HSCA FIELD TRIP TO MEXICO CITY.
Originator: CIA
From: GOODING, NILES R, JR.
Document date: 08/10/1978
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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498-AH°78 10 August 1978

432pM'78

MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

SUBJECT: HSCA Field Trip to Mexico City

1.

The purpose of this MFR is to outline the details of subject

trip for the period 6-8 August 1978 (Mexico City 46122 refers).

2. I departed Washington on Sunday, 6 August 1978 for Mexico

City.

Upon arrival I met with the COS and DCOS to discuss the

interviews to be conducted on Monday, 7 August and Tuesday, 8 August

by a HSCA team consisting of Gary Cornwell, Deputy to Mr. Blakey,

Harold Leap and Edwin Lopez.

It was agreed that the interview with

Daniel Flores, staff, Mexico City Station (in alias) would be held

in the Embassy and the interview with Raymond Alverez Durant would

be held in the del Angel Hotel

using the microphone arrangement

agreed to by Mr. Cornwell at the HQS planning meeting on Friday, 4

August 1978. Electronic equipment (including TV) had already been

either brought from HQS or was available at the Station.

3. On Monday, we were advised by cable that the HSCA investigators

would not be coming as scheduled.

As I had already made arrangements

to meet with Durant for identification purposes and to explain the

interview arrangements, I decided to keep the meeting.

The CoS

concurred. @urant was cooperative and accepted the delay as unavoidable.

I advised

him that I would give him as much advance notice as

possible in any future interview.

I did not specifically identify

myself as Agency but there is little doubt that he was aware of my

affiliation.

Upon receipt of the second cable -- which rescheduled

the HSCA trip (with Mr. Cornwell deleted) -- Durant, was advised that

the interview would, in all likelihood, take place on Tuesday, 8 August

as originally scheduled.

4. At 0830, 8 August Leap and Gomez met with the COS and

myself in his office.

Neither Leap nor Gomez had any awareness

whatsoever of the requirement to interview Flores.

In fact, Lopez

asked me if Flores was LIONION 1. Without exposing my concern about

the lack of briefing such a question implied, I responded that LIONION 1

was in Madrid, not Mexico City.

Parenthetically at the 4 August

planning meeting, Cornwell had been briefed on the personal plans of

Flores and had written down our request to interview him:

• (1) in

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alias and; (2) as early as possible in the week. In any event,

after some expressions of dissatisfaction by the HSCA investigators

against their staff about their lack of knowledge of the Flores

interview, COS asked if AM MUG meant anything to them. Thus primed, a

they picked up on this and interviewed Flores in private.

deposition was taken.

The investigators were requested to use an

alias for Flores in both their notes and any subsequent reports.

Upon completion of the Flores interview, Leap, Gomez, the

COS and myself met to discuss the Durant interview. The three

room electronic arrangement in the del Angel Hotel was outlined.

Neither investigator expressed any concern about this arrangement.

Leap then brought out a copy of the Acting DDCI letter to Chairman

Stokes concerning release from secrecy agreements for HSCA interviewees

and requested that it be given to Durant before his interview and that

Durant be orally advised that he was released from his secrecy

agreement on matters relevant to the HSCA investigation. Leap

emphasized that Durant would be the judge on what was relevant and

what was not.

The COS and I read the letter, discussed the situation

and agreed that I would give the letter to Durant and so advise him

of his release.

6. At 1015, Bruce Watson, GS-08, Chief of Registry, took Leap

and Gomez to Room 810 in the del Angel Hotel. The electronic arrange-

ment was explained to them by an OTS representative.

Leap asked the

OTS representative to stay in their room during the interview to

correct any possible malfunctions.

The OTS representative wisely

declined.

I subsequently complimented him on this proper response.

7. At 1045 -- with Watson at my request standing unobtrusively

by with his diplomatic passport in the event of difficulty -- I met

Durants in the lobby and took him to Room 809. I gave him the copy

of the Acting DCI letter and advised him that he was released from

his secrecy agreement on matters relevant to the investigation

at hand.

I then advised Leap on the microphone hookup that Qurant

was fully aware of the letter and his release.

_I then introduced

@Durant) and left Room 809 fon: Room 808 where Watson and the OTS

representative were already stationed.

8. After approximately forty-five minutes, Durant knocked on

my door and advised me that the interview was over.

I escorted

him from the hotel. He expressed some concern about the difficulty

of remembering events after fifteen years but said that he had done

as well as he could do in responding to questions.

He also expressed

a willingness to cooperate in the future. It should be noted in

passing that he was a "walk-in" to the Embassy approximately two

months ago requesting further work with the Agency.

This-may explain

in part, his willingness to cooperate with the HSCA investigation.

The

cos shares this assessment with me.

2

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9. Watson returned the HSCA investigators to the Embassy where

they expressed their appreciation to both the COS and myself and

noted that the durant interview was most worthwhile.

The electronic

equipment was cleared from Rooms 809 and 810 and Watson subsequently

released all three rooms back to the del Angel desk clerk.

10. No surveillance or other problems were noted during this

operation.

11. On Wednesday, 9 August I returned to HQS and reported the

results of the trip to my superiors.

mond ye.

Viles R. Gooding, ‹

Original - Mr. Breckinridge

1 = Mr.

Sturbitts

1 - Mr. Briggs

SECHET

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