WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Undetected: Ana Montes

Episode Date: November 16, 2024

This week, Megan and Alessia explore the espionage work and unceasing idealism of Cuban spy Ana Montes.

Welcome to Undetected on Radio Free Hillsdale. Go undercover with your hosts, Alessia Sandala and Megan Lee, as they uncover the stories of spies from every country and time. The most thrilling, yet the most secret of lives in history. Welcome back to Undetected. This week, Alessia and I have an exciting story for you. That's right, Megan. We are jumping to relatively recent times.

The shocking story of Anna Montez begins in the 1980s, but will come to a fascinating conclusion just last year in 2020. But for now, let's start at the beginning. Montes was born in Nuremberg, West Germany on February 28, 1957. Her father was stationed there as an army doctor. Montez's family moved around a lot. In 1979, she graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in foreign affairs. And later, in 1988, she graduated from John Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

Interestingly enough, Montez's two siblings became FBI agents and her ex-boyfriend was an intelligence officer as well. With all of these connections to the American intelligence field, it is no surprise that Montez would find herself working in the same field, but she was not like her siblings. While at John Hopkins University, Montes spoke out against U.S. foreign policy, especially regarding Latin America. We'll hit pause on this part of this story for now, though. Montez soon began her job working for the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. She rose through the ranks, eventually becoming one of the DIA's top analysts on Cuba. She even traveled to Cuba on behalf of the DIA to study the Cuban military.

Montes was well respected in the DIA and was an expert in her field. However, she hid a dark secret from all those she knew. Now, back to her education. While in graduate school and working for the U.S. Department of Justice, Montez was introduced to Cuban agents who thought she might be interested in their cause. This is when she decided to betray her country. Montes herself has said that her decision to spy for Cuba was purely motivated by what she believed was a moral sense of duty. This is crazy. She never even received any type of payment or anything from Cuba. Montes

communicated with her Cuban handlers by sending and receiving coded messages via shortwave transmissions. She also used water-soluble paper to pass messages because the notes could be destroyed quickly in case she was discovered. One of the easiest ways to be caught as a spy is when you remove classified or sensitive documents from work. To avoid this, Montes memorized the contents of documents and then pass them on to her handlers unencrypted disks. It was a genius method, and something not everyone can pull off. The DIA eventually realized that someone was leaking information but had no idea who was behind it.

According to the FBI, Montes even passed a polygraph where she was questioned about the leaks. Then in 1996, one of Montez's colleagues found her actions suspicious and reported her. Montez was questioned but revealed nothing to the agent. Not until the year 2000 did the interview prove to be useful, when the FBI began looking for a Cuban mole in Washington, D.C. In the year she was a spy, Montes was able to deliver a significant blow to U.S. intelligence operations.

She revealed a satellite system that the U.S. used for spying on other countries. Over 400 U.S. intelligence agents who worked on Latin American policy, four undercover operatives in Cuba, and a secret U.S. Army camp in El Salvador. So how was Montes finally caught after all those years of leaking such classified information? Well, Montez was surveilled by agents and they secretly searched her apartment and computer. This was how the FBI was able to build a case against her. However, the FBI held off on arresting her. That's right.

The FBI was hoping to wait until she met with her Cuban handler so that they could hopefully uncover more undercover Cuban agents within the United States. But time dragged on and Montez still had not met with her contact. As they waited, the country fell into turmoil when terrorists attacked on September 11, 2001. After the attacks, the FBI wasted no time arresting Montes for espionage. In one interview, Peter Lap, a former FBI agent who helped interrogate Montes, said Montes was so ideologically committed to Cuba that she said, if the Cubans asked me to provide them with intelligence about what we were doing in Afghanistan, I absolutely would have done that. And if men and women were killed as a result of my intelligence in Afghanistan, that's the risk they took.

According to a CBS article, the information Cuba acquired from its spies was often passed on to, other enemies of the U.S., such as China, Russia, and Iran. In 2002, Montes pled guilty to espionage in exchange for a reduced sentence and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Montes had to give the FBI information, but the FBI has stated that it has no doubt that other Cuban spies are still infiltrating the U.S. government. In January last year, Montes was released from prison after 20 years and now lives in Puerto Rico. She will be monitored by the U.S. government and is not allowed to work for the U.S. government,

leave the country or contact any foreign agents. It's incredible how Montes could betray her country and cause the death of some of her countrymen, but still show no remorse for her betrayal. And the fact that she was a spy for so many years without anyone having the slightest idea, and her own siblings even worked for the FBI. I'm Megan. And I'm Alessia. We hope you enjoyed this episode of Undetected.

Tune in next week for the story of the dyslexic spy who sold America's Secrets for Cash, Brian Regan on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.