The Spy Who Helps Tourists Come in From the Cold 

David Wallis
Monday, Oct. 23, 2000 

 

When Philip Agee joined the CIA in 1957, he saw himself as a patriot enlisting in the war against the bad guys. Then he began wondering who the bad guys were. His missions included a number of covert operations to undermine Fidel Castro's government in Cuba. Progressively dismayed by the CIA's ruthless tactics, he quit in 1968 and soon wrote a scathing tell-all book, "Inside The Company: CIA Diary." 

"I finally understood," he wrote, "that millions of people all over the world had been killed or had had their lives destroyed by the CIA and the institutions it supports." 

His former employer tried to suppress the manuscript; Agee got it published in England and Canada. In it he revealed secrets and named names, outraging the American intelligence community. Former president and ex-CIA director George Bush once vowed: "I don't care how long I live, I will never forgive Philip Agee. 

Speaking recently from his part-time home in Hamburg, Germany, Agee, 65, was repentant – but only for the role he played in the CIA's efforts "to destroy the Cuban revolution." Now he hopes to support it, capitalist-style. A committed leftist who counts Castro as a comrade, Agee just launched Cubalinda.com, a Web-based travel agency he hypes as "the first independent U.S.-owned company in Cuba." His business plan: to market package tours to the island nation 90 miles from Florida. His target market: embargo-busting American holiday-makers. 

Agee condemns the nearly 40-year U.S. embargo against Cuba as "wacko," blaming its longevity on powerful anti-Castro "fanatics" in Miami. "If it weren't for those people and their deep pockets, and their buying off of senators and representatives, there'd be no embargo. ... We would have normal relations with Cuba." 

Nino Ska, a spokeswoman for the anti-Castro Cuban-American National Foundation in Miami, said "any money spent on tourism in Cuba is used by Fidel Castro for oppression. Anyone considering travel to Cuba should know that the prisons are full, there is no freedom of expression and the Cuban people have not been able to hold elections for the past 41 years.'' 

The U.S. trade embargo prohibits Americans from spending money in Cuba unless they receive a license to travel from the U.S. Treasury Department. Licenses are granted to many types of travelers, including Cuban-Americans visiting relatives, amateur athletes competing in tournaments, and journalists on assignment. The Treasury Department presumes that unlicensed travelers have engaged in "prohibited monetary transactions," punishable by civil penalties of up to $55,000. 

Agee downplays the risks of a steep fine: "Never deny you were there. Lying to a federal [customs] officer is a criminal offense. If you admit you were there they can’t stop you from returning to your home, though they might follow up with a letter, demanding that you pay a fine. Appeal that fine, and then that’s the end of it, because the Treasury Department has no appeals process." 

A Treasury Department spokesperson refused to comment on Agee's activities. 

Cubalinda enables clients to pre-pay through a European bank for accommodations, meals, and activities such as skydiving (he expects clients to arrange their own transportation via third countries). Tours cost about $600 a person and up, but Agee claims not to be motivated by profits. 

"The purpose behind [Cubalinda.com]," he explains, "is to use the travel and tourism industry to create a fund to promote projects that bring Cubans and Americans together. ... I would like to help my fellow countrymen – Americans – understand and know the truth about Cuba; Cubans are normal people.
They are great, great admirers of American pop culture. They've all got running shoes, baggy shorts, and Tommy Hilfiger T-shirts. And," he adds, sounding like a seasoned pitchman, "Cubans are the friendliest people I've met – and I've done a lot of traveling." 

In his new role, Agee finds himself redeploying the espionage skills he picked up in the CIA. "You must know the territory, and that we are doing in a very intensive way. We get out there and get to know the people [involved with] the various activities that we are promoting, such as skydiving, or at hotels, or at scuba centers," he says, adding: "And you must know your enemy – the fanatics in Miami don’t want to see this happen." 

Agee also has plenty of enemies lurking around Washington, D.C. During the Iran hostage crisis, he offered to exchange CIA documents about Iran for the Americans held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Soon after, the State Department revoked his passport on national security grounds. 

Agee – who travels with an official German identification document normally given to war refugees – appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, but lost. 

Since his ex-colleagues have long memories, Agee acknowledges the possibility of CIA plots to sabotage his site. "I'm aware of the danger. We have taken extreme security precautions on the site," he says ominously. 

Lately old rumors have resurfaced that Agee spied on the U.S. for the Cuban government and that he had received a huge reward from Castro, following his departure from the CIA. "I wish those stories were true," snorts Agee. "The last one I saw on CNN talked about a million dollars. My God, if I had that money everything would be different." 

Despite the challenges facing Cubalinda.com, Agee remains sanguine about his company's prospects. He even dreams of showing off his adopted country to one of his most ardent detractors, the unforgiving George Bush: "I’d take him down to the Zapata Swamps, the largest wetlands in the Caribbean, and show him some birds, just to get him associated with nature," Agee says with a chuckle. 

"Then we’d have to visit the Serra Maestra Mountains in eastern Cuba to show him the headquarters of the 26th of July Movement from which Fidel ran the revolution against Batista. Finally, I’d take him to my house for the best Mojito [a Cuban rum cocktail] he'll ever find." 

Photo: Niurka Barroso 
Additional research by Daniel Storchan