DATE=2/18/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=MIAMI / CUBA SPY (L)
NUMBER=2-259318 (CQ)
BYLINE=MICHAEL BOWMAN
DATELINE=MIAMI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Miami, federal agents have detailed
espionage charges against a high-ranking U-S
Immigration official arrested late Thursday. The
suspect is accused of passing sensitive information to
agents of the Cuban Government. V-O-A's Michael
Bowman has details from Miami.
TEXT: At a news conference, the F-B-I said, for more
than a year, Mariano Faget (pron: fah-HET) - a chief
in the Miami office of the U-S Immigration and
Naturalization Service - maintained contacts with
Cuban operatives in the United States. F-B-I Special
Agent Paul Mallett:
/// MALLETT ACT ///
Faget is known to have placed telephone calls to
an extension of the Cuban Interests Section -
which is a representative office of the Cuban
Government - in Washington. Faget has met with
representatives of the Cuban Interests Section.
Faget has also had numerous contacts with a
Cuban-born resident alien who is the chief
executive officer of a business located in New
York city, who, in turn, is known to have had
several meetings with agents and representatives
of the Cuban Government during the past year.
/// END ACT ///
The Cuban-born, 54-year-old Mariano Faget worked for
the I-N-S for more than 30 years, rising from a low-
level clerk to assume a supervisory position in the
agency's hectic Miami field office.
The F-B-I has declined to state the events that
initially made them suspicious of the suspect. But
last week, after months of surveillance, the F-B-I and
the I-N-S launched a sting operation code named "False
Blue." Agents told Mariano Faget that they needed him
to process asylum papers for a Cuban intelligence
officer who was -- supposedly -- about to defect. F-
B-I Special Agent Mallett described what allegedly
happened next:
/// MALLET ACT ///
Faget was told that the information he was being
entrusted with was secret and very sensitive.
The meeting was both videotaped and audiotaped.
Approximately twelve minutes after that meeting,
Faget placed a telephone call from his office to
the offices of the New York businessman. Faget
identified the full name of the individual for
whom he had been asked to prepare the political
asylum document.
/// END ACT ///
The F-B-I says Mariano Faget is guilty of two crimes:
passing secret information and making false statements
to federal officials. The U-S District Attorney for
Miami, Tom Scott, says other suspects could also be
charged.
/// SCOTT ACT ///
Are we going to charge Cuban agents in
Washington? It's an ongoing investigation, but
I think you can anticipate further action and
announcements.
/// END ACT ///
For its part, the I-N-S says Mariano Faget never
handled any information related to the case of six-
year-old Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez.
Nevertheless, many Cuban exiles in Miami say they have
new reasons to be suspicious of the I-N-S and the
agency's handling of the Elian matter.
A spokeswoman for the Cuban-American National
Foundation, Ninoska Perez, says the espionage case
should serve as a warning to those who want the United
States to establish ties with Cuba.
/// PEREZ ACT ///
It shows that Fidel Castro - a dictator 90-miles
from our shores - has infiltrated the top
organizations of this country. Why should this
government (the Clinton Administration) be
playing baseball with Fidel Castro --
encouraging, as the State Department does --
companies to go to exhibits and (trade) fairs in
Cuba when the Cold War is not over for Fidel
Castro?
/// END ACT ///
In late 1998, federal agents cracked an alleged Cuban
spy ring that is believed to have infiltrated Cuban
exile organizations in South Florida. The F-B-I says
the Mariano Faget case is unrelated to the previous
counter-espionage operation. (SIGNED)
NEB/MCB/ENE/JP
18-Feb-2000 16:06 PM EDT (18-Feb-2000 2106 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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