Ana Montes: Top spy freed in US after more than 20 years

Ana Montes - among the best-known Cold War spies caught by the US - has been released from situation aft much than 20 years successful custody.

The 65-year-old spent astir 2 decades spying for Cuba portion employed arsenic an expert astatine the Defence Intelligence Agency.

After her apprehension successful 2001, officials said she had astir wholly exposed US quality operations connected the island.

One authoritative said she was among "the astir damaging spies" caught by the US.

Michelle Van Cleave, who was caput of counter-intelligence nether President George W Bush, told Congress successful 2012 that Montes had "compromised everything - virtually everything - that we knew astir Cuba and however we operated successful Cuba".

"So the Cubans were good alert of everything that we knew astir them and could usage that to their advantage. In addition, she was capable to power estimates astir Cuba successful her conversations with colleagues and she besides recovered an accidental to supply accusation that she acquired to different powers."

After her arrest, Montes was accused of supplying the identities of 4 US spies and oceans of classified material. She was handed a 25-year situation sentence, with the sentencing justice accusing her of putting the "nation arsenic a whole" astatine risk.

However, dissimilar different high-profile spies caught during the acold war, Montes was motivated by ideology, not idiosyncratic gain. She agreed to enactment for Cuban quality successful portion based connected her absorption to the Reagan Administration's activities successful Latin America.

In particular, a study from the defence department's inspector wide found, she is believed to person been angered by US enactment for the Nicaragua Contras - a right-wing rebel radical suspected of committing warfare crimes and different atrocities successful the country.

She was initially approached by a chap pupil astatine Johns Hopkins University successful 1984 aft expressing outrage astatine US actions successful Nicaragua. She was aboriginal introduced to a Cuban quality cause and astatine a meal successful New York City she "unhesitatingly agreed to enactment done the Cubans to 'help' Nicaragua", the inspector general's study said.

After travelling to Havana the pursuing twelvemonth for training, she joined the Defence Intelligence Agency, wherever she would yet go the organisation's elder expert connected the island's communist government.

For astir 2 decades she met with Cuban handlers each fewer weeks astatine Washington DC restaurants and sent coded messages containing apical concealed accusation to them via pager. She received her orders by transmissions sent implicit short-wave radio.

She was yet detained successful September 2001 aft US quality officials received a extremity that a authorities worker seemed to beryllium spying for Cuba. One of the FBI agents who arrested her said she had appeared stoic upon her arrest.

Montes volition stay nether supervision for 5 years aft her merchandise and volition person her net usage monitored. She volition besides beryllium banned from moving for the authorities oregon contacting overseas agents without permission.

But Pete Lapp, 1 of the FBI agents who arrested Montes, told CBS News that helium thought it was improbable that she would effort to re-establish interaction with Cuban agents.

"That portion of her beingness is over," Mr Lapp said. "She's done what she's done for them. I can't ideate her risking her liberty."