(BLIND) MEMO: CUBANA FLIGHTS
Originator: CIA
Document date: 05/09/1977
Document type: PAPER - TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

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2022 RELEASE UNDER THE PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION RECORDS ACT OF 1992

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9 May 1977

SUBJECT: Cubana Flights

1. The Mexico Station surveillance of Cubana flights in

1963 consisted of a unilateral group (LIFIRE) and two separate

groups (LITEMPO and LIENVOY) handled jointly with the Mexican

Government.

a. LIFIRE was handled by Robert Feldmann,

These sources

observed arrivals and departures of Cubana flights. They

reported any unusual incidents and provided copies of th

This travel was routinely reported to

Washington by cable (JMGIN Cuban Travel):

A copy of the

manifests was sent later by dispatch to Washington with

the same reporting crypt.

b. LITEMO and LIENVOY were handled (on the policy level,

by the COS with high ranking Mexican Goverment officials.

I made the daily pick-up meetings with Career Agent Jeremy

K. Benadum for LITEMPO and Staff Agent Arnold F. Arehart

for LIENVOY. LITEMPO was a surveillance team of Mexican;

(Security Service Officers, They operated a concealed

passport camera and photographed incoming passengers'

passports from the Cubana flights:

No outgoing passports

were photographed because the facilities for departures

were located at the other end of the airport and not

feasible for the number of available agents at our disposal.

to then ity purpose os theing or cavera operation sas

They also

provided us with a list of the incoming passengers on the

Cubana flights. (50-6-91/4 Job 67-200/50, Box 13). LIENVOY

was a telephone tap operation against the Cuban Embassy and

provided transcripts of conversations with the Cubana Office

and the Mexican Airport Control Office.

I checked with' Robert Feldmann who said he thought all of the

Cubana flights were passenger flights.

A review of the transcripts for

the Commercial Office of the Cuban Embassy for late 1963 indicates that they

were shipping large quantities of automobile parts, foods and medicines

from Mexico City to Havana by Cubana Airlines.

what day they could send cargo and packages by Cubana led me to the

conclusion that all the flights to Mexico City from Havana could carry

passengers but some of the flights out were basically cargo (with the

capability of also carrying a few passengers). From manifests, it appears

that Cubana made a flight from Havana to Mexico City and return every

other day.

There was a flight on 22, 25, and 27 November 1963. The

22 and 25 November flights carried passengers.

The 27th November flight

carried 75 passengers to Mexico and returned with LOPEZ and it is believed

a plane load of cargo. (LITEMPO passenger list attached).

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