February 20, 2020, 05:09 PM
Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes, a Mexican citizen residing in Singapore, was arrested at the Miami International Airport in the U.S.
He was arrested along with his wife.
Fuentes had traveled to Miami on Feb. 13, 2020 from Mexico City.
The next day, Fuentes, along with his wife, drove to the premises of a confidential U.S. government source.
He then tailgated another vehicle to gain entry to the condo complex.
A security guard on the premise took notice of the manner in which Fuentes had entered, and approached the couple's rental car.
Fuentes' wife then walked away from their rental car and made her way to the U.S. government informant's car and took a picture of their license plate.
When asked about their purpose of visiting the premises, Fuentes gave a name of an individual he claimed to be visiting.
There was no such person living there, and Fuentes was told to leave the premises.
Why?
According to The United States Department of Justice, Fuentes had been recruited by Russian officials in 2019.
CBS News reported that Fuentes had a second family in Moscow, Russia.
And the Russians had purportedly implied that they would help his family, if he helped them.
U.S. investigators intercepted an alleged Russian spy leading a double life that echoes a Cold War thriller.
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) February 19, 2020
On orders from Russia, Hector Cabrera Fuentes was gathering intelligence on an FBI informant in Miami, authorities say.
Here’s @jeffpeguescbs https://t.co/JmWE2pw8fh pic.twitter.com/9BjJ7aZxAe
U.S. authorities said that while Fuentes might not be a highly-trained spy, Russia might have believed he wouldn't draw too much suspicion.
The accused Russian spy arrested in Miami is a PhD and said in court today he works for the National University of Singapore. He was in the USA legally with a B1/B2 visa. Here is my full report with the preliminary information right when we got it. pic.twitter.com/5Bklx3WsVu
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) February 19, 2020
According to The Straits Times, National Heart Centre Singapore confirmed that Fuentes is a senior research fellow at the centre.
He holds a joint appointment in the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School.
Fuentes has been suspended, pending further investigation.
Top image via Getty and NHCS
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