The Montes case is of particular interest to numbers monitors because this case provides solid evidence that numbers stations are actually used to pass messages to intelligence agents. The FBI, acting on a search warrant, found that Montes received instructions via numbers broadcasts on shortwave radio, what we know as the Cuban V2 stations. A laptop computer found in her apartment had transcripts of V2 transmissions, including one copied by the FBI on 7887 kHz. Montes would copy down the numbers into her laptop, and a deciphering code given to her by Cuban intelligence officers would translate the numbers into Spanish language text. To communicate back to the Cuban agents, Montes would use a pre-paid calling card on a pay phone to send numbers messages to a pager. The calling card would prevent the numbers she dialed from appearing on a phone bill.
Montes pleaded guilty to all the espionage charges on March 19th in U.S. District Court. Montes admitted to passing classified information to Cuba for the past 16 years, including the names of four American covert intelligence officers who were working in Cuba, the locations of various Cuban military installations the US had tracked down, and informed them of a "special access program related to the national defense of the United States." Montes will serve a 25-year prison term if she cooperates with the FBI during the next six months, telling them what she knows of Cuban intelligence operations inside the U.S.
Montes apparently did not receive any money for her spy work, but was instead motivated by personal motives. She believed that the policies of the U.S. government are unfair to the nation of Cuba. Her attorney, Plato Cacheris, stated that Montes "was motivated by her desire to help the Cuban people and did not receive any compensation."
It isn't clear how much damage was done by Montes' spying. The four American agents she identified to the Cuban government were reported to be "alive and safe."
Many thanks to Al Fansome for passing along this information.
In more shortwave news this month, the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) has been active with their Spring 2002 VLF injection campaign. The campaign is scheduled from March 15-March 28th, so will probably be over by the time you read this. HAARP signals have been heard on 3200 and 5800 kHz, but the scheduled 3300 kHz frequency has so far to my knowledge not been used. This may be due to possible interference to WWCR, who uses that frequency.
I personally heard a nice, strong signal from HAARP on 3200 and 5800 kHz on the 17th around 0830 UTC. The signal consisted first, on 3200, of a steady carrier with a tone. This was replaced by a CW carrier sending rapid dits. The really interesting signal was on 5800, which consisted of an AM carrier modulated by a repeating tone sequence. The tones varied in frequency, with a few "chirping bird" tones included. I have sent off a reception report to the HAARP facility and am awaiting a QSL.
While HAARP isn't really spooks related, it bears mentioning because I'm sure a few SWL's will come across the odd HAARP signal on 3200 or 5800 kHz and wonder what it is. Of course, most of us are familiar with the stupid controversy surrounding the HAARP project from the conspiracy & Art Bell crowd. There has been speculation that HAARP is being used for anything from mind control, to weather control, to an electromagnetic weapon designed to destroy electronic equipment. Using some critical thinking, one can see that this is not the case. I seriously doubt that a person's brain could pick up an HF signal, nor could you control the weather by pumping RF into the ionosphere.
For more information on HAARP, check out the official website at: http://server5550.itd.nrl.navy.mil/projects/haarp/. For QSL's, reception reports can be sent to:
HAARP Gakona Facility
PO Box 271
Gakona, AK 99586
That's all for now, see you next month.