Spy Ana Montes (65) has been released from American prison after more than 20 years. She is one of the most famous spies from the Cold War and, according to the judge, put America in great danger.
And she had to pay for that. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison but was released yesterday after more than 20 years.
Pages memorized
Montes worked for years as a US security agent during the day, but in reality, she spied for Cuba at work for 17 years. She did this not by stealing documents, but by typing out page after page of state secrets she had memorized during the day.
All those pages were then sent on secure drives to Cuban intelligence. What drove her? She simply did not agree with US policy towards Cuba. She called that cruel and unjust and therefore wanted to help Cuba.
Through her years of espionage, she revealed, among other things, the identities of four secret American intelligence officers who were spying in Cuba and she was able to share countless secret documents.
One of the most harmful spies
Contes was thus called in 2012 by Michelle Van Cleave, the head of US counterintelligence under President George W. Bush, one of the most harmful spies the United States had ever arrested. “The Cubans, because of her, were well informed about everything we knew about them, and could therefore use it to their advantage.”
But in 2001 that came to an end. US intelligence agencies got a tip about Montes, the FBI investigated everything about her, and finally, they were able to apprehend her just 10 days after the attacks on the World Trade Center. During her arrest, she would have reacted coolly.
So she was sentenced to 25 years in prison by the judge, but the imprisonment came to an end yesterday. Montes will remain under stricter supervision for the next five years, for example, her internet behavior will be tracked and she will not be allowed to have contact with foreign agents.