Cryptonym: FOXTROT
Richard Helms, A Look Over My Shoulder
...During my years at the Agency, no case was more baffling. Operation FOXTROT opened in June 1962 when an urgent, Eyes Only cable was hand-carried to my office. Yuri Ivanovich Nosenko, a middle-aged KGB operative temporarily serving as a security officer on a Soviet disarmament delegation visiting Geneva, had approached an American diplomat and asked to be introduced to a CIA representative. In the course of several clandestine meetings with an Agency officer, Nosenko volunteered to serve as an agent within the KGB. From a security viewpoint, Nosenko's alleged background and Moscow assignment - he srved in the American Department of the internal counterintelligence service of the KGB - made him an extremely attractive source. His targets were American diplomatic and consular personnel, journalists, and tourists in the USSR."
Page 227: The "Joe Survey, Espionage Cuba" began (Miami 65-2959, Bureau Source 6 was assigned symbol number CSMM 921-S). "On February 11, 1963, Miami began screening such mail emanating from Miami in connection captioned 'Foxtrot' Espionage - Cuba, Bufile 65-67951, Office of Origin Miami 65-2945....The purpose of the Joe Survey was to locate clandestine communications through the use of certain indicators and drop addresses on mail to Cuba, and to identify the communication as one being directed by an illegal agent through its contents and writing characteristics. This mail was intercepted in a room formerly occupied by the postal inspectors at the Biscayne Annex Post Office, Miami...during the period the Joe Survey was in effect, approximately (typo: 400 or 4000?) letters were opened either by the FBI Laboratory or the Miami office, relating to Cuban intelligence matters. Of this amount, there were 50 letters in 1963 and 10 letters in 1964, which were determined to have secret ink messages, either on the letter or on the envelope." The name of the Joe Survey probably came from the focus of this operation - Jose ("Joe") Carbonell, who used the alias Joe on occasion. Page 236 A FOXTROT chrono states "FOXTROT was the Bureau code name for a Cuban intelligence agent in Miami" and that HQ told NY in Dec. 1962 to provide "new names and addresses in Cuba in the event Miami instructed to institute coverage of mail from Puerto Rico to Cuba." Page 239 discusses an April 1963 mail cover put on "FOXTROT and the son of FOXTROT" (note: Mels Carbonell Marrero) which proved unproductive.
9/11/63 memo from CIA's Joseph Vidal of CAS to FBI's liaison George Davis: Vidal completed an alphabetical listing of associates of Jose Carbonell Marrero. These individuals include Luis Aguiar, Juan Amestoy Dominguez/AMCANOE-9 and whether he is a witting or unwitting source of Carbonell; Jesus Gonzalez, and Ernesto Santana Carreras. Also see 124-90090-10023, latest version: This 10/8/63 memo refers to "the Foxtrot case" re Jose Carbonell Marrero and the aforementioned 9/11/63 memo.
12/17/63 memo from SAC Miami to Director, FBI, slugline FOXTROT ESPIONAGE: While Subject was under physical surveillance on this date, he sent letters to Irma Suarez, Mary Camas, and Tina Infante with the return address "H. Diaz, 1350 NW 2nd St., Suite 218, Miami, Fla." and to Enrique Aslan, Ricardo Iruretagoyena, Adolfo Moran, Mr. and Mrs. Prudencio Duenas, Mr. and Mrs. Rolando Masferrer, Mr. and Mrs. Mariano Otero and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Vidal, return address J. Carbonell, 3614 NW-12th Ter., Miami, Fla." They asked the FBI Lab to look for microdots, and to explore the possibility that "Mary Canas might be the Candi drop" (re the Cuban operation CANDI).
12/3/64 memo from Chris Gikas: "You are requested as an Office of Origin to establish a FOXTROT facility in the name of the captioned subject (note: Garcia, Ernesto Guzman) in the Miami, Florida area. The facility is needed to support documentation in that name and the only possible, but unlikely, inquiry about the Subject would be made by the INS. In the event that such an inquiry should be made, the householder should state that the Subject REDACTED has been residing at the facility since September 1964 and that he is a writer who travels and is away on business from time to time...The above assignment is based upon a verbal assignment by Barney Hidalgo, WH/SA/CI on 3 December 1964 and also on dispatch traffic between WH/SA and JMWAVE..."
12/15/64: Memorandum Summarizing the Background and Activities of Jose Carbonell Marrero, July 1-September 30, 1964: Cites his major aliases such as Joe Carbonell, Mario Garcia, Miguel Sanchez, Pepe and H. Diaz. He resided in Miami with his wife Dolores and his son Mels Carbonell, age 19. He established another residence in NYC in May with Olga Maria Figuerora Angel, Prudencio Duenas, and Duenas' common law wife Hilda Madan. Dolores flew out to join him in August. Carbonell wrote Rolo/Chafir Homero Saker Zenni in May on "reporting on the counterrevolutionaries in Miami". Page 6: "On many occasions, I asked PACO to permit (Irma Suarez) to leave Cuba...you know what the arrival of Irma in Miami would mean to me, after sending her the letter written in lemon juice and worded very skillfully by PACO."
104-10161-10406: MEMORANDUM: SUBJECT HAD DEPARTED FROM MIAMI.
8/4/65 memo re Vladimir Rodriguez Lahera/AMMUG-1: "I-94 (note: an INS form) in name of Ernesto Jesus Guzman Garcia was returned to (Alien Affairs Staff) on 3 August 1965...Form was forwarded to Barney Hidalgo, WH Division, Room GH 5501 (X 1496) on 4 August for return to WAVE." Page 2 states that Guzman was a fake identity for Vladimir Rodriguez Lahera. Rodriguez Lahera was AMMUG-1 and became a double agent when he defected from Cuban to the CIA in April 1964. Also see 104-10225-10038, p. 3 - In December 1966, Rodriguez Lahera had a passport using the "alias" Ernesto (Garcia) Guzman.