16 Facts About Tony Mendez

Antonio Joseph Mendez was an American technical operations officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, who specialized in support of clandestine and covert CIA operations.

Tony Mendez was decorated, and is widely known, for his on-the-scene management of the "Canadian Caper" during the Iran hostage crisis.

Tony Mendez exfiltrated six American diplomats from Iran in January 1980 by arranging to have them pose as a Canadian film crew.

Tony Mendez was born in Eureka, Nevada, in 1940 to John George Tony Mendez and Neva June Tognoni.

Tony Mendez's father was of Mexican descent, and his mother had Italian and French ancestry.

When Tony Mendez was a teen, his family moved to Colorado.

Tony Mendez first worked as an illustrator and tool designer for Martin Marietta, a large aerospace firm.

In 1965, Tony Mendez answered a blind advertisement for a graphic artist.

Tony Mendez was hired by the CIA and became an espionage artist for the Technical Services Division, where he specialized in identity document forgery and creating disguises.

In 1980, in what became known as the Canadian Caper, Tony Mendez travelled to Iran to rescue six American diplomats who had taken refuge at the Canadian embassy, after the United States embassy was overrun in the disruption related to the overthrow of the government.

Tony Mendez was part of a strategy to exfiltrate the diplomats by passing them off as a Canadian film crew, having received passports and supporting documents from the Canadian Government to identify them as such.

Tony Mendez was awarded the Intelligence Star on March 12,1980, for his efforts in leading the rescue mission.

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

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

Tony Mendez died on January 19,2019, from complications of Parkinson's disease.

Tony Mendez noted that losing his father when he was young meant he did not learn Spanish nor much of his father's culture.