New JFK Files Reveal Deep CIA-Mexico Espionage Ties During the Cold War slguardian org new-jfk-files-reveal-deep-cia-mexico-espionage-ties-during-the-cold-war May 20 2025 Recently declassified documents from the John F Kennedy assassination files have unveiled an extensive and long-standing collaboration between the CIA and the Mexican government shedding new light on Cold War-era espionage in Latin America Published by the National Security Archive and analyzed in the latest issue of NACLA Report on the Americas the records expose a decades-long partnership that extended beyond mere intelligence sharing revealing Mexico’s active role in initiating and sustaining joint surveillance operations with the United States Among the most significant revelations is that one of the CIA’s largest surveillance programs codenamed Operation LIENVOY was not a unilateral U S initiative but was in fact proposed by Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos This program which involved wiretapping foreign embassies and monitoring dissidents was staffed by Mexican Army personnel and considered by the CIA to be an “outstanding producer of intelligence ” The documents confirm that surveillance efforts targeted the embassies of Cuba the Soviet Union 1 3 Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia as well as prominent individuals such as artist David Alfaro Siqueiros former Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas and Guatemalan President-in-exile Juan José Arévalo The scope and depth of this collaboration are laid bare in the over 80 000 pages released under the JFK Records Act While originally intended to shed light on the events surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy—including Lee Harvey Oswald’s brief but suspicious trip to Mexico City—the declassification law has also uncovered a broader intelligence history CIA records describe how the Agency and the Mexican state maintained joint espionage activities well into the 1990s long after the Cold War’s peak A particularly startling detail is the CIA’s continued surveillance of the Cuban and Russian embassies in Mexico City through at least 1994 The newly released files also show how the CIA used Mexico as a base not only to monitor foreign actors but also to influence domestic politics Under programs such as LIFEAT and LIANCHOR the CIA conducted wiretaps and managed covert influence operations targeting Mexican intellectuals students labor leaders and political opponents These programs often involved manipulating media narratives through unwitting collaborators as seen with the magazine Diálogos which was infiltrated by a CIA agent posing as a publisher The Agency’s reach extended to both the left and right wings of the political spectrum with efforts to infiltrate youth groups and even gather intelligence on conservative business circles One 1965 mission directive instructed the CIA to counter “ultra-nationalistic and anti-U S activities” and to maintain contacts within the Mexican president’s office and foreign ministry In effect Mexico became a frontline in the U S campaign to suppress communism in Latin America The documents show that both countries despite their often fraught diplomatic relationship shared a common fear of leftist uprisings and perceived subversive elements and used surveillance as a tool to preempt dissent These revelations come at a time when Mexico’s legacy of surveillance remains deeply relevant The country has continued to develop and deploy intrusive surveillance technologies most notoriously through its acquisition and widespread use of the Israelimade Pegasus spyware This tool first purchased in the mid-2000s has been used to target journalists human rights defenders and environmental activists drawing widespread international criticism The JFK documents also lend further context to Mexico’s so-called “dirty war ” a dark period between the 1960s and 1990s when the government engaged in widespread repression of political opponents A national truth commission has since documented human rights violations committed by the state during that era The CIA’s role in training and equipping Mexican intelligence services during this time helped lay the foundation for the country’s modern surveillance apparatus—a legacy that endures in both technology and practice 2 3 The declassified records not only challenge long-held assumptions about U S -Mexico relations during the Cold War but also reveal how deeply intertwined the two governments were in the business of spying—not just on adversaries but on their own people While much of the CIA’s activities in Mexico have remained secret for decades these documents offer a rare and candid glimpse into an alliance built on secrecy mutual suspicion and the shared pursuit of control through surveillance Despite the breadth of the new disclosures some key records remain withheld including a full history of the CIA’s Mexico City Station Historians and researchers continue to press for their release hoping to fully understand the extent and implications of one of the CIA’s most enduring foreign partnerships As Mexico continues to grapple with the legacy of surveillance and authoritarianism the insights from these Cold War documents are not just historical— they are a reminder of the roots of a system that persists today 3 3