JFK Assassination System Identi cation Form Date 8 2 20 I Agency Information AGENCY RECORD NUMBER RECORD SERI ES AGENCY FILE NUMBER ROCKCOM I 78-10002-10490 ASSASSINATION FILE ASSASSINATION MATERIALS--MISC 8 ORIGINAT OR FROM TO TITLE PAGES SUBJECTS DOCUMENT TYPE CLASSIFICATION RESTRICTIONS CURRENT STATUS DATE OF LAST REVIEW OPENING CRITERIA COMMENTS Document Information CIA HARVEY WILLIAM K DCI CHRONOLOGY OF THE MATAI-IAMBRE SABOTAGE OPERATION 4 CIA ANTI-CA STRO ACTIVITIES DOD OPERATION MONGOOSE MEMORANDUM Unclassi ed Consulted Redact 09 09 1905 Attached to I78 I 0002 I 0489 NOJQ seem TAFF under the John F Kennedy Records Celleetien et at 1992 44 USC 2107 Note 53244 Date 06 13 2017 NH 53244 Page 1 L-f 31' I hunt l hifu t pursuant to your request 2 Pursuant to your request relayed through Mr Walter Elder set out below are additional comments referring to the chronology in referenced memorandum These comments are keyed to the paragraphs concerning which you raised specific questions 0 on 21 November 1962 g 8 MEMORANDUM-FOR Director of Central Intelligence 90 90 0 I I THROUGH Deputy Director SUBJECT Chronology of the Matahambre Sabotage Operation REFERENCES Memorandum to the Special Group Augmented from Brigadier General 0 Lansdale dated 14 November 1962 8 B My Memorandum to you dated 14 November 1962 -o g Action This memorandum is for your information and i m I 9 My operational diary reflects that Lansdale' was advised of our plans for re run of the Matahambre OperatiOn on this date In addition the memorandum dated 19 September 1962 to the Acting Director of Central Intelligence referred_to in paragraph 10 of referenced memorandum Specifically states that the information contained in that memorandum was passed informally to Lansdale on 18 September 1962 0303 - 10 Attached is the original of the 19 September 1962 memorandum to the Acting DCI with his notation concerning briefing the Special Group Augmented You will note that this memorandum reflects that the information therein was passed to Lansdale on 18 Septem ber 1962 and that the memorandum reflects that a c0py thereof was sent to Lansdale The Special Group Aug mented was as you will recall 'adyised of our plans I Exclqu NV54- NH 53244 Page 2 to re run this operation at its meeting on 4 October 1962 - ll Attached is a copy of General Lansdale's memorandum dated 20 September 1962 which was in re sponse to the memorandum referred to in the above paragraph My operational notes reflect that this memorandum after receipt was discussed with Lansdale and the major question was whether or not the team could not have performed an alternate mission at the time it was inside He was advised orally that in View of operational conditions it could not have Attached is a copy of the 11 October 1962 memorandum to Lansdale 16 My operational diary reflects that Lansdale ober 1962 on our plans to re-run was briefed on 17 Oct the Matahambre Operation within the ensuing few days Mr Helms who was present at this meeting also recalls this HOHJ I q 17 The advice to the Attorney General on E 18 October 1962 in the presenCe of Lansdale is re_ flected by my operational diary notes Mr Helms 8 who was also present recalls this Nam A 19 My operational diary reflects a long dis vcussion on 20 October 1962 with-Lansdale in which he was Specifically told that we were re running the_ Matahambre Operation and that the Matahambre Operation along with the Galefre Bridge Operation which we then were still considering were the only two sabotage operations which we felt we could undertake at that time in view of the changed conditions 23 24 This chronology was not fully known to Lansdale at the time nor was it fully known to Task Force until the return of the operational team to the Miami area on 24 October ruraarq GHOJ 27 The 24 October 1962 Weekly Report which contained the general comment on this operation did go to Lansdale's office and other appropriate members of the Special Group Augmented NH 53244 Page 3 28 I have carefully'questioned Mr Halpern Executive Officer TFW on this briefing and he recalls advising Lansdale orally on the morning of 26 October 1962 that the Matahambre Operation had been re run that we had not heard from the team had not been able to recover the team and must presume the team to be either lost or in hiding 29 The mention of the Matahambre Operation as best I can recall at the meeting of the Special Group Augmented came up in an aside I believe from General Taylor who asked in effect Whatever ion and was advised happened to that sabotage operat orally that it had been re run that the caching part 3 of the operation had been successful but that the Sabotage team had not been heard from the must be Unfortunately my operational diary flect only that the Matahambre 3 i presumed lost notes on this point re Operation was mentioned casually at the Special Group a Augmented meeting 3 All of the comments contained in the chronology in 0 reference memorandum are substantiated either by memoranda - operational notes or operational diary_records 4 As you are aware my memorandum to you dated 14 Novena 5 her 1962 was prepared'prior to the receipt of Lansdale's memorandum and was not designed as an answer to it Set out 5 below_for your further information are pertinent comments concerning the Specific pointS'made in Lansdale s memorandum rd With regard to paragraph 2 of Lansdale s memorandum as reflected by reference chronology the statement that Operation Mongoose had had no 'information on this operation since early October was patently false Specific reference is made to the penultimate paragraph in Lansdale s memorandum concerning a report from CIA which he used as a basis for a memorandum dated 31 October 1962 to Mr Roswell Gilpatric This refers to the tele phonic conversation on the evening of 39 October 1962 between Lansdale and Deputy Chief TFW which is referred to specifically in a _a HH 532-14 Page 51 parag randuma an versation with La reflected in my re Iconversation the operations exoep teams an ssets insi concerning a would logically at that time of Attachments cc DDCI NH 53244 Page 5 raph 2 on pages 7 a I have discusse he clearly re nd 8 of my reference memo- this matter in detail with collects that his con 0k place as nsdale on that date to During this ferenoe memorandum re was no discussion of previous a brief discussion of the COBRA and Lansdale did not according to llection ask any Specific questions de or prior operations which lead to any further discussions Matahambre Operation _ yam w WILLIAM K HARVEY Chief Task Force have the foio - This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive Suite 701 Gelman Library The George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington D C 20037 Phone 202 994-7000 Fax 202 994-7005 nsarchiv@gwu edu