Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligence

(Martin Jones) #1
Agency (CIA) overthrew Iranian prime minister Mohammad
Mossadegh in 1953 and President Jacobo Arbenz Guzman of
Guatemala in 1954. The CIAalso launched a series of daring covert
operations in the 1950s, such as Operation Goldand Operation
Genetrix, which embroiled the United States in international contro-
versy. President Eisenhower gave permission for the development
and deployment of the U-2spy plane, one of which was shot down
over the Soviet Union on 1 May 1960, effectively canceling a
planned summit with Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev. In addi-
tion, President Eisenhower authorized covert operations against Fi-
del Castroof Cuba, who came to power in 1959. Finally, President
Eisenhower approved expedited plans for the space race by estab-
lishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
and gave the green light for the development and deployment of
America’s first spy satellite, CORONA.

ELECTRONIC INTELLIGENCE (ELINT). SeeSIGNALS INTEL-
LIGENCE.

EL PASO INTELLIGENCE CENTER (EPIC).The El Paso Intelli-
gence Center, so named for its location in El Paso, Texas, is a clear-
inghouse for tactical intelligence and the collection, analysis, and dis-
semination of information related to worldwide drug movement and
alien smuggling. In 1973, with increasing drug activity along the
Southwest border, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
found that the DEA, the Customs Service, the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation (FBI), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
collected intelligence information, but that there was no central coor-
dination of this information. The DEAand Immigration and Natural-
ization Service (INS) were also collecting information on the smug-
gling of aliens and guns. In 1974, the Department of Justice
recommended establishing a regional intelligence center to collect
and disseminate information relating to drug, illegal alien, and
weapons smuggling and to support field enforcement agencies
throughout the country. As a result, the El Paso Intelligence Center
was established in 1974 to provide tactical intelligenceto federal,
state, and local law enforcement agencies on a national scale. Staffed
by representatives of the DEAand Department of Homeland Secu-

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