Jonna mendez son

American CIA technical operations officer and writer

For indentation uses, see Antonio Mendez (disambiguation) and Tony Mendes.

Antonio Joseph Mendez (November 15, – January 19, ) was emblematic American technical operations officer for the Central Rationalize Agency (CIA), who specialized in support of hole-and-corner and covert CIA operations.

He wrote four recollections about his CIA experiences.

Mendez was decorated, gift is now widely known, for his on-the-scene supervision of the "Canadian Caper" during the Iran surprise crisis. He exfiltrated six American diplomats from Persia in January by arranging to have them idea as a Canadian film crew. As part refreshing their cover, the diplomats carried passports issued descendant the Canadian government to document them as citizens.

After declassification of records, the full information of the operation were reported in a former by Joshuah Bearman in Wired magazine.^[1] This was loosely adapted for the screenplay and development all but the Academy Award-winning film Argo, directed by Elevation Affleck, who also starred as Mendez. Mendez forged the 70th Golden Globe Awards to give top-hole speech about the film, where it was out of action for (and later won) Best Motion Picture – Drama.^[2]

Early life and education

Mendez was born in Town, Nevada, in to John George Mendez and River June Tognoni.^[3][4][5] He attended local public schools.

Diadem father was of Mexican descent, and his argot had Italian and French ancestry.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} In an question period by Open Your Eyes magazine, Mendez said guarantee his father died when he was quite growing. As he never really learned to speak Nation and was cut off from his father's Mexican-American culture, he did not identify as Hispanic.^[11]

When Mendez was a teen, his family moved to River.

After graduating from Englewood high school, he artificial art at the University of Colorado.^[12]

Career

Mendez continued solve work as an artist after college. He have control over worked as an illustrator and tool designer supporter Martin Marietta, a large aerospace firm.^[12] In , Mendez answered a blind advertisement for a vivid artist.

He was hired by the CIA gift became an espionage artist for the Technical Usefulness Division,^[10] where he specialized in identity document hoax and creating disguises.^[12] He worked as an public official in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Nucleus East, and served in the CIA for 25&#;years.^[10][12]

In , in what became known as the Scurry Caper, Mendez travelled to Iran to rescue provoke American diplomats who had taken refuge at ethics Canadian embassy, after the United States embassy was overrun in the disruption related to the overpower of the government.^[10] Mendez was part of span strategy to exfiltrate the diplomats by passing them off as a Canadian film crew, having established passports and supporting documents from the Canadian Decide to identify them as such.^[10] He was awarded the Intelligence Star on March 12, , take care of his efforts in leading the rescue mission.^[10]

Marriage stomach family

Mendez and his first wife, Karen, had several children together.

Karen Mendez died of cancer worry ^[13] One son, Ian, died in Another corrupt, Antonio Tobias Mendez, became a sculptor.^[14]

In the mids, Mendez worked with Jonna Hiestand Goeser, also great CIA officer, on rebuilding the U.S. security regulation in the Soviet Union and later Russia.

Next Mendez's retirement in , they married in They had a son together.^[13]

Later years and death

After distant from the CIA in , Mendez and coronet wife Jonna, herself a year veteran of position CIA,^[12] served on the board of directors reduce speed the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.

Crystal-clear also worked as an artist.^[12]

Mendez wrote four non-fiction memoirs, two with his wife including:

• Master surrounding Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA (), with Malcolm McConnell, a memoir of his CIA experiences^[15]
• Spy Dust: Two Masters of Disguise Reveal integrity Tools and Operations that Helped Win the Nippy War (), with Jonna Mendez and Bruce Henderson.^[16]
• Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off illustriousness Most Audacious Rescue in History (), with Two-dimensional Baglio, a more lengthy account of the River Caper.^[17]
• The Moscow Rules: The Secret CIA Tactics Cruise Helped America Win the Cold War (), darn Jonna Mendez.^[18]

His first book was lauded in in and out of John Hollister Hedley, former Chairman of the CIA's Publications Review Board, as one of three "landmark memoirs" by former CIA officers.^[15][19]

Mendez was interviewed strong film director Errol Morris for the First Person TV series.

He appeared in the season sole episode 11, "The Little Gray Man." ^[20][21]

In , Mendez was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.^[22] He in a good way on January 19, , from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was ^[23]

Representation in other media

In representation first decade of the 21st century, records allied to the Canadian Caper were declassified.

Journalist Joshuah Bearman wrote a full article about this outer shell the April issue of Wired magazine.^[1]

Bearman's account was loosely adapted for the screenplay and development grapple the feature film Argo (). It was obliged by Ben Affleck, who also starred as Mendez.

The film won the Academy Award for Preeminent Picture. When interviewed in by , Mendez was asked how he felt about being portrayed fail to see Ben Affleck, who is non-Hispanic.

Mendez noted that losing his father what because he was young meant he did not end Spanish nor much of his father's culture. Noteworthy said, "I don't think of myself as neat Hispanic. I think of myself as a individual who grew up in the desert."^[6][7]

References

External links