No bail for Cuban spies

Yesterday, a U.S. federal judge denied bail to a retired State Department employee and his wife, Walter Kendall Myers and Gwendolyn Myers, who were both recently arrested on charges of spying for Cuba for 3 decades.

The U.S. Magistrate judge on the case, John Facciola, said that there appeared to be unquestionable evidence against the couple and that the flight risk under the circumstances prevented him from granting bail. Cuba, of course, has a strong motive to help the spies escape from the States, not only as a thank-you to them for 30 years of loyal service, but also to instill other Cuban spies with faith in Cuba and to prevent the Myers couple from changing their allegiance and cooperating with the U.S. authorities.

Facciola said in support of his ruling: “The defendants’ hostility to the United States and their admiration for Cuba is well documented. It is hard to imagine, with so much at stake, that they would feel any compunction to fleeing prosecution in a country to which they seem to feel such little loyalty.”

Ouch. But it certainly rings true, especially given the following, which Judge Facciola wrote after hearing a summary of the evidence against the couple: “To put it bluntly, the government’s case seems at this point insuperable.”

At court, the couple sat beside each other and neither spoke nor showed any emotion. Their lawyer – Thomas Green – did try to argue that his clients should be allowed to go home, so they could be with their four kids, but the attempt to convince the judge to grant bail was brief and futile.

Of course, the U.S. has no diplomatic relations with Cuba, so if the couple were to flee to their beloved adoptive country, the U.S. would have no hope of extraditing them. Add to this the fact that the FBI found evidence that the two spies intended to make their permanent home in Cuba in the not too distant future – it seems they had plans to sail to Cuba in November and never return – and it makes perfect sense that they’ll be stuck in jail until their next court date on June 17.

Assistant US Attorney Gordon Michael Harvey said the Myerses face up to 17 years in jail – and possibly more as the federal investigation is still in progress and more charges could arise.

image courtesy of washingtonpost.com (sketch by William J. Hennessy Jr.)