Confessed spy blames actions on U.S.-Cuba policy

WASHINGTON -- A senior U.S. intelligence analyst, who confessed to spying for Cuba over 16 years, defiantly rebuked American policies toward Fidel Castro as "cruel and unfair" as she was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison on espionage charges.

Ana Belen Montes, 45, refused to formally apologize for her actions, leaving prosecutors disappointed. Montes worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency as one of the Pentagon's most senior experts on Cuba's military.

"I felt morally obligated to help the island defend itself from our efforts to impose our values and our political system on it," Montes told the judge, explaining motivation behind her actions.

"We have displayed intolerance and contempt toward Cuba for most of the last four decades. We have never respected Cuba's right to make its own journey toward its own ideals of equality and justice." she said, reading from a statement.

Prosecutors, who accepted the sentence under a plea agreement, accused Montes of disclosing to Cuba secrets so sensitive they cannot be described publicly. Court records said she provided documents that revealed the identity of four undercover agents, details about U.S. surveillance of Cuban weapons, and information about a 1996 war-games exercise in the Atlantic.

"What we were all looking for is the recognition of the crime, the gravity of what she has done and the harm she has caused a lot of people," said U.S. Attorney Roscoe C. Howard Jr. "She seemed not really to appreciate that."

Montes acknowledged that her actions "may have been morally wrong," but maintained her actions were justified in light of U.S. foreign policies toward Cuba. "I did what I thought right to counter a grave injustice," she said.

Prosecutors believed Montes wasn't motivated by money, since she received only nominal amounts to cover her expenses during her 16 years as a spy. As part of her sentence, Montes, who is single and lived alone, must surrender all her government savings plus interest and any property that investigators could tie to her espionage.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina described Montes' actions as a "betrayal." But he complied with a plea agreement between Montes and prosecutors and sentenced her to 25 years in prison, in exchange for her explaining to investigators how Cuban spies operate.

Montes could be released after 20 years with time off for good behavior, according to her lawyer, Plato Cacheris.