Aldrich Ames, a former CIA officer believed to be responsible for the largest leak of classified information in the agencyʼs history, died in the United States on January 5. He was 84 years old.
This is reported by The Washington Post.
Ames worked for the USSR for nine years, and after its collapse for Russia, passing top-secret information to Moscow about the activities of the CIA and allied intelligence services. His betrayal led to the exposure and subsequent death of at least 10 agents who collaborated with the West.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
He gave Russian intelligence the names of virtually all Soviet and Eastern European agents recruited by the CIA and its partners, as well as details of hundreds of intelligence operations. In return, Ames received more than $1 million in cash and promises of further payments and property in Russia.
Ames was arrested in February 1994. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. His wife, Rosario, who was considered an accomplice, was sentenced to more than five years in prison but was released early.
After his arrest, Ames explained his betrayal by financial problems, but at the same time admitted that over time he had lost loyalty to the United States, and began to justify working for the other side. During interrogations and public statements, he repeatedly tried to minimize the consequences of his actions, although the CIA considers the Ames case to be the largest and most dangerous betrayal in the history of the agency.
Ames spent more than 30 years in the intelligence community, often working under diplomatic cover. Even after his exposure, the CIA and FBI were unable to establish his involvement for years, despite his soaring fortune and lavish lifestyle.
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