ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Ames Espionage Caserevolutionaries, although these are often linked. With theelimination of support from Moscow, leftist groups suchas Colombia’s FARC rebels have turned to kidnappingAmericans, Europeans, and Japanese, and holding themfor ransom. The same was the case with Peru’s TupacAmaru, which held prisoners at the Japanese embassy inLima for several months before Peruvian forces stormedthe building in early 1997.Many of these groups make common cause with drugcartels, and some are directly involved with the drugtrade. Such was the case with Peru’s Sendero Luminoso,or “Shining Path,” which, with its Maoist ideology, neveraccepted aid from Moscow. Instead, it supported itselflargely through cocaine trafficking. Sendero was largelyneutralized with the capture of its leader, Abimael Guzman,in 1992. The early 1990s also saw the death of Colombiancocaine lord Pablo Escobar and the capture of his associateCarlos Lehder, as well as international terrorist Carlos“the Jackal” Ramirez.❚ FURTHER READING:BOOKS:Bouvier, Virginia Marie. Whose America? The War of 1898and the Battles to Define the Nation. Westport, CT:Praeger, 2001.Gilderhus, Mark T. The Second Century: U.S.-Latin AmericanRelations Since 1889. Wilmington, DE: ScholarlyResources, 2000.Hillman, Richard S., John A. Peeler, and Elsa Cardozo daSilva. Democracy and Human Rights in Latin America.Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002.Musicant, Ivan. The Banana Wars: A History of UnitedStates Military Intervention in Latin America from theSpanish-American War to the Invasion of Panama. NewYork: Macmillan, 1990.Richelson, Jeffrey T. The U.S. Intelligence Community,fourth edition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999.Sicker, Martin. The Geopolitics of Security in the Americas:Hemispheric Denial from Monroe to Clinton.Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002.Szumski, Bonnie. Latin America and U.S. Foreign Policy:Opposing Viewpoints. St. Paul, MN: Greenhaven Press,1988.SEE ALSOArgentina, Intelligence and SecurityBay of PigsBrazil, Intelligence and SecurityBush Administration (1989–1993), United States NationalSecurity PolicyChile, Intelligence and SecurityColombia, Intelligence and SecurityCuba, Intelligence and SecurityCuban Missile CrisisCustoms Service, United StatesDEA (Drug Enforcement Administration)Drug Control Policy, United States Office of NationalEncyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and SecurityDrug Intelligence EstimatesEl Salvador, Intelligence and SecurityFBI (United States Federal Bureau of Investigation)Guatemala, Intelligence and SecurityInternational Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL),United States BureauKennedy Administration (1961–1963), United StatesNational Security PolicyMexico, Intelligence and SecurityNational Drug Threat AssessmentNDIC (Department of Justice National Drug IntelligenceCenter)Nicaragua, Intelligence and SecurityPanama CanalPeru, Intelligence and SecurityReagan Administration (1981–1989), United States NationalSecurity PolicySpanish-American WarAmes (Aldrich H.)Espionage Case❚ ADRIENNE WILMOTH LERNERA 31-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, Aldrich”Rick“ Hazen Ames became famous in 1994 as the highestpaid ”mole“ (double agent) in United States history. Amesmade millions of (US) dollars for information he providedto the Soviet KGB, and later Russian intelligence, while amid-level employee of the CIA. The information he sold tothe KGB included the names of Russian double agents andoperatives working for the U.S. within the Soviet intelligencecommunity, ultimately leading to their capture,imprisonment, or execution by Soviet authorities. Ameswas thus, one of the most destructive double agents tocompromise the security of the United States intelligenceservices.A decade after Ames was born in 1941, his father, acollege professor, gained employment as a CIA analyst.Ames attended college at George Washington University,majoring in history. He began working for the CIA in 1959while still a student, largely because of his father’s positionthere.Ames’s performance throughout his career at the CIAwas marked by mediocrity. He continued to be promoted,but never attained routine access to the highest level ofclassified materials. Ames made his first deal with theSoviets in April, 1985, selling CIA secrets for an initialpayment of $50,000. Later that year, Ames was sent toMexico City to recruit new agents. One of his first recruitswas a woman with whom he was having an affair, Colombiancultural attaché Maria Del Rosario Casas. Ames marriedCasas later that year. She aided Ames in his illegalactivities.31