CIA officer named to Cuba-Venezuela post

by PABLO BACHELET

WASHINGTON -- Timothy Langford, a career CIA officer, has been appointed as the new Cuba and Venezuela mission manager for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence -- a position that coordinates information gathering for areas considered top priorities.

Langford, 48, spent 25 years dealing with Latin American issues at the CIA. He holds a master's degree in Latin American studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for the national intelligence office, said Langford took his new position Oct. 1 but declined to elaborate on his previous assignments within the CIA.

President Bush suggested the creation of the Cuba and Venezuela post after Fidel Castro became ill. The then-intelligence chief, John Negroponte, appointed Norman Bailey, a former Reagan administration official and Cold War expert to the post.

But Bailey was dismissed by new director Mike McConnell in February, a move that raised concerns among Miami Republican Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart that the intelligence community was downgrading the importance of Cuba and Venezuela.

Patrick Maher, a 31-year CIA veteran and national intelligence officer for the Western Hemisphere, held the Cuba-Venezuela mission manager position on an interim basis.

McConnell ''wanted to make certain he had the best person to fill this position,'' Feinstein said.

Langford's appointment brings the team of mission managers back up to six, with three country specialists -- Iran, North Korea, Cuba-Venezuela -- and three managers for counterterrorism, counter-proliferation and counterintelligence issues.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence coordinates the intelligence work of 16 U.S. government agencies.

Langford is seen as a person who combines analytical skills and operational experience.

''I think he's a good fit for this position,'' said Brian Latell, a former CIA Cuba analyst and now a researcher with the Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies at the University of Miami. ``You have to work very effectively with operative and analytical people. That's often a difficult bridge.

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