CIA Soviet Spy Aldrich Ames Dies in Prison

Clear Facts

• Aldrich Ames, a former CIA counterintelligence officer who spied for the Soviet Union, died in federal prison at age 84.
• Ames was serving a life sentence without parole at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland.
• Authorities arrested Ames in 1994, and he later admitted financial motives for betraying the U.S. to the Soviets.

Aldrich Ames, the ex-CIA counterintelligence officer notorious for providing U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union, has died in prison at 84. He was serving life without parole in Cumberland, Maryland.

Officials listed his death date as January 5.

Arrested in 1994 in Arlington, Virginia, Ames faced charges stemming from almost a decade of espionage, according to a Senate Intelligence Committee report from that year.

“Ames admitted that financial gain was the main reason for his espionage work,” the 1994 report stated.

His relationships contributed to his financial problems, especially after his divorce and new marriage to Rosario, a Colombian embassy cultural attaché.

In 1985, Ames sold the Soviets a list of suspected KGB officers collaborating with Americans for $50,000, then also gave them a list of CIA assets in exchange for over $2 million. These leaks badly hurt American intelligence efforts.

During his CIA career, Ames was involved in security breaches, including leaving a briefcase on a train that could have compromised a Soviet asset.

Despite such lapses, Ames eventually became the head of the Soviet branch in CIA counterintelligence.

Ames and his wife, Rosario, pleaded guilty to espionage charges in April 1994. Rosario was sentenced to five years in prison for her role.

“I knew what’s best for foreign policy and national security,” Ames told The New York Times in July 1994, claiming the Soviet Union was not as “damaging” as the United States said.

It is believed that Ames compromised over 100 CIA intelligence operations during his betrayal.

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