On 8 January, Ana Belén Montes was released after serving 21 years of a 25- year prison term in a US federal prison. Montes was sentenced in 2002 for spying on behalf of the Cuban state, a charge to which she pleaded guilty. In her trial, she stated openly: ‘I obeyed my conscience rather than the law. I believe our government’s policy toward Cuba is cruel and unfair, profoundly un- neighbourly, and I felt morally obligated to help the island defend itself from our efforts to impose our values and our political system.’
A Puerto Rican citizen of the US, Montes began working with Cuban intelligence in 1984. She applied for a job at the Defence Intelligence Agency and eventually rose to be its principal analyst on El Salvador, Nicaragua and Cuba. She briefed the Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Security Council on Cuba’s military capabilities; at the same time, she memorised classified documents and typed them up to send to Cuba. These helped Cuba defend itself against US-based plots.
Montes’ principled stance in defence of sovereignty, with no expectation of reward or recognition, is an extraordinary example of solidarity.
