Professor admits Cuba link

Professor admits Cuba link

Posted August 26, 2006

MIAMI -- A Florida International University professor admitted Friday
that he was a "collaborator" with Cuba's intelligence service but
insisted he had distanced himself from the communist government by the
time he confessed details of his work to the FBI in the summer of 2005.

Psychology professor Carlos Alvarez, who is charged with failing to
register with the U.S. as a Cuban agent, acknowledged communicating with
Cuban officials using a short-wave radio, using sophisticated encryption
techniques and a code name of David.

"I was collaborating, basically, sharing insights and information with
the Cuban government for some years," Alvarez testified in a federal
court hearing. "Information that I felt was pertinent."

But Alvarez said he quit providing information to Cuba by 1998, well
before he was approached by two FBI agents in June 2005 at a Miami
supermarket about his involvement. Alvarez also insisted he was never a
covert Cuban agent.

Alvarez's admission came on the third day of a hearing on a motion filed
by his lawyer contending that the FBI promised him immunity from
prosecution if he fully confessed his involvement with Cuba.

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