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US double agent Robert Hanssen, sentenced to life imprisonment for spying for the Soviet Union and Russia, is dead. The 79-year-old was found dead Monday in his cell at the maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado. authorities said. Resuscitation measures were therefore unsuccessful. The infamous spy was subsequently pronounced dead.
The FBI agent of the US federal police was arrested in February 2001 in a suburb of the US capital Washington. According to the FBI, the agency’s “most damaging spy in history” was later sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for espionage.
In 1985, Hanssen had offered himself to Soviet military intelligence under the alias “Ramon Garcia”. For years he supplied the Soviet Union and then Russia with secret information about the US and also discovered the identities of US informants. In return, he received approximately $1.4 million in diamonds and cash. Part of this money would have flowed through Switzerland.
“I’m embarrassed”
Hanssen had joined the FBI in 1976 and spent most of his time with the Federal Police Intelligence Service. For example, he had access to classified information from various US intelligence services on foreign espionage and counterintelligence. He gave the Soviet Union and later Russia thousands of secret documents about nuclear weapons, spy software and US resources in Moscow.
The US authorities have known for years that there was a mole in their ranks. But it took them a long time to track down Hanssen, who seemed to lead a simple life with his wife and six children.
In May 2002, Hanssen pleaded guilty to 15 counts of espionage as part of a deal with prosecutors. He avoided a possible death penalty. “I apologize for my behavior,” he said in court at the time. “I’m ashamed of that.” (AFP)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
