Cuban Spy Allegedly Infiltrated Posada Carriles' Inner Circle in Miami

In April 2008, the Cuban government leveled a significant accusation against the United States. According to Cuba's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX), Washington was allowing Luis Posada Carriles to enjoy a "peaceful life" in Miami while preventing him from being tried as a terrorist.

This accusation wasn't unique. For decades, the Cuban regime portrayed Posada as a central figure in its narrative about terrorism against Cuba. His presence in the United States was frequently used to accuse Washington of harboring individuals responsible for violent actions against the island.

Eighteen years after MINREX's statement, a new revelation adds an intriguing twist to this narrative.

The Unexpected Inside Man

While Havana publicly criticized the alleged U.S. protection of Posada, Cuban intelligence reportedly managed to place one of its operatives within the inner circle of the anti-Castro militant.

The man in question was Fernando Armando Valdés Pérez.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) maintains that Valdés was a Cuban intelligence asset tasked since at least the 1990s with infiltrating exile organizations. An investigation by journalist Nora Gámez Torres for the Miami Herald has unveiled the extent of this infiltration.

Valdés was more than an acquaintance of Posada. He attended medical appointments with him, managed his medications, and even acted as his representative and caregiver. Orlando González, a close friend of Posada, referred to Valdés as a kind of "devoted son."

Their relationship was so trusting that Posada hid in Valdés' home in Guatemala for over a year. When some associates later tried to prevent Valdés from accompanying Posada to Mexico due to suspicions, Posada refused to leave without him.

Posada's Role in Cuban Narratives

Luis Posada Carriles was one of the most well-known and controversial figures of the anti-Castro exile community. A veteran of the Bay of Pigs invasion and a former CIA collaborator, he dedicated much of his life to opposing Fidel Castro’s regime.

Cuba and Venezuela held him responsible for the bombing of Cubana de Aviación Flight 455 on October 6, 1976, off the coast of Barbados, which killed 73 people. Havana also accused him of orchestrating bombings in Cuban hotels in 1997 and participating in a plot to assassinate Castro in Panama in 2000.

Posada was never convicted of terrorism in the United States.

The Barbados Conundrum

The political use of the Barbados bombing does not diminish the crime's severity or the longstanding suspicions surrounding Posada Carriles. However, not all questions about the attack have been answered.

A 2021 investigation by journalist Carlos Cabrera Pérez for CiberCuba collected testimonies, documents, and contradictory accounts that challenge the established narrative about the intellectual authorship of the attack.

Among these is the testimony of Ricardo Morales Navarrete, known as "El Mono," who testified in a Florida court in 1982 about his involvement in the conspiracy, but cleared Orlando Bosch of the bombing.

Other sources cited in the investigation also exonerated Posada and Bosch, while some theories even suggested that Cuban intelligence agents might have had prior knowledge of the operation or were involved.

Unanswered Questions About Posada

The revelations about Valdés Pérez raise different questions. If U.S. authorities are correct and he was indeed a Cuban intelligence asset, Havana had an extraordinary opportunity to monitor the movements of a man it publicly portrayed as a major threat to Cuba.

The question is not what the regime knew about Barbados in 1976, but what it knew about Posada in the years when one of its presumed assets was almost constantly by his side.

What information did Valdés share with his superiors? What did Cuban intelligence learn about Posada's contacts, movements, and activities? How far did that operation really go?

There are no public answers to these questions. Nor is there evidence that Valdés had orders to harm Posada physically. The purpose of an infiltrated agent can often be to remain close to a target to gather information about them, their contacts, and surrounding organizations.

Thus, it would be incorrect to conclude that the Cuban regime "protected" Posada Carriles just because its presumed asset stayed by his side for years.

The Paradox of a "Peaceful Life"

For years, Havana used Posada's presence in Miami as proof that the United States was protecting a man the regime blamed for terrorism. Now it seems that during part of that same period, Cuban intelligence apparently had an asset with privileged access to Posada himself.

The paradox is even more pronounced as some of Posada's associates claim they suspected Valdés long before U.S. authorities took action against him.

Orlando González told the Miami Herald that he warned the FBI around 2006 of his suspicions that Valdés might be linked to Cuban intelligence. González also reportedly confronted Valdés, telling him that he had informed federal authorities. Valdés allegedly retorted that if he were truly a Cuban spy, he could have killed both Posada and González.

This statement does not clarify his true orders or the operation's objectives. However, ICE's identification of Valdés casts those years in a new light.

The "peaceful life" of Posada, which the regime denounced from Havana, might not have been as foreign to Cuban services as their public discourse suggested. While accusing Washington of allowing one of its greatest enemies to live peacefully in Miami, Cuba's own intelligence apparently achieved something any espionage agency would consider invaluable: having a trusted man close to the target.