CIA Letter on KGB Officer Valeriy Kostikov and Oswald's Mexico City Visa Request

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21 MAY
US/82/71

Dear. Anthony,
° egarding your letter 6/705 of 10 May 1982, our

"records indicate~that Valeriy Viadinirovich Kostikoy

traveled to Mexico, France, Spain, the U.S. and Cuba

during the period 1959-61. In 1961, he was assigned

permanently to Mexico City as a consular officer and

served there until August 1965. He was variously

described as a translator, vice-consul, and attache.

During this tour he attempted to cultivate a U.S.

Government employee assigned to our embassy in Mexico

City. yo

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In September/October 1963, Lee Harvey Oswalad~

approached the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City in an attempt

to get a visa allowing him to return to the USSR.

Kostikov, as a consular officer, handled this visa

request. We have no information which indicates ‘any

relationship between these individuals other than for the

purpose of Oswald's making his visa request.

yt

Kostikov returned to Mexico City for a second tour of
duty in July 1968. During this tour he was again assigned
to the consular section and was a second secretary. It
appeared that he was tasked with following the activities
of the Central American communist parties,-and left-wing
groups, and he met often with members of these groups,
reportedly providing them with funds and technical
guidance. In July/August 1969, Kostikov made an unusual
TDY trip to Moscow lasting three weeks. (His family
remained in Mexico.) In July 1970 he made a four-day trip
to Havana.

Kostikov's tour in Mexico ended unexpectedly in
September 1971. Our information indicated that he was
not due to leave for another three to four months, and at
the time of his departure, there was some speculation that
the suddenness of his departure was due to the fact that ~- ot

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While in Mexico he was considered by some to be the
most effective and dangerous of intelligence officers in
Mexico. He has been described as being without morals,
education, and manners. Shortly after his arrival in
Mexico in 1968, he was arrested in front of a house of
prostitution after becoming involved in a fist fight with
some locals. It appears this incident did not affect his
position in Mexico City, despite the fact that it
received a good deal of press coverage.

We are aware only that Kostikov arrived in Beirut in
June 1978. We are unable to confirm his presence there
now.

Although our file indicates that Kostikev may have
been a member of Department 13 (Executive Action)
(Department V's predecessor), we have been unable to
confirm this. Also, to the best of our knowledge the KGB
has not engaged in such executive action since 1959.

Sincerely,

) /s/ David -
David H. Blee

Mr. Anthony C. M. DeVere oe —

FROIS ATTACHED

DDO/CI/RA/Joan Paxson (21 May 1982)

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