The most trusted Cuba expert in the Pentagon was Cuba's most valuable spy.
For 17 years, Ana Belén Montes lived a perfect double life. By day, she was the Defense Intelligence Agency's premier analyst, the woman generals turned to for insights on Cuba and Latin America. By night, she was Agent 3-5-8, systematically feeding America's most sensitive military secrets to Havana.
She was hiding in plain sight?and nobody suspected a thing.
In The Queen of Spies, investigative author James G. Edwards II reveals the extraordinary true story of the most damaging spy in modern American history. Using exclusive access to classified files, FBI records, and insider interviews, this gripping account exposes:
The shocking details of her recruitment and training
- How Cuban intelligence identified and cultivated the perfect asset
- The sophisticated methods used to communicate with handlers
- Why traditional counterintelligence measures failed completely
The devastating scope of her betrayal
- Military operations compromised and agents exposed
- How she influenced U.S. policy to benefit Cuba for nearly two decades
- The intelligence goldmine she provided to America's Cold War adversary
The investigation that finally caught her
- Why suspicions arose just months before 9/11
- The delicate FBI operation to build a case without exposing the investigation
- Her dramatic arrest and shocking lack of remorse
This isn't just another spy story?it's a masterclass in deception that changed American intelligence forever.
Ana Montes wasn't motivated by money or coercion. She was a true believer who saw her betrayal as a righteous cause. Her case exposed critical vulnerabilities in the U.S. intelligence system and raised uncomfortable questions about loyalty, ideology, and the insider threat.
From her recruitment in 1984 to her arrest in 2001, Ana Montes proved that America's most dangerous enemies might already be inside the building.
The Queen of Spies is the definitive account of modern espionage, institutional failure, and one woman's extraordinary ability to deceive a nation while serving its greatest adversary.
The spy who fooled America for 17 years. This is her story.
