CwH/3 RELEASING OFFIGER as ta wate AUTHENTICATING ; SECRET ec ; QEFICER / REPRODUCTION BY OTHER THAN THE ISSUING OFFICE 1S PROFUBITED, Cepy No, POTS DE rte Som agg
CLASSIFICATRS PERONESSING ACTION ‘DISPATCH Sad ere wend ry 70 Ghiet, WH Division ; ~ nee ee meena ene pee ne pas ete arnt? 7 aro ~T , Jorae quar cs a \ Team Rec NOCNNG ama cece enn a eee alps pe re eee ene eat nearer mente Ain tmnt e atta a se amar rns __----Chief-of-Station,-Nexico-City— suastcr : Monthly Operational Report for Project LIENVOY i ACTION REQUIRED - TEFERENCES Aetion: None. For Headquarters’ informatlone Ref % HMMA-22005, 23 August 1963 : 1. There follows the monthly operational report for Project LIENVOY activities during August 1963. | * i i 2, Target Lines - August 1963. there were no changes in the target Lines during this reporting pertod, The Yugoulav lings have not yet been connected bus ene of them should be operating by the und of September. 4, Processing of LUENVOY Information. HMMA~22000 dated 21 August 1963 transmitted the Nirst group of eopies of transcripts against the Cuban Lines. Sinee that time, carbon coptes have been forwarded to Headquarters on a weekly baalse a Orville HORSFALL, staff agent, has eliminated the backlog of some Fifty reels from the Russian Linea and at the present tive ig working on the Polish LIFFAT coverage which Woodrow GABEOT? (ps} has not deen able to ™ handle. HORSFALL will be used in this capacity only wil the Station has a higher priority Job for him or until hia permanent assigrmont is determined. There has been no change in Douglas J. PSINGLASS’ assignment since the Last progress report. — 4, Explottation ot LIFNVOY Infermation. Te following are some (not all) of the exploitations during August 1963 of leads from LIFNVOY: a. DIENVOY contributed support to the REDNGOD ARJUMBO oper” ation during his poricd by confirming rReveral contacts between the principals involved, Details of this case have been reported by the Station SR Case Officer. be On 8 Avgust LIFNVOY reported indications that an unnamed ny rn ee CROSS REFLRENCE 10 | DOSRATCH $3 MB0R ANO NUMBER are 4 é | HMMA-22135 | -a3 September 1963 sue /ggeey * SL | se0-75 8 7 cee enter faa | MCS PRE cae SAWP fact id trea eet