CREATIVE BATTLE

Jim Popkins is a long-time journalist and author of codename Blue Renn, the story of

Anna Montez, the Cuban spy.

Anna I believe was one of the most dangerous American spies, period, and I would argue,

the most dangerous, female spy.

And the reason you've probably never heard the name Anna Montez is because she was arrested

just 10 days after 9-Eleven.

The news of her arrest slipped completely under the radar.

Anna Belén Montez spied on the US on behalf of Cuba for 17 years.

What made her especially dangerous was that she spied for the Cubans from inside the US intelligence

community.

Before we get into the kind of intelligence that she leaked to the Cubans, it's important

to get some historical context.

This between Cuba and the US were especially tense in the 1980s, though Castro's grip

on the island resulted in hundreds of thousands of Cubans fleeing Florida.

During this time, the US labeled Cuba a sponsor of terrorism due to Castro's support

of guerrilla groups in Latin America.

Maybe it's because I was born into a Cuban family living in Miami during the 80s.

Every evening at around 6 o'clock, I watched a drama unfold on the Spanish news stations.

My grandfather, who was a political prisoner in Cuba and eventually exiled, watched as the

Castro and Reagan administration made their next move.

It was a deadly game of chess.

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