The Forgotten Spy: Ana Belen Montes

Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen offers a piece in The Hill on Ana Belen Montes, a Defense Intelligence Agency employee who spied for Castro's Cuba.

In the 12 months since President Obama publicly announced his normalization effort with the communist Castro regime, the White House should have learned two painful lessons. First, the Castro brothers have not and will not change their oppressive ways. Second, the regime’s role as “intelligence trafficker to the world” ensures it will continue seeking opportunities to undermine U.S. national security.

The Cuban military and intelligence service will use this rapprochement as a pretext to expand Cuba’s espionage efforts within our borders.

One year ago, as a concession to the Castro regime, Obama made the grave mistake of releasing the last three of five incarcerated Cuban spies known as the “Cuban Five.” These five Cuban intelligence agents were arrested by federal authorities in 1998 and subsequently convicted on several counts, including failing to register as a foreign agents, using false identities, and conspiracy to commit espionage. The network’s leader, Gerardo Hernandez, was also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder for his involvement in the shoot down of two U.S. search and rescue aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue, which led to the murder of three U.S. citizens and one U.S. legal permanent resident.

Cuban Military Intelligence officer Hernandez, head of the espionage ring known as the Wasp Network, was convicted in 2001. Soon thereafter, the Cubans aggressively aided the San Francisco-based National Committee to Free the Cuban Five. 

Now, the Cuban regime and their sympathizers are taking similar actions on behalf of Ana Belen Montes. Press reports suggest Washington and Havana are thinking about another spy trade, but this time for Montes, the highest-ranking American ever convicted of spying for Fidel Castro in our history.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://thehill.com/opinion/op-ed/263476-the-forgotten-spy-ana-belen-montes

You can also read my Philadelphia Inquirer review of Scott W. Carmichael's book on Montes via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/08/my-philadelphia-review-of-scott-w.html

Republican Members Of Congress Cite Castro Espionage Apparatus, National Security Risk, in Opposing Opening of Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC

 

Communist Cuba is as well known for spies as it is for cigars.

Cuba's KGB-Trained General Directorate of Intelligence (DGI) has a well-deserved reputation for "punching above its weight." The DGI was and is a very successful intelligence agency.

So Republican Cuban-American Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen (seen in the above photo) released the below:

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, was joined by her colleagues Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Albio Sires (D-NJ), and Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), in sending a letter to Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson and National Security Council Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs Ricardo Zuniga in opposing the opening of a Cuban embassy in Washington, DC. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen: 

“Contrary to popular belief and the propaganda of the Castro brothers, the Cuban espionage apparatus remains one of the most advanced in the world, and is almost exclusively focused on targeting the United States and keeping the regime in power. By allowing the Cuban regime to open an embassy in our nation’s capital, and potentially additional consular offices around the country, the administration risks allowing Cuban spies even more access to sensitive information that can be sold to the highest bidder.

“Cuba’s long history of espionage in the United States has already had severe consequences for our national security. There is no doubt that the regime will continue to jeopardize the security and economic prosperity of the United States by stealing and selling the intelligence it gleans here in order to stay in power and oppress the Cuban people. It’s time for the Obama administration to put aside its aspirations for a foreign policy legacy, end these misguided talks with the thugs in Havana, stand up for the human rights of the Cuban people, and stop putting politics before US national security.”

You can read my Philadelphia Inquirer review of Scott W. Carmichael's True Believer: Inside the Investigation and Capture of Ana Montes, Cuba's Master Spy via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/08/my-philadelphia-review-of-scott-w.html

And you can read an earlier post on Cuban spies via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/07/traitors-spies-and-castros-true.html