US CIA operations in Latvia IV Soviet Occupation
US CIA program REDSOX operations in the territory of Latvia
In the early 1950s, the US intelligence service CIA began to play an increasingly important role in intelligence operations against the USSR, initially coordinating its activities with the British MI-6. The British at that time positioned themselves as experts in activities on the territory of the USSR, having both infiltrated agents and information. They also shared general information about the USSR with the Americans. It is now clear that all this information actually turns out to be Soviet counterintelligence disinformation.
In 1949, the CIA's Soviet Russia (SR) division launched the REDSOX program with the aim of sending illegal agents into the territory of the USSR. Within the framework of REDSOX, six operations of sending illegal agents were carried out – in Latvia (projects AECOB / ZRLYNCH), Lithuania (projects AEGEAN / AECHAMP), Estonia (projects AEROOT / AEBASIN), Ukraine (project AERODYNAMIC), Belarus (project AEQUOR) and Russia (projects AESAURUS / AENOBLE). AE denoted the territory of the USSR. Accordingly, the cryptonyms of all agents sent into the territory of the USSR began with the letters AE.
The REDSOX program continued until 1954.
In fact, these were suicide missions, as there was no real chance for these agents to return. In total, at least 85 CIA agents were sent to the USSR, of which only three returned, one of whom the CIA suspected of being a double agent.
More information sources
https://www.lsm.lv/raksts/dzive--stils/vesture/kgb-slepenie-arhivi.-spiegu-speles-latvija-cia-agenti-psrs-dienesta.a261845/
Zigmārs Turčinskis is a researcher at the Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia. The material he prepared has been submitted for publication under the author's title “Soviet Counterintelligence Disinformation in the Archives of the US Central Intelligence Agency” with the subtitle “Scientific Commentary on the lsm.lv Publication “The Forest Brothers in the Secret Archives of the CIA””.
The author uses abbreviations in the original languages in his text – KGB, CIA, etc.
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On September 11, 1952, tragic events took place in Dreimani farm. USSR security forces knew that on 30th of August 1952, Alfreds Riekstins and two other men had landed in Kurzeme as part of a mission led by USA Intelligence Services, and on September 11, they were followed and surrounded in the barn of Dreimani farm. A capsule of poison took the life of Alfreds Riekstins.
Aina Pupola is the granddaughter of Alfreds Riekstins' stepmother, and in 1952, she was 18 years old. She recalls:
"When Uncle Alfreds came to my grandmother's and mother's house, he said that he has come to help liberate Latvia and that it cannot remain under Russian occupation forever. Alfreds was like a father to me, and he used to call me Buddy. We found out that the whole neighborhood was surrounded. We saw large army trucks near the Kretuli farm. It was hard to imagine that all of this had been brought for only two people. There was no shooting. Alfreds came out and collapsed by the barn. Cheka operatives carried him here, near the well, and covered him with some fabric."
My parents were taken away to Vorkuta. My mother died there, longing in vain to come back to her motherland. I was not allowed to return to Dreimani farm for three months. A Cheka lieutenant, Krumins, followed my every step. He even followed me to my school in Sabile. They were waiting and trying to capture the third man for about three months.
They completely demolished our house and even knocked over all of the beehives. Cheka took all of our and Uncle Alfreds' photos and gave an order to the local collective farm known as Kolkhoz to take all of our belongings. Several Sabile teachers helped me. This was a horrible time.
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