CIA lost four paramilitary officers in daring South China Sea operation, say sources
September 25, 2020 2 Comments
Four highly trained paramilitary officers of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) died during a secret maritime operation off the coast of the Philippines in 2008, according to a new report. Yahoo News, which revealed the alleged incident last week, cited anonymous former intelligence officers in its reporting.
The four men were allegedly paramilitary operations officers (PMOOs) working for the CIA’s Maritime Branch, one of the three branches of the Agency’s Special Operations Group (SOG). The SOG operates under the CIA’s Special Activities Center (formerly Special Activities Division), which plans and supervises paramilitary and psychological operations around the world.
According to Yahoo News, the ill-fated operation took place in the South China Sea, a contested region that forms the epicenter of an ongoing rivalry between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, among other countries. The four PMOOs had been tasked with planting a sophisticated tracking device, disguised as a rock, which was designed to intercept signals produced by Chinese vessels belonging to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.
The operation involved the use of a 40-foot vessel belonging to the CIA and registered to a front company in the Philippines. Onboard the ship were four PMOOs, according to Yahoo News: Stephen Stanek, Michael Perich, Jamie McCormick and Daniel Meeks. Stanek, the group leader, had served as an ordnance disposal diver in the US Navy before he was hired by the CIA. His co-diver, Perich, had joined the CIA after having recently graduated from the US Merchant Marine Academy. McCormick and Meeks had orders to stay onboard the vessel as supporting personnel.
Yahoo News claims the four men departed from Malaysia; they were carrying fake papers stating they had been hired by a Japanese company to transport the 40-foot ship to Japan. As they approached Luzon, the Philippines’ largest island, they decided to proceed with the mission, despite Tropical Storm Higos, which was dangerously approaching their location. The operation’s planners believed the storm would change course and would not affect the Luzon region. They were wrong, however, and the four men were lost at sea. Their bodies have never been found, according to Yahoo News.
Several months after the fatal incident, the CIA approached the families of the four late officers and invited them to Langley for a private ceremony, which was attended by the CIA’s leadership. That was the first time those family members were told that their loved ones had worked for the CIA. Yahoo News said it reached out to the family members, but they did not wish to comment on the story. The CIA also refused commenting on the report.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 25 September 2020 | Permalink
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Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko (pictured) replaced the heads of the intelligence service and other security bodies on Thursday, as he continues to face the most serious challenge to his 26-year rule. Mass protests have been held in urban centers since last month, when Lukashenko claimed victory with over 80 percent of the vote in the presidential elections, and returned to office for a record sixth term.
South Korean ex-deputy spy chief sentenced to prison for diverting secret funds
September 29, 2020 by Ian Allen Leave a comment
Lee Jong-myeong served as third deputy director of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) under the conservative administration of Lee Myung-bak. In 2013, Lee was succeeded by another conservative president, Park Geun-hye, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for corruption. As intelNews has previously reported, several senior NIS officials, including three of its former directors, have been sentenced to prison for diverting agency funds to psychological operations aimed at preventing the election of liberal politicians.
Now the probe into the NIS’ illegal political activity has expanded to include the organization’s mid-level management, including Lee Jong-myeong. On Monday, the Seoul Central District Court found Lee guilty of spending nearly $500,000 from the NIS’ clandestine operations budget to discredit two liberal former presidents, Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Dae-jung. The goal of the campaign was to convince the South Korean electorate that a future liberal president would surrender the reigns of the country to North Korea.
These revelations have sparked a major overhaul of South Korea’s intelligence system, which some observers have described as the NIS’ “most dramatic shake-up in decades”. The government reportedly intends to prevent the NIS from having any domestic role, and to limit its operations to foreign targets. But some conservative politicians have accused the current administration of left-of-center president Moon Jae-in of “defanging” the NIS.
► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 29 September 2020 | Permalink
Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with corruption, Lee Jong-myeong, National Intelligence Service (South Korea), News, South Korea