They paint a picture of a highly secretive and organized network tasked
with multiple ``active measures,'' or intelligence-gathering jobs; key
among them are infiltrating Miami's Southern Command and other federal
agencies, and discrediting Miami's Cuban exile community, especially the
Cuban American National Foundation.
The communications were contained on nearly 1,000 encrypted computer
disks confiscated during FBI searches of the defendants' South Florida
apartments. FBI agents broke the codes, ferreting out thousands of pages
of reports that they translated from Spanish to English.
Jurors saw only four short excerpts after three heavy notebooks of
printouts were introduced into evidence by prosecutors Tuesday. Further
testimony is expected. However, The Herald obtained and examined all three
volumes.
Replete with references to ``the Revolution,'' and using terms like
``comrade'' for colleague and ``our main enemy'' for the United States,
the communications mirror the prevailing terminology and philosophies of
Fidel Castro's Communist Cuba.
The reports also give a name to the spy ring: La Red Avispa, the Wasp
Network.
The five men on trial in federal court -- accused members of the Wasp
Network -- are all charged with spying for Cuba. They were arrested
Sept. 12, 1998, in the culmination of a major counterespionage
investigation.
Lead defendant Gerardo Hernandez faces the most serious
charge: conspiracy to murder, for the Feb. 24, 1996, Cuban MiG rocketing
of two Brothers to the Rescue planes over the Florida Straits that killed
four men.
Though all of the accused spies acknowledge working on orders from
Havana, they deny ever obtaining classified information or intending to
harm U.S. interests.
Rather, they say they worked from a defensive posture, trying to
identify the exiles presumably responsible for a series of bombings at
tourist sites in Cuba and to find out if the United States had plans to
invade the island nation.
Jurors will not hear the defense side of the case for at least another
month.
Among the prosecution evidence released Tuesday:
It states: ``If they ask you to fly at the last minute without being
scheduled, find an excuse and do not do it. If you cannot avoid it,
transmit over the airplane's radio the slogan for the July 13 martyrs and
Viva Cuba. If you are not able to call, say over the radio, `Long live
Brothers to the Rescue and Democracia.' That is all.''
The message was addressed to ``Brother Iselin,'' one of several
``cover'' names the government alleges belonged to Gonzalez. It was signed
by ``Miguel and Giro.''
Giro was a cover name for defendant Hernandez, prosecutors contend.
It states: ``After the death of Jorge Mas Canosa, Department M-IX
[Active Measure] has been developing the FINADO active measures operation
aimed at increasing the existing contradictions among the directors of
this organization and at discrediting it.''
Finado means deceased.
The author and date of the message were not available.
It was signed ``Lorient,'' the alleged cover name for co-defendant
Antonio Guerrero, who got a maintenance job at the base.
In directions for a clandestine meeting in New York, intelligence
bosses scripted conversations for the ``verbal sign and countersign,'' or
passwords.
One man was to say, ``Do you know the route that goes by Central Park
and the mayor's office?'' The contact was to respond: ``It would be better
to take a Yellow Cab to the park, and don't see the mayor, it would be
better to go to the movies.''
Spy trial unmasks Cuba secrets
Copyright 2000 Miami Herald