MIAMI — U.S. officials on Monday accused a Florida university professor and his wife of acting as Cuban spies for more than two decades -- sending Fidel Castro's intelligence agency encrypted reports about American officials, FBI agents and anti-Castro groups and attempting to recruit young Cuban Americans as fellow agents.
In an indictment unsealed in federal court, Carlos Alvarez, 61, and Elsa Alvarez, 55, were charged with acting as agents of a foreign power without registering with the U.S. government, as required by law. If convicted, each could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined $250,000.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrea M. Simonton ordered the couple, who both work at Florida International University, held without bond. Prosecutors warned that they might try to flee to Cuba, their birthplace, if released. Neither defendant entered a plea. They were due back in court Jan. 19.
The Alvarezes were not charged with the more serious offense of espionage. FBI agents said there was no evidence that the couple had provided classified or defense-related information to Cuba.
But "whenever information is transmitted by spies to the government of Cuba, that clearly endangers the United States," U.S. Atty. R. Alexander Acosta said.
Acosta accused Carlos Alvarez of further betraying his adopted country by leading exchange programs to Cuba, where there would be an opportunity "to further manipulate and indoctrinate students."
"Sometimes individuals who are trusted by a community are not deserving of that trust," Acosta said.
According to federal prosecutors, the Alvarezes -- who were arrested Friday at their South Miami home -- used the codenames "David" and "Deborah" to communicate with Cuba's Directorate of Intelligence, the communist island nation's espionage agency.
Prosecutors said the couple sent information via shortwave radio, using an encryption system furnished by their spymasters. They also allegedly carried messages to and from Cuba in secret briefcase compartments.
In statements that prosecutors said were tantamount to a confession, Alvarez reportedly acknowledged working for the Cubans since 1977, and his wife since 1982. They began their alleged spying activities separately, before they married in 1980, Assistant U.S. Atty. Brian K. Frazier said.
Alvarez holds a PhD in clinical psychology. He is identified on the university's website as a specialist in conflict resolution and the construction of ethnic identities.
