Winston M. Scott

Winston Mackinley Scott (30 March 1909 – 26 April 1971) was an American Central Intelligence Agency officer who served as Mexico City station chief from 1956 to 1969, having joined the Office of Strategic Services in 1943 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Background Scott was born in Jemison, Alabama, in 1909. He attended the University of Alabama and obtained a PhD in algebra from the University of Michigan, teaching mathematics for six years alongside his studies. He was approached by the Federal Bureau of Investigation after publishing an article on the use of matrices in coded communications.

Career Scott joined the FBI in March 1941. Originally assigned to the Cryptography division, he asked to become a Special Agent. He was sent to spy on the German population in Pittsburgh, and in February 1943 loaned to the US Embassy in Cuba. After returning to Washington, D.C. he was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services and assigned to London, where he became head of the Germany section of X-2 (OSS' Counter Espionage Branch). In December 1958 he launched Operation LITEMPO recruiting agents and collaborators, and gained then Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos as well as future presidents Gustavo Díaz Ordaz and Luis Echeverría.

Death and legacy Two years after leaving the CIA, in 1971, Scott was preparing a book with his memoirs and discussed them with John R. Horton (Mexico station chief, 1971-1974). The manuscript was returned to Scott's son in the 1980s, with everything after 1947 removed; some of the missing chapters were later released following his lawsuit against the CIA.

In 2008, a book based on Winston M. Scott's memoirs was finally published by Jefferson Morley, under the title: Our Man in Mexico - Winston Scott and the Hidden History of the CIA.