Michael Ray Aquino | intelNews.org

News you may have missed #528

July 2, 2011 by intelNews Leave a comment

Bin Laden’s courier linked to Pakistan spy agency. A mobile phone found last month during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout shows that Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, the al-Qaida leader’s closest courier, regularly communicated with commanders of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, a terrorist group linked to Pakistan’s ISI intelligence agency.
Egypt remands Israeli spy suspect in custody. Egypt has decided to remand in custody spy suspect Ilan Grapel, a US-Israeli joint citizen, despite Israel’s insistence he is innocent of espionage.
US extradites fugitive Philippine police officer who served time for espionage. This blog has covered the strange case of Michael Ray Aquino since 2009. In 2006, Aquino was imprisoned for supplying classified FBI intelligence on the Philippines to political forces opposed to the government of President Gloria Arroyo. As intelNews has already shown, Aquino’s extradition is linked to a US-Philippine deal on the continuing presence of US troops in the Southeast Asian country.

Filed under A specialized intelligence website written by experts, since 2008 Tagged with 0 Bin Laden's courier linked to Pakistan spy agency, 0 Egypt remands Israeli spy suspect in custody, 0 US extradites fugitive Philippine police officer who served time for espionage, Abu Ahmed a-Kuwaiti, Egypt, extraditions, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Ilan Grapel, ISI, Michael Ray Aquino, News, news you may have missed, Osama bin Laden, Pakistan, Philippines, United States

News you may have missed #0196

November 25, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Legal problems facing CIA are no laughing matter. They include two criminal investigations by the US Justice Department, persistent inquiries by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as legal challenges from “war on terrorism” detainees.
Aussie computer networks “most certainly” spied on. The Australian federal government’s computer network has “almost certainly” been targeted by cyber-spies from other countries, according to attorney general Robert McClelland. “In some incidents nation states [are responsible]”, he told reporters.
US still considering extraditing Philippine spy. A judge has yet to rule on whether Michael Ray Aquino, a former Philippine National Police intelligence officer who served prison time for passing classified US government documents to the Philippine opposition, will be extradited to face murder charges back home. See here for more on this strange case.

Filed under A specialized intelligence website written by experts, since 2008 Tagged with Australia, CIA, cyberespionage, extraditions, intelligence oversight, Michael Ray Aquino, News, news you may have missed, Philippines, Philippines National Police, Robert McClelland, United States, US Department of Justice, US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

Analysis: Ulterior Motives In Panetta’s Philippines Visit

July 14, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Panetta, Arroyo

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Few heads outside Southeast Asia were turned last Sunday by CIA director Leon Panetta’s brief visit to the Philippines. Panetta arrived in Manila early Sunday morning and left at 10 p.m. on the same day. But he managed to squeeze in meetings with Philippines President Gloria Arroyo, as well as her most senior cabinet executives, such as Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. Panetta’s meeting with the President was brief, reportedly lasting around 30 minutes, but its significance was enormous for Washington’s continuing military and intelligence presence in the region. To understand the level of that commitment, one must consider the rare telephone call that US President Barack Obama recently placed to his Philippine counterpart. Read article →

Filed under A specialized intelligence website written by experts, since 2008 Tagged with Abu Sayyaf Group, Alberto Romulo, Barack Obama, espionage, FBI, Gilbert Teodoro Jr., Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Ian Allen, Joseph Estrada, Leandro Aragoncillo, Leon Panetta, Michael Ray Aquino, Moro ethnic group, NPIG (Philippines), Philippines, RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement, Southeast Asia, United States, US Joint Civil Military Operation Task Force

Analysis: Strange Case of Philippine Spy in US Gets Stranger

April 3, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Aquino

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
A Philippine former intelligence officer, who was arrested in New York for passing classified US documents to his Philippine contacts, has had his sentence reduced by a US court. Michael Ray Aquino was apprehended in 2005 and charged with collaborating with an FBI intelligence analyst who spied on the US. Aquino’s recent history is complicated. For several years, he worked for the (now defunct) Philippines National Police Intelligence Group (NPIG), where he quickly rose to the post of Deputy Director, under the Presidency of Joseph Estrada. In 2001, however, when Estrada was ousted from the Presidency amidst extensive corruption allegations, Aquino was one of several military and intelligence officials who were removed by the new government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Soon afterwards, Aquino was among several suspects charged with the politically motivated murder of Salvador “Bubby” Dacer, a well-known public relations manager who had helped oust Estrada. The ousted intelligence officer escaped justice by fleeing with his family to the US, in 2001. Read article →