CASTRO'S NEMESIS

True Stories of a Master Spy-Catcher

By: Chris Simmons

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

As seen on TV! Internationally known espionage expert Chris Simmons has appeared on CNN, NBC, CBS, FOX, Univision, Telemundo, France TV, the CW, Lifetime, Discovery, NPR and numerous other outlets. He has also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Newsweek, El Pais (#1 paper in Spain), ESPN Magazine and countless other print media.

CASTRO’S NEMESIS: True Stories of a Master Spy-Catcher interweaves the amazing tale of the ego-driven Celia, one of Havana’s highest-ranking American agents, and La Red Avispa, the largest spy ring to ever operate in the United States.

After their first meeting with Celia, Havana’s spy handlers predicted she would become one of their best. She did not disappoint: in her first two years of service, she facilitated the deaths of 70 U.S. and allied military personnel and a like number wounded. Additionally, Cuba sold and bartered her stolen secrets to U.S. adversaries and faux friends around the world. Russia, China, Nicaragua, Panama and guerrilla groups throughout Latin America were especially grateful for Havana’s inexhaustible mole.

A textbook overachiever, Celia quickly advanced through the ranks of Latin American specialists to become the intelligence community's top analyst on Cuban affairs. As her experience deepened, she stage-managed what Washington thought it knew about the Havana regime. This allowed her to shape U.S. policy towards the island, a major strategic success for Castro. Her importance was amplified by the 1987 discovery that almost every CIA spy directed against Cuba actually worked for Castro.

In February 1996, Cuba – in a carefully choreographed attack -- shot down two U.S. aircraft in international airspace. In a bizarre blunder, Fidel underestimated the outrage triggered by the murder of the four search-and-rescue crewmen. This and other miscalculations provoked U.S. plans for retaliatory missile strikes -- a contingency almost singlehandedly blocked by Celia.

Meanwhile, the FBI was slowly unraveling La Red Avispa. The spy ring spanned 15 states, stretching from Florida to New York and west to Louisiana. Among its priority targets were military bases in Key West, Miami, Tampa and Shreveport; national and local political figures, the FBI, the Coast Guard, INS, the Postal Service, policy institutes, media outlets and Florida’s Cuban-American community.

Three-years into its investigation, the Bureau’s wave of arrests broke up Avispa. Amid the numerous missions uncovered was the spy ring’s key role in the aforementioned shoot down. Equally disturbing was the discovery that two FBI informants were Cuban spies -- one of whom had already returned to Havana. Unfortunately for Castro, the renewed focus on the shoot down drew attention to Celia and eventually led to her arrest.

This astounding real-world saga can only now be told due to author Chris Simmons’ unique expertise in Havana’s spy services and ties to the operations recounted in this story.

"excellent book" and "a page turner" that reads "like a thriller." ---Caroline Byrne, Chief Story Officer, SPYSCAPE Museum

“one of the country's foremost authorities on Cuban intelligence and counterintelligence.” ---CNN

“the most knowledgeable expert there is about the activities of Cuban intelligence in the United States.” – Internationally known author and columnist Carlos Alberto Montaner