On Thursday, federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia unsealed an indictment filed in 2004 accusing a former federal government lawyer, Marta Rita Velazquez, for helping Cuban intelligence recruit a woman spy.
While the spy was later caught and went to prison on a 25-year sentence, Velazquez went to Sweden and settled down there.
Velazquez apparently developed a friendship with one Ana Belen Montes while both were studying at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. in the 80’s. According to prosecutors, Velazquez took Montes to meet a Cuban intelligence officer in New York.
During her tenure as a federal lawyer, Velazquez worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development and had security clearance for top secrets.
On the other hand, Montes, who later confessed to spying, worked for 16 years at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. She was arrested in 2001 and is still in prison. Velazquez left U.S. after Montes pleaded guilty to espionage.
The indictment was unsealed as authorities believe Velazquez is well aware of the charges and there is no further purpose served in keeping the indictment sealed.
