Ana Montes, Who Spied For Cuba In "One Of The Most Damaging" Espionage Cases In U.S. History, Released From Prison

By Caitlin Yilek, CBS Miami

January 9, 2023

Ana Montes, a former analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. military's spy arm, walked free from a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday after more than 20 years behind bars.

Montes spied for Cuba for 17 years, revealing the identities of the United States' undercover intelligence officers and its highly sensitive collection capabilities, until her arrest in 2001. By day, she was the Defense Intelligence Agency's senior Cuba analyst. At night, she typed up pages and pages of government secrets that she had memorized, passing them to Cuban intelligence.

Michelle Van Cleave, who was head of U.S. counterintelligence under President George W. Bush, told Congress in 2012 that Montes was "one of the most damaging spies the United States has ever found."

CBS Local Digital Media personalizes the global reach of CBS-owned and operated television and radio stations with a local perspective.