When Spies Become Diplomats.
By Chris Simmons
AFIO Weekly Intelligence Notes #11-08 dated 17 March 2008
Since the earliest days of the Castro regime, the Cuban government has used diplomatic cover for its spies. Among them are Felix Wilson and José Imperatori, both of whom served at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C.
However, the choice of René Mujica Cantelar as Cuba's ambassador to the United Kingdom highlights a disturbing new trend. During extensive discussions during the past months, two former Cuban intelligence officers who are now in the United States identified Mujica as a deep-cover spy in Cuba's foreign-intelligence service, the Directorate of Intelligence (DI).
Mujica spent his earlier years in U.S. posts.
He served at the Cuban Interests Section in 1977-1986 and then at the Cuban Mission to the United Nations (CMUN) in 1990-93. Juan Antonio Rodriguez Menier - who served with the DI's predecessor, the Directorate General of Intelligence (DGI), for 28 years - noted that both of Mujica's U.S. postings carried the rank of first secretary. Historically, the DI uses senior diplomatic positions only for its higher-ranking officers.
Additionally, Mujica is apparently highly trusted by Raúl Castro, given that his CMUN assignment followed a devastating 1989 restructuring and downsizing of the DGI into the DI.
In the wake of the 1989 arrest and execution of Division Gen. Arnaldo Ochoa, Castro and the Ministry of the Armed Forces took control of the Interior Ministry (MININT). Army Corps Gen. Abelardo Colome Ibarra became the interior minister and conducted a massive purge. Armed forces officers loyal to Castro replaced hundreds of MININT/DGI officers who were jailed, fired or retired.
After a few years back at DI headquarters, Mujica was transferred to Europe, where he spent six years as ambassador to Brussels (1996-2002) and another three as deputy director of the Europe Division. There, he worked for better E.U.-Cuban relations and recommended the E.U. rethink its position on Cuba. Mujica sees signs of warming European-Cuban relations but fears that E.U. enlargement may slow rapprochement since some new pro-American members tend to take a hard-line position.
Since his posting to London, Mujica is focused on stronger bilateral relations with the United Kingdom. He is a strong and vocal critic of Bush administration measures intended to hasten the end of the Castro brothers' rule, including tightened restrictions on family visits and remittances from Cuban Americans - funds now critical to the regime's survival.
According to former DI officer Juan Reyes-Alonso, Mujica's diplomat postings were intended to improve his cover for intelligence missions. Now, he enjoys the best of both worlds. As a deep-cover DI officer, he does not meet with regular DI assets like traditional intelligence officers at an embassy. This has kept him ''off the radar'' of foreign counterintelligence services and their surveillance teams. As a result, he is living the dream of DI officers and diplomats - he has little direct supervision and enjoys considerable freedom of movement. [Simmons/MiamiHerald/11March2008]
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