Trial of alleged spies in Miami gets scant coverage
By Toby Westerman. © 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
Despite the presentation of evidence documenting Cuban espionage directed
against the U.S. during the six-month Miami Wasp Network spy trial, national
reporting on the case remains slim, and major media outlets continue to ignore
the incident.
The case against the alleged spies recently went to the jury.
"Nobody believed there were spies in Miami until this case,"
stated Ninoska Perez, spokeswoman for the Cuban American National Foundation, a
leading anti-communist group in Miami. Perez stated that her group "heard
for years" that Cuban agents were operating in the United States and that "eight
or nine officials from Cuban intelligence" had defected to the U.S.
Of those agents who defected, "some went public, some remained
anonymous," Perez said in an interview with WorldNetDaily.
Cuban agents are still active in the U.S., Perez stated, quoting one of the
ex-Cuban agents as saying that the Wasp Network is just "the tip of the
iceberg."
Perez deplores the low level of attention the espionage case is receiving,
and states that most of the media support Cuba and would rather advocate trade
and tourism.
Reporting espionage activities "would be a contradiction" to
pro-Cuban policies, she said.
"The Cold War is not over," Perez stated, when "totalitarian
regimes like Castro" spy on the U.S. Perez speculated that information
acquired by Cuban intelligence could be shared with nations hostile to the U.S.
"What's to prevent Cuba from giving this information to these countries?"
she questioned.
The government of Fidel Castro has close relations with nations that the
U.S. State Department labels as "states of concern," those countries
formerly known as "rogue states."
Charges brought in the trial of the Cuban agents range from failure to
register as a foreign agent to murder. Intelligence operations carried out by
the ring extended from infiltration of military bases to attempting to smuggle
explosives into the U.S.
The Wasp Network, the name the group selected for itself, originally
comprised 14 members. After the espionage ring was broken in 1998, five of the
group cooperated with federal authorities, four fled to Cuba, and five chose to
stand trial.
The alleged leader of the Wasp Network, Gerardo Hernandez, is accused of
conspiracy to commit murder for his part in the deaths of four individuals who
were killed after a Cuban MiG fighter shot down their aircraft. Federal
prosecutors assert that Hernandez provided the information that enabled the
Cuban jets to make the interception.
The four men killed were part of a group called Brothers to the Rescue, an
organization seeking to offer assistance to those fleeing Cuba.
The defendants in the Wasp Network trial assert that they were not spying on
the U.S., but seeking information on the activities of anti-Castro Cubans in
Miami.
Miami office FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela told WND that U.S. District Judge
Joan Lenard's "gag order" remains in force until after the jury
returns its verdict, and, as a consequence of the order, FBI personnel are still
unable to comment on the case.
According to reports, one of the tactics used by the Wasp Network was to
place operatives in low-level jobs, which would provide them ample opportunity
to gain information on targeted personnel and areas. One Wasp Network member
held a position as a janitor.
Network members attempted to acquire information in a variety of ways,
including observing aircraft outside of military bases, working in clinics close
to military bases to obtain access to base personnel medical records, and
seeking to infiltrate the offices of two of the area's congressional
representatives, Ilena Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
Neither Ros-Lehtinen's nor Diaz-Balart's office was able to provide
immediate comment on the reported infiltration attempt.
In addition to information on military operations and personal data,
according to reports, the group also sought to determine the best entry points
for the importation of high explosives into Florida, especially through the
Florida Keys.
Some of the explosives were intended for use against opponents of the
communist Cuban regime in the U.S.
Perez cited statements from one former Cuban agent stating that the Wasp
Network could represent a wide system of Cuban intelligence operating in the
U.S. According to Perez's source, the Cuban government makes a practice of
sending more than one spy group against an espionage target so that whatever
information is obtained can be cross-verified.
'Wasp
Network' stung in Miami
Spying
on the spies
I.J. Toby Westerman, is a contributing reporter for WorldNetDaily who
focuses on current events in the Commonwealth of Independent States and the
Balkans.
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. | 