Spy known as “Queen of Cuba” is freed from US custody

Ana Montes has served more than 20 years in prison for espionage on behalf of Havana.

The person known as “one of the most destructive spies” in US history, Ana Montes, has been freed from a federal prison in Texas. According to information on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, the Cuban double spy was released on Friday after spending more than 20 years in custody.

After beginning his career with the US Department of Justice, Montes, now 65, established a successful career with the US government in 1985 by joining the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). She eventually became the top intelligence analyst for Cuba, which earned her the nickname “Queen of Cuba.” She kept this job until she was arrested in 2001, just days after the 9/11 attacks.

It was discovered that Montes had been working for Cuba’s intelligence throughout her entire career in government, having been enlisted while a student at Johns Hopkins University. According to officials at the time, the Cuban Intelligence Service (CIS) is said to have encouraged her to initially pursue a career with the DIA.

Montes is thought to have been a double agent for about two decades, transferring extremely sensitive information to the CIS. Federal charging records claim that Montes was extremely cautious, memorising all secret information instead of taking it from her work computer and delivering it to her Cuban handlers on water-soluble paper that was easy to destroy.

As “one of the most devastating spies the United States has ever identified,” Montes has allegedly compromised “nearly everything” Washington knew about Cuba, according to Michelle Van Cleave, the former head of US counterintelligence during the Bush administration.

In 2002, Montes admitted to espionage charges that might have resulted in the death penalty for her, but a plea agreement reduced her sentence to 25 years in jail. Her attorneys claim that Montes’ primary driving force behind her espionage was her conviction that “the Cubans were treated unfairly by the US administration.”

Senator Marco Rubio, a hard-line Republican, said that Americans should remember the double spy “for who she really is” in response to Montes’ release, implying that she should not be freed even though she has already served her time.

“Montes betrayed our country, but not for financial gain. Amazingly, she was only motivated by hatred for America, as Rubio claimed in an op-ed he published for Americano Media. In reality, she never got remuneration for any of her deeds.

According to her sentence, Montes will have five years of monitoring following her release. She wouldn’t be allowed to work for the government or speak to “foreign agents” without a special permit, and the authorities would rigorously monitor her internet use.