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Pseudonym: Diffendal, Monroe

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Definition:
Unknown identity. Monroe B. Diffendal was either Chief of Station (COS), Guatemala, or someone who worked under the COS in December of 1954.
Category:
pseudonym
Status:
Unknown
Discussion:
Similarly, Diffendal was either COS, Mexico City, or someone who worked under the COS in September of 1974. In addition, Diffendal was either Chief, SB, or someone who worked under the chief in February of 1968. Diffendal also sent two cables from Santiago, Chile in April and May of 1969.

A possible candidate to be Monroe Diffendal was Jonathan G. Hanke. Hanke as SB/O/WH, was the Originating Officer for a dispatch from the Chief, SB, in February of 1968, under the name of Diffendal.

Jonathan Hanke was probably mentioned in a memo on Ross Crozier in February, 1954. This memo also referred to Jacob Esterline. Both Crozier and Esterline were involved in Operation PBSUCCESS in Guatemala at this time. As stated above, Diffendal was either COS, Guatemala, or someone who worked under the COS in December of 1954.

In May of 1972 Hanke, as C/WH/CA, reported on a meeting with Harold Hendrix concerning the ITT scandal in Chile. A cable in October of 1978 stated that the Washington Post believed Jonathan Hanke, along with CIA officers William Broe, Henry Hecksher, Ted Shackley, Tom Polgar, and Jacob Esterline, would testify at the perjury trial of ITT executive Robert Berrellez. Moreover, an article in the Nation magazine in February, 1979, stated that Jonathan G. Hanke was "a CIA office director in Chile." As mentioned above, Diffendal had sent two cables from Santiago in April/May, 1969.
Sources:

104-10194-10009: CIA FILE ON CROZIER ROSS.

02/26/54: Memo from J. C. King, CWH to Chief, Agent Service Section: Subject: Harold R. Noemayr: Reference: Discussion between Mr. Hanke and Mr. Kline on 26 Feb 54: "1. Contract agent Arthur G. Vaivada (Ross Crozier), a veteran of World War II, is presently under an official cover for WH during which he is attending school under his GI benefits. 2. It is requested that your office inform WH, and the Contract Division if necessary, as to the necessity of deducting his GI allowances (but not tuition payments) from his salary paid by CIA. 3. Further questions concerning this request should be directed to Mr. Esterline or Mr. Hanke (x3581)."

104-10164-10072: R & R SHEET AND PICTURE OF EDWARD BROWDER JR.

12/07/54: Air dispatch from COS, Guatemala to Chief, WHD: "1. Enclosed are pictures of subject furnished by a member of the Comite de Defensa Nacional Contra el Comunismo to Cyrus E. Burnette. The Comite contact stated that subject is regarded as a 'screw-ball and trouble maker', but no further information was volunteered, and it is not known how subject came to the Comite's attention. 2. Travel lists for the past three months have been checked, with negative results, to see if subject recently entered Guatemala. Monroe B. Diffendal."

https://archive.org/stream/pdfy-DAzR701tP2dL_DNu/inside-the-company-cia-diary-philip-agee_djvu.txt

Inside the Company, CIA Diary (1975) by Philip Agee: Page 462: ...".Washington DC 15 January 1967: Still more delay on whether and when I'll go to Mexico City under Olympic cover. For the time being, unfortunately, attention in WH Division has turned to the Montevideo station where preparations have started for the conference of OAS Presidents to be held in Punta del Este in April, to which President Johnson will be going. In WH Division a special group has been formed to assign additional personnel to Montevideo, to set up a special base in Punta del Este, and to establish special liaison procedures with the Secret Service White House Detail. John Hanke, the officer in charge of the headquarters task force, told me that the Montevideo station has asked that I go back to work with the police. Old bureaucrat Kaufman, however, doesn't want my desk empty any longer than necessary so he's going to delay my departure as long as he can. I'm not terribly cheered by the idea of working again with Otero and company but just getting back to Montevideo would be a joy compared with this headquarters work..."

104-10178-10154: FOLDER ON POSADA, LUIS CLEMENTE

09/27/67: Cable from Director to Caracas, JMWAVE (Orig: E. Tsikerdanos, WH/3/V): Page 2: ..."H. Monroe B. Diffendal (P) who currently out of country on TDY trip handled Fernandez while latter (REDACTION). When he returns will query him on Fernandez. HQs recollects one pet gripes case officer was that Fernandez passed station info to CIVISTA stating it came from his own (non-existent) agent nets." Releasing Officer: (REDACTION) William V. Broe, C/WHD. Coordinating Officer: Robert Ortman (by phone), C/WH/COG/MO. (Possibly Authenticating Officer): Lawrence H. Sternfield, C/WH/3.

104-10173-10135: LOGANOV, VALENTIN SERGEYEVICH.

02/08/68: Dispatch from Chief, SB via Chief, WH to COS, Mexico City: Subject: REDTOP Valentin Sergeyevich Loginov (201-285412): "Enclosed is a finished copy of the SPR on Subject forwarded in draft under Reference dispatch. Monroe B. Diffendal." Originating Officer: Jonathan Hanke, SB/O/WH. Coordinating Officers: (Signature), C/SB/O/WH. (Signature), C/SB/CI/K. Releasing Officer: W. J. Kaufman, C/WH/1.

104-10218-10007: LEONOV, NIKOLAY SERGEYEVICH.

04/30/69: Cable from Santiago to Lima (Info: Director) Diffendal Acting: Slugline REDTOP AEKICK: "1. Please check and retransmit name of Chilean journalist. No traces on Gillermo Ravosl S. Ravosl. 2. File: 58-8-1."

104-10218-10007: LEONOV, NIKOLAY SERGEYEVICH.

05/01/69: Cable from Santiago to Lima (Info: Director) Diffendal Acting: Slugline REDTOP AEKICK: "1. Believe subject Ref A is Guillermo Ravest Santis, political editor PCCH daily 'El Siglo.' 30 April 'El Siglo' reported Ravest in Lima covering IPC situation. 2. Index: Ravest. 3. File: 58-8-1."

104-10096-10047: MEMO OF CONVERSATION:MEETING WITH HAL HENDRIX, 11 MAY 1972

05/15/72: Memo from Jonathan G. Hanke, C/WH/CA:

104-10174-10140: ( )BLANKET-FORO POLITICO PUBLICATION.

09/10/74: Dispatch from COS, Mexico City to Chief, Western Hemisphere Division: Subject: VWBLANKET - Foro Politico Publication: "1. Attached is a copy of Foro Politico discussing the CIA in rather general terms but seeming to want to make the point that former President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz had no connection with the CIA as alleged by a former CIA official, whose comments were carried in the Mexican press in July 1974. 2. KDGLACIER-3 was asked about this just after he returned from a week in Guadalajara in connection with recent kidnappings. He said he knew the writer and that he believed Diaz Ordaz himself may have had this written since, to KDGLACIER-3's knowledge, the government did not sponsor this article. 3. The article is signed by Manuel Larenas Velasco and the return address of Apartado Postal 45-479 is in fact registered to a person of the same name at Avenida Cuauhtemoc 877-5, Mexico 12, D.F. Our files show that Manuel Larenas Velasco is a pen name used by 201-0331599. Monroe B. Diffendal."

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP91-00901R000100230064-5.pdf

10/00/78: Cable to Withheld: PASS TO DDCI FROM HETU: SUMMARY FROM PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE...7. The perjury trial opening today against ITT executive Robert Berrellez could prove embarrassing to the CIA and to the Chilean Foreign Minister. Dow Jones reported that government officials were concerned that this prosecution could disclose new details about the tangled relationships between the CIA, ITT, and certain prominent Chileans. According to the Washington Post, the following CIA officers will testify at the trial: William Broe, Jonathan Hanke, Henry Hecksher, Ted Shackley, Tom Polgar, and Jacob Esterline. (Dow Jones)..."

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP91-00561R000100070074-3.pdf

02/24/79: Article in the Nation magazine by Carl Kaplan and Randall Rothenberg: Headlined: "THE BERRELLEZ CASE: THE BLACK ART OF GRAYMAIL...Among those cited in the original Government indictment were former I.T.T. Latin American public relations director Harold Hendrix; Jonathan G. Hanke, a CIA office director in Chile, and Hernan Cubillos, who is currently the Foreign Minister of Chile..."

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