Scott Carmichael - True Believer: Inside the Investigation and Capture of Ana Montes, Cubas Master Spy

TRUE
BELIEVER

TRUE
BELIEVER

Inside the Investigation and Capture
of Ana Montes, Cubas Master Spy

SCOTT W. CARMICHAEL

Naval Institute Press
Annapolis, Maryland

Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402

2007 by Scott W. Carmichael

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Carmichael, Scott W.

True believer : Inside the Investigation and capture of Ana Montes, Cubas master spy / by Scott Carmichael.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-61251-253-2

1. Montes, Ana. 2. SpiesCubaBiography. 3. Espionage, CubanHistory20th century. 4. Espionage, CubanHistory21st century. 5. Carmichael, Scott W. 6. United States. Defense Intelligence Agency. I. Title.

UB271.C92M65 2007
327.127291073092dc22

14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

First printing

CONTENTS

MY NAME IS SCOTT W. CARMICHAEL. I work for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Washington, D.C., and I am a mole hunter.

Mole hunters are spy catchers. More accurately, we are internal affairs specialists, like those employed by large police departments. Were employed by federal agencies on a full-time basis to identify and investigate the small number of employees who may betray the United States by providing its secrets to foreign powers.

In the professional parlance of my world, Im a counterintelligence investigator. And as you might imagine, I am not the most popular guy in townat least not within my own agency. But thats okay, because this isnt a popularity contest, after all. Its serious business. I often tell managers that if they see me coming their way, its not because Im bringing them good news.

To me, being a mole hunter is not just a jobits a mission. If, like me, you have spent time in uniform, you understand the meaning of that term. Its the mission that truly counts, not the individual, and the mission that must be accomplished, for the good of all. To accomplish my mission at DIA, I weed out a handful of bad elements in an agency that is otherwise populated by committed professionals whose job is to provide intelligence support to grunt-level warfighters in uniformliterally a life-or-death proposition. At DIA we take that responsibility very seriously. Frankly, being popular or even liked was never part of the deal when I first set foot in the agency back in 1988.

Several years ago, I informed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of a growing suspicion that one of our own DIA employees, Ana Belen Montes, was secretly an agent of the Cuban government. The evidence at first was weak, but I worked with the FBI over several years to develop the facts and finally bring her to justice. This book is the inside story of that long and ultimately successful spy hunt.

You may have read something about Ana Montes in the newspaper, or you may have heard a little about her on the evening news. But from what I can tell, those reports missed the significance of her case. You see, Ana Montes was arrested on September 21, 2001, just ten days after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Few news organizationsmuch less the American publichad much attention to spare for any other story. So its not surprising that she faded from the public eye so quickly, if she ever registered at all. At best, her case came off as just another spy story.

But I know better. And now you, too, will learn the rest of the story. For the truth of the matter is that Ana Belen Montes was an extraordinary agent, certainly not just another spy. The average spy case has far less impact on national security. Often it involves a small amount of less sensitive information, passed on during a short periodperhaps just once.

Ana Montes, by contrast, operated for sixteen years with impunity, becoming the U.S. governments top intelligence analyst on Cuba at the same time she was reporting to the Cuban government. She not only passed on U.S. secrets to Cuba but also helped influence what we thought we knew about Cuba.

Montes had no prior connection to Cuba; her parents were Puerto Rican, and her father was a U.S. Army officer. She was born on a U.S. Army base in Germany and spent her high school years in Towson, Marylanda home-grown agent if ever there was one. Her case shows once and for all, if the fact required demonstrating, that Cuba has mounted a lasting, effective intelligence effort against the United States that we should pay considerably more attention to. I am confident that Cubas efforts to penetrate the U.S. intelligence community at a high level didnt end with Ana Montes arrest.

Who cares about Cuba? Just remember that Cuba has taken an active role (sometimes, a military role) around the world for many years, whether in Latin America, Africa, or elsewhere. Like any nation, it also shares intelligence with its allies, just as its generally understood that the United States sometimes shares intelligence with Britain, Australia, and other allies. So when Cuba gets hold of our secretssecrets that affect battlefield safety and the war on terrorismCubas friends are likely to get the same information. And thats reason for concern, since Cuba has been aligned with such countries as Iran, Saddam Husseins Iraq, Syria, the Peoples Republic of China, and North Korea.

As youll see later on, at the time of her arrest, Ana Montes was within twenty-four hours of learning our detailed war plans for the postSeptember 11 invasion of Afghanistan. To say the least, I wouldnt want that kind of information entrusted to the government of Cuba and its allies, and I dont think the families of our service members then about to deploy to Afghanistan would have liked it either.

Or let me put it more simply: Theres a reason secrets are classified. Our specialty at DIA is military intelligence. Sharing those secrets with a hostile power inevitably puts members of our armed forces at risk.

I harbor no personal animosity toward Ana Montes, even though I was part of the investigation that led to her arrest. I didnt know her well enough as a person to suffer from any sense of personal betrayal by her. We were not friends, and barely even acquaintances. Having said that, I do have feelings about her crime. I abhor what she did. I feel nothing toward Montes the person, but I detest her actions. Spying for another country may sound dashing and romantic, but its not. And for a trusted government employee like Montes, its a double betrayal. Even after all these years as a mole hunter, thats my reaction to any spy we discover within the DIA staff. Their betrayal sickens me, angers me, and saddens my heart. Im glad that I played a role in catching her and putting an end to her activity. I just wish that it hadnt taken me so long to recognize her as a spy.

Some details concerning the Montes investigation are far too sensitive for public consumption. After all, members of the Cuban Intelligence Service are reading this book, too, and I am not about to reveal sensitive details of our investigation to them. I, on the other hand, am fair game.

I am fifty-five now, as I write these words. But I am just beginning to hit my stride as a counterintelligence investigator. I ride into work every morning with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. I feel, and sometimes act, like a kid of eighteen or twenty. But in terms of wisdom and experience, I am much more mature than that. In 1995, well before the Montes investigation, I received the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement for my work in counterintelligence, primarily for work in support of FBI investigations. I know what I am doing in this business, and I intend to become even better. My friends describe me as an absolute bulldog for determination and a maniac for focus on my mission. I believe they are right.