US releases top Cuba spy Ana Belén Montes after 20 years in prison
GuardianNov 01, 2022
US Official Who Spied for Cuba Released After 20 Years
Image copyright: Defense Intelligence Agenda [via The Guardian]
The Facts
Ana Belen Montes, 65, was released from federal prison on Friday after pleading guilty in 2002 to conspiring to commit espionage for the Cuban government. She admitted to revealing the identities of four US undercover agents and passing on classified information, such as US surveillance of Cuban weapons.
She's believed to have been recruited by Havana while working for the Justice Dept. (DOJ) Freedom of Information office from 1979 to 1985, after which she worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and was considered a top analyst on the Cuban military.
The Spin
Right narrative
Montes hates the US, and provided information to the communist Cuban regime that directly led to the deaths of US agents and soldiers abroad. As Pres. Joe Biden continues the Obama-era policy of easing sanctions on Cuba, anti-American groups that seek to undermine the US will be emboldened by Montes’ release.
Left narrative
As an American of Puerto Rican descent, Montes understands the harm US foreign policy has had on small Caribbean islands like Cuba, and she simply wanted to sway US policy toward being more compassionate. Montes was a prisoner of conscience, not the "deadly" spy the government made her out to be. Given the recent shift in US-Cuba relations, she deserves this early release.