Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: Ana Montes – one of the best-known Cold War spies caught by the US – has been released from prison after spending more than 20 years behind bars.
The 65-year-old, a former analyst for the US Defense Intelligence Agency, spent nearly two decades operating as a double agent and spying for Cuba before she was arrested in 2001.
Officials said she had almost entirely revealed US intelligence operations in Cuba. One official termed her one of “the most damaging spies” caught by the US.
Michelle Van Cleave, who headed counter-intelligence under President George W Bush, said to Congress in 2012 that Montes had “compromised everything – virtually everything – that we knew about Cuba and how we operated in Cuba”.
After her arrest, Montes was accused of revealing the identities of four US spies and tons of classified information. She was sentenced to prison for 25 years, with the judge accusing her of putting the “nation as a whole” at risk.
However, Montes was motivated by ideology, and not personal gain, unlike other high-profile spies caught during the cold war. She agreed to work for Cuban intelligence partly because of her opposition to President Reagan’s activities in Latin America.
Montes used to hand over coded messages to Cuban handlers
For almost twenty years, she met with Cuban handlers once in a few weeks at restaurants in Washington DC and sent them coded messages containing top secret information via pager. She received orders by transmissions sent over short-wave radio.
After her release, Montes will remain under supervision for five years and will have her internet activity monitored. She will also not be permitted to work for the government or contact foreign agents without permission.
Montes joined the Defense Intelligence Agency – US military’s spy arm – in 1985, and was considered a top analyst on the Cuban military – even being rewarded for her work.
