SENIOR INS OFFICIAL ARRESTED FOR SPYING

A man who has been called the most senior Hispanic official in the INS was arrested by the FBI Thursday night on charges of spying for Cuba.  Mariano Faget, age 54, came to the US in 1960 from Cuba.  Reports say he worked for the INS for 34 years.  Faget, who was a supervisory district adjudication officer in the Miami INS office, had high-level security clearance that provided access to “classified and sensitive INS files relating to confidential law enforcement sources and Cuban defectors,” according to the FBI.

Faget is alleged to have “unauthorized contacts” with members of Cuban intelligence in Miami and possibly many other cities.  He is suspected to have provided information about Cuban defectors.  In his position at the INS, he supervised many cases, including requests for adjustment of status and applications for asylum of resident status and claims of political asylum, and had complete access to the entire files. 

Faget, who is charged with violations of the federal Espionage Act, is being held at a federal facility in Miami.  He is due to be arraigned Friday afternoon.

So far, official sources are declining comment on the issue.  The US Interests Section in Havana has not yet issued a statement.  The White House is also waiting to issue any official statement.  However, other groups have been quick to weigh in their opinions.  Jose Basulto, leader of the Miami based anti-Castro group Brothers to the Rescue, worried that because of Faget, people may have been returned to Cuba without the knowledge that Castro would retaliate against them.  Fernando Rojas, spokesperson for the Cuban American National Foundation expressed the thought that was first in the minds of many:  “What role did this gentleman play in the fate of Elian Gonzalez, or any other asylum seeker?”

In 1998, authorities uncovered one of the largest Cuban spy rings ever found in the US.  Three people have already been sentenced to terms of seven years, and others are scheduled for trial in May.  According to the FBI, there is no connection between this group and Faget.