Ex-CIA operative Plame: 'It's not inconceivable' Paul Whelan is a spy

Paul Whelan of Novi, held in a czarist-era Russian prison on spy charges, would attract the notice of any seasoned intelligence team, a former CIA covert operations officer told the Free Press. "As long as there are nation-states, there will be espionage. It is a very real threat and even more so today," said retired officer Valerie Plame, now an author who was famously outed as a CIA operative during the second Bush administration.

Whelan, 48, an executive with the auto parts manufacturer BorgWarner in Auburn Hills, was picked up by Russian authorities on Dec. 28 on suspicion of spying. His twin brother said the ex-Marine, whose military record included a larceny conviction, was in Russia for a friend's wedding. The Russians indicted Whelan on Thursday. No one knows what about the Russians' assertion is true except, perhaps, U.S. government officials, who have said little about the case and likely have access to information they have not revealed, Plame suggested. Is it possible Whalen could be a spy? "It is not inconceivable," Plame said. She noted, "There are many Americans that seek to serve their country in various ways. That's probably all I should say."

Other former CIA operatives and scholars of espionage, though, say it's most likely Whelan is being framed by Russian President Vladimir Putin for political reasons, a scenario Plame did not discount. They also agree that Whalen's story has eyebrow-raising and contradictory oddities. He had traveled regularly to Russia since about 2006 and had a Russian social media account through which he connected with members of the country's military, but lacked strong command of the language, the New York Times reported. On Friday, Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said Whelan had asked for help as an Irish citizen, and officials confirmed he is a U.S., British and Irish citizen.

"There do seem to be real question marks around this story, at least in the public domain," Plame said Thursday. "That he was discharged from the military, from the Marines, dishonorably. That he's got this big interest in Russia; he travels there a lot. Huh? He's an auto parts guy? Really? I don't know. He could be completely innocent. The Kremlin could be trying to be provocative. Or there could be something there." His brother, David, a resident of Ontario, said in a Washington Post op-ed piece that the family was surprised to learn of Paul's dishonorable discharge from the Marines and, "As for his international connections, our family spans continents, and Paul’s four passports reflect his birth (Canada), parents (Britain), grandparents (Ireland) and choice (United States)."

https://www.freep.com/story/news/2019/01/03/cia-whelan-russia-american-held-spy/2469240002/

El Chapo hears former protégé turned government witness give damaging testimony at drug kingpin's trial

El Chapo’s trafficking trial resumed Thursday with a top-ranking Sinaloa Cartel capo fresh off a guilty plea in Chicago giving intimate details of the Mexican drug lord’s life. Vicente Zambada Niebla, 43, the son of reigning Sinaloa kingpin Ismael (El Mayo) Zambada García, walked into the Brooklyn courtroom and exchanged smiles and nods with Chapo, whose real name is Joaquín Guzmán. In early November, Vicente pleaded guilty in Chicago to trafficking thousands of pounds of Colombian cocaine through Mexico to the U.S. using submarines, speedboats and private airplanes, court records show.

A top Chapo protégé before his 2009 arrest in Mexico City, Vicente took the witness stand with the hope of receiving a reduced sentence and eventual U.S. visa. He told jurors he first met Chapo when he was 15 years old and his father started doing business with the up-and-coming narco. “My dad is the Sinaloa Cartel leader,” Vicente testified. With seemingly encyclopedic knowledge, Vicente testified about the sprawling, billion-dollar enterprise run by his father and Chapo during their heyday.

“I was also connected to corruption,” he said. “I would pay police officers on behalf of my father and my compadre, El Chapo.” He claimed the cartel paid a staggering $1 million per month in bribes to Mexican officials, including a $50,000 monthly salary to a high-ranking defense chief identified as General Altimo. Vicente said a security guard for former Mexican President Vicente Fox also was on the payroll and acted as a mole for El Mayo, tipping him off to planned raids and even a scheme to recapture Chapo after his first prison break in 2001.

Chapo, 61, has pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen charges of drug trafficking, conspiracy and money laundering at the trial now underway in federal court. He listened intently Thursday as Vicente gave an insider’s account of his 2001 escape from the Puente Grande prison in Jalisco — a central component of his celebrity mystique. While many claim Chapo essentially walked out of the maximum security compound, Vicente said Chapo personally told him the legend involving a laundry cart was true. “He said that he had gone out in the laundry cart,” Vicente told the jury. He said Chapo described for him the glass enclosure checkpoints inside the prison that were manned by guards who had to press buttons for people to pass through.

Vicente said Chapo worked closely with Francisco (El Chito) Camberos Rivera, the corrupt prison guard who pushed the laundry cart to freedom. Chapo recalled how he listened closely and counted the number of door clicks to mark their progress through the checkpoints, Vicente testified. When they got to the last door, Chito let the cart roll away from him, causing Chapo to fear it might tumble over and reveal his hiding place, the kingpin allegedly told Vicente. Vicente claimed both the prison’s director and President Fox had no prior knowledge of the escape, despite reports to the contrary. He said Chapo claimed that limiting the plan to a small group was essential to its success. Vicente said Chapo was near penniless after the escape, so Mayo stepped in to help — thereby sealing their bond. The witness said his father offered to give Chapo a major cut of his cocaine shipments because it wasn’t safe for him start conducting business on his own.

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny-news-chapo-trial-resumes-vicente-zambada-testimony-20190103-story.html

Former North Korean diplomat urges missing colleague in Italy to go to South Korea, not U.S.

SEOUL (Reuters) - A former North Korean diplomat who staged a high-profile defection to the South on Saturday urged an old colleague who has gone missing in Italy to defect to Seoul, following a report that he was seeking asylum in the United States. Jo Song Gil, the 44-year-old who was until recently North Korea’s acting ambassador to Italy, disappeared with his wife after leaving the embassy without notice in early November, South Korean lawmakers said on Thursday. Jo has sought asylum in the United States and is under the protection of Italian intelligence, Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper said on Friday, citing an unidentified diplomatic source. The State Department and the U.S. embassy in Seoul did not immediately respond to a query from Reuters.

In an open letter, Thae Yong Ho, Pyongyang’s former deputy ambassador to Britain, who said he went to the same university and worked with Jo before defecting to South Korea in 2016, urged Jo to follow in his footsteps. To defect to the South is an “obligation, not a choice” for North Korean diplomats committed to unification, Thae said, calling Seoul “the outpost” for that task. “If you come to South Korea, the day when our suffering colleagues and North Korean citizens are liberated from the fetters would be moved forward,” Thae said in the letter released on his website. “If you come to Seoul, even more of our colleagues would follow suit, and the unification would be accomplished by itself.” Thae said his family visited Jo in Rome in 2008, where the latter was studying from 2006 to 2009. He guided them to sites such as St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. South Korea could not be “heaven on earth” but a place where Jo can realize his wishes, Thae said, highlighting the ardent desire for unification among many of the roughly 32,000 defectors there. “The defectors may not be as wealthy as South Koreans,” Thae added. “But isn’t it the only thing you and I, as North Korean diplomats, should do the rest of our lives - to bring about unification and hand over a unified nation to our children?”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-military/chinas-xi-calls-on-army-to-be-battle-ready-idUSKCN1OZ041?il=0

>>4605838

Agreed this doesn't pass the sniff test..