Charge disclosed in Cuban spying against US

[Zorro]

An alleged accomplice in a major spy case involving Cuba helped recruit a friend and colleague to spy for the Cuban Intelligence Service against the U.S., the Justice Department said Thursday.

Marta Rita Velazquez, once a legal officer at the State Department's Agency for International Development, is accused of conspiracy to commit espionage by helping Ana Belen Montes get a job at the Defense Intelligence Agency, where Montes engaged in espionage. Montes is serving a 25-year prison sentence.

The charge connects Velazquez to a highly damaging spy case. During the 16 years Montes was a U.S. intelligence analyst for the DIA, she revealed the identities of four undercover agents to Cuban officials.

Velazquez has remained outside the United States since 2002. She lives in Sweden and the U.S. is unable to gain her return, prompting the government to finally unseal a 9-year-old indictment against her.

http://news.yahoo.com/charge-disclosed-cuban-spying-against-us-201847473.html

[flamingdem]

1. I thought we had an extradition treaty with Sweden

Guess it's not that easy.

[Zorro]

2. I found this article interesting for several reasons

It certainly does not support Assange's assertion that he'll be extradited to the US once he returns to Sweden.

It also calls into question the ongoing complaint that USAID is a CIA front, since Velazquez undoubtedly would have publicly exposed such activities based on her access and clearance. The fact that there has not been any credible evidence of such a relationship is an indication that such complaints are phony and ill-informed.

It also belies the notion often expressed in this forum that the Cuban government is some passive, noble entity. It has a long history of being actively engaged in covert activities, which I think is a core reason why the acknowledged Cuban presence and unacknowledged influence remains disturbing to many Venezuelan voters.

[joshcryer]

3. All of that goes without saying.

The covert nature of the Cuban government is a long and well known fact. No one disputes it. No one even questions the surveillance state in Cuba (while at the same time condemning the US's surveillance state). In fact I've seen people here support surveillance states when it comes to "defending the revolution." Which is obscene, indeed.

[Mika]

4. Yep. National security is obscene.

Cuba should invite the exile bombers in, right?