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JFK Files Detail Close Intelligence Collaboration Between CIA and Mexico

cover image

Presidents John F. Kennedy and Adolfo López Mateos in Mexico City during Kennedy's presidential visit in 1962.

Credit: Fototeca del Acervo Histórico Diplomático, SRE/Aristegui Noticias

Newly Declassified Records Show Mexico Welcomed CIA Ops

Joint Espionage Targeted Cuban, Russian Embassies Through 1994

National Security Archive Analysis Published in NACLA Report on the Americas

Published: May 19, 2025

Briefing Book #

893

Edited by Claire Dorfman

For more information, contact:

202-994-7000 or nsarchiv@gwu.edu

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Washington, D.C., May 19, 2025 – Mexico welcomed CIA espionage activities in Mexico during the Cold War and even initiated some of them, according to recently declassified documents published today by the National Security Archive. Found among more than 80,000 pages of newly released JFK assassination files, the records shed light on the remarkably close relationship between the CIA and the Mexican government during the Cold War—including new details on both joint and unilateral CIA operations run out of the Agency's Mexico City Station—and reveal secrets that have been guarded by the CIA for over half a century.

Among the key findings is that one of the most sweeping joint surveillance programs in Agency history, Operation LIENVOY, was initiated by the Mexican president, not the CIA. "The LIENVOY operation," according to a secret 1964 CIA survey of covert operations in Mexico, "resulted from an approach six years ago from President López Mateos. After considerable discussions, the operation was approved, providing the Mexican Government would include Soviet and Satellite targets, and such other communist targets as were obvious to the Mexican Government to be of concern to the United States." Another stunning CIA document shows that the Agency's partnership with the Mexican government in spying on the Cuban and Russian embassies continued through at least 1994.

The documents also highlight the CIA's important role in nurturing and expanding the intelligence capabilities of other countries during the Cold War and the enduring legacy of those, in many cases crucial, relationships. Mexico has continued to engage in widespread use of domestic surveillance; it was the first country in the world to purchase the infamous Israeli Pegasus spyware in the mid-2000s and has deployed it countless times, with targets including journalists, human rights defenders, and environmental activists. Surveillance technology on Mexico's northern border produces endless streams of data on migrant crossings and arms and narcotics trafficking. These new revelations from the JFK files show how Mexico both invited CIA intervention and worked alongside the U.S. spy agency to become one of the world's leading surveillance states.

The Modern Surveillance State:

Mexico and the CIA during the Cold War

by Claire Dorfman

Renowned painter David Alfaro Siqueiros and former Mexican President Lázaro Cardenas had their phones tapped. So did former Guatemalan President Juan José Arévalo, living in exile in Mexico following the U.S.-backed coup against his successor Jacobo Árbenz. The Cuban, Soviet, Czech, and Yugoslav embassies in Mexico City, too, were the target of surveillance. But contrary to popular myths about the Cold War, the CIA was not working alone: some of the agency's most extensive surveillance schemes had actually been proposed and operated by the Mexican state itself.

Mexico's active participation in the surveillance programs is one of the most salient revelations that has come to light thanks to recently declassified CIA documents. These records, released in March in accordance with a special declassification law known as the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, confirm the remarkably close relationship between the U.S. intelligence agency and the Mexican government during the Cold War. They also reveal key, previously unknown details about the CIA's mission in Mexico.

Among the discoveries is the fact that one of the most sweeping joint surveillance operations in the agency's history was initiated by the Mexican state. It was President Adolfo López Mateos who approached the CIA with the idea for the project, not vice-versa. (Document 2) In another stunning admission, one CIA document acknowledges that the agency's partnership with the Mexican government in spying on the Cuban and Russian embassies continued through at least 1994. (Document 10)

doc2

The records offer a comprehensive and uncensored picture of espionage activities and pry open secrets that have been guarded by the agency for decades. This legacy of collaboration between the U.S. and Mexico takes on even more significance given that Mexico today remains one of the world's top surveillance states.

"Not In Our Backyard!"

While the JFK Records Act mandated the declassification of documents related to the assassination and subsequent investigations, it also cast a wide net on what records were considered relevant for release. Several batches of documents have been declassified over the years since the law was created in 1992. This has led to the declassification of highly sensitive documents from several key U.S. government agencies, which shine a light on intelligence operations conducted in all corners of the world in the latter half of the 20th century. Mexico is prominently featured in the JFK assassination records, with Lee Harvey Oswald making a fateful trip to Mexico City just weeks before the events in Dallas on November 22, 1963. The documents primarily cover the administrations of presidents Adolfo López Mateos (1958-1964) and Gustavo Díaz Ordaz (1964-1970), who were both informants for the CIA.

As the first line of defense in U.S. efforts to contain the spread of communism in the region, diplomatic relations between the two countries were frequently strained during the Cold War. Mexico's political identity, defined by revolutionary ideals and a fierce protection of state sovereignty, endeared it to countries such as Fidel Castro's Cuba and Salvador Allende's Chile. In many respects, U.S. policy in Latin America seemed to directly contradict that of its southern neighbor. When it was not explicitly intervening in internal affairs, Washington exhibited a generally patronizing style of diplomacy with its regional counterparts. However mythic the relationship between the United States and Mexico appeared at the time, secret government documents tell a different story.

The official declassified record reveals that both countries shared deeply rooted fears of communism and found security in a partnership aimed at squashing political and social dissent. While many of these new documents concern CIA programs targeting the foreign communist presence in Mexico, the records also reveal how the Mexican government used the agency's surveillance infrastructure to spy on dissidents of their own regime, targeting intellectuals, student and labor organizers, and members of the political opposition.

CIA Operations, with Mexican Help

A key document from 1965 outlines the mission directive for the CIA in Mexico, providing a macro view of the agency's broader policies and targets. The mission describes intelligence operations against Cuban, Soviet, and Chinese diplomatic installations and personnel. There was equal focus on leftist activities by Mexican citizens. A specific directive was to infiltrate youth groups and recruit students in "key schools" around the country. The mission also placed emphasis on combatting "ultra-nationalistic and anti-U.S. activities in Mexico" and obtaining information on the "secret intentions and activities of the Mexican government in foreign affairs," especially through maintaining CIA contacts within the president's office and foreign ministry. (Document 1)

A CIA inspector general report, which was published by my colleagues at the National Security Archive last month, also provides crucial context for understanding the CIA's objectives in Mexico at the time. Among the agency's activities targeting Cuba and the Soviet Union were the active recruitment or encouraged defection of diplomatic personnel from these countries, as well as tracking air travel between Mexico City and Havana (Mexico was the only "direct air link" between Cuba and the rest of the region). The CIA also worked with the FBI to "thwart" Americans who sought contact with the Soviet embassy in Mexico. On the domestic front, the CIA maintained a "highly successful" operation targeting the peasant and rural populations, which the agency noted could be a model for a similar project in Guatemala in the near future. (Document 2)

Other documents illuminate key details on the joint CIA-Mexican telephone wiretapping operation known as LIENVOY, which was originally proposed to the agency by President López Mateos. The LIENVOY staff was composed of Mexican Army personnel. (Document 2) The project was considered an "excellent operation and an outstanding producer of intelligence," according to one CIA official at the time. (Document 3) A monthly operational report from September 1963 lists the tapping of the Cuban, Soviet, Yugoslav, and Czech embassies in Mexico City, as well as individuals including former Mexican president Lázaro Cárdenas and the painter David Alfaro Siqueiros. (Document 4) The active participation of the Mexican government in LIENVOY was kept secret for many years. Crucially, the full declassification of documents on the joint operation also reveals the names and installations targeted for surveillance, which pulls back the curtain on Mexican motivations for the collaboration and allows us to see exactly who was perceived as a threat by the regime.

doc1

The records reveal that the CIA was also operating unilateral intelligence operations in Mexico at the time. This surveillance was described by the CIA as "one of the most extensive and expensive unilateral technical collection programs conducted by the Agency." (Document 9) A consistent target under the operation LIFEAT was the former president of Guatemala, Juan José Arévalo. The CIA reported in 1962 that LIFEAT telephone tapping of Arévalo in Mexico was "most rewarding in providing leads to [his] contacts." (Document 5)

Spying on Mexico's Left and Right

Other unilateral intelligence efforts by the CIA predictably targeted Mexico's domestic population. The agency spied on leftwing and rightwing groups alike. Specific operations were designed to monitor leftist and communist sympathies, including the project known as LIANCHOR. Under the auspices of a leftist press service, the CIA's Mexico Station covertly managed the recruitment of writers and intellectuals to author political articles, which were then distributed to several Latin American countries so the agency could track regional opinions about communism. A progress report for the LIANCHOR operation covering December 1967 through May 1968 reveals the full list of the group's unwitting participants, including such notable names as Ricardo Garibay, Manuel Calvillo, and Alicia Reyes. (Document 6) The influential Mexican magazine Diálogos was also penetrated by the CIA through an agent working undercover as one of the magazine's publishers, who furnished information on the country's left-leaning intellectuals. (Document 7)

Citing the agency's mission directive for Mexico, a recently declassified project outline from 1965 acknowledges that in collecting intelligence, the CIA " has neglected the equally important extreme rightwing when, in the final analysis, any threat to Mexican political stability by fomenting unrest and incidents does, and will continue to, emanate from the right-wing as well as the left-wing." This project proposed intelligence gathering of right-wing and conservative elements in Mexico's business community through a contract agent who was then serving as the executive director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Mexico City.

The significance of the declassification of these documents cannot be overstated. The JFK records law was a vital resource for scholars, historians, and the general public to gain access to extraordinarily sensitive government documents. Without the mandate, many of these records would have stayed secret for decades more. However, over 60 years after the assassination of JFK, some of the files remain hidden from the public. One such record is the elusive CIA Mexico Station history, which has long been considered a key document for historians and JFK conspiracy theorists alike, and is still riddled with redacted sections and missing pages.

From the "Dirty War" to Pegasus

While the JFK assassination records relate directly to U.S. covert activities in the country, they also unwittingly reveal actions undertaken by the Mexican government within the context of the country's "dirty war." A national truth commission recently investigated this repressive period (1965-1990) and documented widespread violations committed against civilians by the state. In evaluating why the Mexican government chose to collaborate so closely with the CIA, one significant motivation would have been the opportunity to gain U.S. technology and expertise in order to develop their own surveillance networks.

An enduring legacy of the CIA was its role in nurturing the intelligence capabilities of other countries. The inevitable outcome was that those systems would then be directed inward. The JFK assassination records allow us to see the ways in which Mexico welcomed the CIA into the country and actively sought to participate in espionage operations. This collaboration proved vital and continues to bear fruit today. Mexico was the first country in the world to purchase the infamous Israeli spyware known as Pegasus in the mid 2000s and has deployed it countless times, with targets including journalists, human rights defenders, and environmental activists. Mexico's northern border with the United States has long been a breeding ground for surveillance technology, with endless streams of data produced on migrant crossings and arms and narcotics trafficking. As one of the world's leading surveillance states, looking back at the formation of Mexico's modern intelligence apparatus is more relevant than ever.

The Documents

doc 1

Document 1

Central Intelligence Agency memorandum, Chief, Western Hemisphere Division to Deputy Director (Plans), "Related Mission Directive for Mexico," Classification unknown, June 3, 1965

Jun 3, 1965

Source

National Archives, JFK Assassination Records, 2025 release, Doc ID: 104-10408-10027

doc 2

Document 2

CIA Inspector General, [Extracts of Inspector General's Survey of Mexico City Station], Secret, 1964

Jan 1, 1964

Source

National Archives, JFK Assassination Records, 2025 release, Doc ID: 104-10301-10010

doc 3

Document 3

Central Intelligence Agency memorandum, Chief, Western Hemisphere Division to Chief, Foreign Intelligence, "TDY to Mexico City," Secret, October 2, 1963

Oct 2, 1963

Source

National Archives, JFK Assassination Records, 2025 release, Doc ID: 104-10187-10030 (pp. 15-16)

doc 4

Document 4

CIA Chief of Station Mexico City, "Monthly Operational Report for Project LIENVOY," Secret, October 8, 1963

Oct 8, 1963

Source

National Archives, JFK Assassination Records, 2025 release, Doc ID: 104-10187-10030 (pages 6-13)

doc 5

Document 5

CIA Chief of Station Mexico City, "LIFEAT Progress Report for August 1962," Secret, September 20, 1962

Sep 20, 1962

Source

National Archives, JFK Assassination Records, 2025 release, Doc ID: 104-10188-10003 (pp. 20-22)

doc 6

Document 6

CIA Chief of Station Mexico City, "OPERATIONAL/LIANCHOR Progress Report for December 1967 - May 1968," Secret, June 3, 1968

Jun 3, 1968

Source

National Archives, JFK Assassination Records, 2025 release, Doc ID: 104-10071-10324

doc 7

Document 7

Central Intelligence Agency memorandum, Chief, Western Hemisphere Division to Central Cover Staff, Non-Official Cover, "Cover for Edward G. Tichborn," Secret, 1966

Jan 1, 1966

Source

National Archives, JFK Assassination Records, 2025 release, Doc ID: 104-10218-10009 (pp. 86-92)

doc 8

Document 8

CIA Chief of Station Mexico City, "Project Outline" [LIHUFF/1], Secret, circa 1963

Jan 1, 1963

Source

National Archives, JFK Assassination Records, 2025 release, Doc ID: 104-10218-10035

doc 9

Document 9

House Select Committee on Assassinations, "Mexico City Station History, 200 Selected Pages" [Extracts from CIA Mexico City Station History, ca. 1970], includes HSCA cover memoranda, reviewed by HSCA on August 23, 1978

Aug 23, 1978

Source

National Archives, JFK Assassination Records, 2025 release, Doc ID: 104-10414-10124

doc 10

Document 10

CIA Station Mexico City, "JFK Assassination Issues," Secret, December 2, 1994

Dec 2, 1994

Source

National Archives, JFK Assassination Records, 2025 release, Doc ID: 104-10326-10087

Mexico project

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