True Believer

When Ana Montes was arrested for spying in September 2001, she had risen through the ranks to become the US intelligence community’s premier analyst of Cuban affairs. Montes had been the model employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency, smart and determined, she easily beat a routine polygraph machine. When Ana Montes was arrested for spying in September 2001, she had risen through the ranks to become the US intelligence community’s premier analyst of Cuban affairs. Montes had been the model employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency, smart and determined, she easily beat a routine polygraph machine. True Believer is an insider's account of the FBI investigation that led to the arrest of Montes. Scott W. Carmichael, the DIA senior counterintelligence investigator who persuaded the FBI to initiate the investigation, reveals the extent of harm Montes inflicted– even implicating her in the death of one of their agents. Montes was one of the last true believers of the communist era who caused exceptional damage to U.S. security. The arrest of Montes on 21 September 2001 went largely unnoticed; media coverage of 9/11, the subsequent anthrax investigation, the War on Terrorism, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan dominated the airwaves and the story of Ana B. Montes was lost in the noise of other, more sensational national events. True Believer seeks to set the record straight. About the Author Scott W. Carmichael is the senior security and counterintelligence investigator for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). His responsibilities include the protection of DIA operations from penetration attempts by foreign intelligence services. He meets those responsibilities by working in close co-operation with the FBI and the military service investigative agencies. Carmichael lives in the Washington, D.C..

Ana Montes appeared to be a model employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), advancing quickly through the ranks to become its top analyst on Cuban affairs. But for sixteen years Montes sent Castro some of America's most closely guarded secrets and at the same time influenced what the United States thought it knew about Cuba. Ana Montes appeared to be a model employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), advancing quickly through the ranks to become its top analyst on Cuban affairs. But for sixteen years Montes sent Castro some of America's most closely guarded secrets and at the same time influenced what the United States thought it knew about Cuba. She is the only member of the U.S. intelligence community ever convicted of espionage for the Cuban government, yet her arrest ten days after 9/11 went largely unnoticed. This book calls attention to the grave damage Montes inflicted on U.S. security--Carmichael even implicates her in the death of a Green Beret fighting Cuban-backed insurgents in El Salvador--and the damage she would have continued to inflict had she not been caught. This inside account of the investigation was written by the DIA counterintelligence investigator who first became suspicious of her activities and, with the FBI, worked over a period of several years to develop a solid case against Montes. Carmichael offers readers a front-row seat on that long and ultimately successful spy hunt. About the Author Scott W. Carmichael, the senior security and counterintelligence investigator for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), served as the lead case agent for the DIA on the Ana Montes espionage investigation. He has been investigating attempts by foreign intelligence services to penetrate DIA operations worldwide for nearly twenty years.