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CIA Search for Mexico City Station Photos (1977)

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2 May 1977. SUBJECT: Review of Mexico City Station Files at the Record's Center. 1. On 2 May 1977 Chris Hopkins and Annie Goodpasture visited the Record's Center to review old Mexico City files in search of additional photographs of the "unidentified man". We were unable to locate any such photographs. It appears that earlier photographs may have been destroyed in a purge of Mexico City Station files and that the folders for the destroyed material were re-used to forward more recent photographic material to Headquarters for retention. Following are the Job numbers of boxes reviewed and pertinent notations re-use of the old folders: Job #70-236 Box 1 of 3. LILYRIC Photos: 1 February - 1 March 1968 (Filed in re-used folder, LILYRIC 1 Aug. 1966 to 31 Aug 66). 1 March - 1 April 1968, Back folder - re-used LILYRIC folder 1 Sept 66 - 31 Oct 66, Front folder - re-used LILYRIC folder 2 Dec 63 - 28 Feb 64. 1 April - 2 May 1968, Back folder - re-used LILYRIC folder 2 Mar 64 thru 29 May 64, Front folder - re-used LILYRIC folder 1 Nov thru 15 Dec 66. LICALLA Negatives: In white letter-sized envelopes - five packages C-1873 - 2031. (Continued through pages 2-6). Dispatch HMMT 11,368, dated 17 March 1972. Photos were filed in re-used subject and "P" folders (equivalent of subject 201 folders), indicating contents of "original" subject and "P" files were destroyed. Ref (to previous shipment) HMMA 40,562, 21 May 71.

Frequently Asked Questions

Dated 2 May 1977, it records Chris Hopkins and Annie Goodpasture searching the Records Center for additional photographs of an 'unidentified man' in the Mexico City station files.

They found no such photographs and concluded that earlier photographic records had likely been destroyed in a purge of Mexico City station files, with the old folders reused for later material. The destruction of the original subject and 'P' (201) files was confirmed by a March 1972 dispatch.

Public-Interest Summary

This declassified CIA document, dated May 2, 1977, details a search conducted by Chris Hopkins and Annie Goodpasture at the agency's Record's Center. The primary objective was to locate additional photographs of an "unidentified man" associated with Mexico City Station files. The searchers were unsuccessful, concluding that earlier photographic records had likely been destroyed during a file purge, with the original folders subsequently reused for later materials. The document provides an extensive, itemized list of various job and box numbers, specifically referencing LILYRIC and LICALLA files, documenting the reuse of folders between 1963 and 1970. It notes that original subject and "P" (201) files were destroyed, as confirmed by Dispatch HMMT 11,368 from March 1972. This record highlights the administrative practices regarding file maintenance and the potential loss of historical intelligence materials during routine purges.