Ten people -- including a couple of husband-wife teams -- were charged Monday with spying for Cuba's communist government, allegedly by targeting U.S. military bases in southern Florida.
The targets included the U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, authorities said. The 10 also are accused of trying to infiltrate anti-Castro groups and manipulate U.S. media and political organizations.
``In scope and in depth, this case, it is really unparalleled in recent years,'' U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Scott said Monday. ``This spy ring was cast by the Cuban government to strike at the very heart of our national security system and our very democratic process.''
The Cuban foreign ministry in Havana had no comment on the arrests.
The spy group -- led by Manuel Viramontes, a Cuban military captain -- relied heavily on computers to communicate in code among themselves, FBI agent Raul Fernandez said in an affidavit.
Disks taken from Viramontes' apartment in Miami gave investigators a detailed overview of spy operations reminiscent of Cold War days, including references to agents as comrades. Intercepted material used the acronym SEE, Spanish for Servicios Especiales Enemigos, a reference to the FBI or CIA.
The affidavit said two of the suspects set up a surveillance of the Miami-based Southern Command, MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa and the Boca Chica Naval Air Station in Key West.
The two allegedly produced detailed reports, complete with photos, on the Southern Command and were assigned to report any ``unusual exercises, maneuvers, and other activity related to combat readiness at the Naval air station.''
Another suspect, Linda Hernandez, was said to be part of a husband-wife spy team. Both she and her husband are members of the Cuban military and longtime operatives, the FBI said.
Her lawyer, Vincent Farina, said she was a housewife and ``had nothing to do with this whatsoever.''
Also among those arrested was Rene Gonzalez, who was formerly affiliated with the Miami-based Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue. The group is known for flying mercy flights over the 90 miles of open water between Florida and Cuba, searching for rafters fleeing the island nation.
Gonzalez has been linked more recently to the group Democracy Movement, which sails flotillas in the Florida Straits to protest Cuban government actions.
At an initial appearance Monday, the 10 were ordered held without bond. Five could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted; the others face up to 15 years.
The chairman of the influential Cuban American National Foundation said he was not surprised to learn of the arrests.
``It is about time,'' Alberto Hernandez said. ``The vast number of Castro's intelligence agents operating in Miami, Washington and New York has been known to everyone in our community for decades.''
© Copyright 1998 The Associated Press