Myers, Kendall

Walter Kendall Myers ( born Walter Kendall Myers ; born April 15, 1937 ) is an American researcher. An employee of the US State Department in 1977-2007, exposed in 2009 as a Cuban intelligence officer.

Great-grandson of inventor Alexander Graham Bell .

He graduated from Brown University . He received a PhD from Johns Hopkins University .

Since 1977, he worked at the US Department of State's Foreign Service Institute . In 1985, he was granted access to classified information, and in 1999 - to highly classified documents (documents of highest secrecy) ^[1] . He was also engaged in research and teaching, was an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

From 2000 until his retirement in October 2007, he worked as an analyst, since 2006 he was the chief analyst of the US State Department Intelligence and Research Bureau, and was a specialist in British and European politics.

In November 2006, he became the focus of media attention in connection with his report on Anglo-American relations at an academic conference at the Institute for International Studies in Washington ^{[2] [3] [4]} .

It is known that in April 2009, an FBI agent contacted Myers, posing as a representative of Cuba - they believed him and agreed to several meetings ^[1] .

On June 4, 2009, during an FBI special operation , Kendall Myers was arrested with his wife Gwendolyn on charges of spying for Cuba, charged with illegal cooperation with the Cuban government as agents and transfer of secret information for almost 30 years ^[5] . He pleaded guilty on November 20, 2009 ^[6] . Initially, the couple refused to plead guilty to the charges of conspiracy, fraud and work for a foreign government, but a few months later they made a deal - Kendall Myers testified and agreed to a life sentence in exchange for a promise to commute his 71-year-old wife; according to Myers, they acted not out of mercenary motives, but on personal convictions and a command of conscience ^[7] .

Those who, in one way or another, helped protect the lives of Cuban citizens in the face of the terrorist plans and intentions of killing Cuban leaders from among many conceived by a number of United States administrations, did so at the behest of their own conscience and deserve, in my opinion, all the honors of the world. <...> ANSA has already announced that Walter Kendall Myers stated that he tried to be “very careful”, collecting and passing secrets for Cuba. Other reports speak of a diary seized from Gwendolyn. If all this were true, I will not cease to admire their disinterested and courageous behavior towards Cuba.

- From the message of Fidel Castro two days after the arrest of the spouses ^[8]

On July 16, 2010, Kendall Myers was sentenced to life imprisonment without the right to parole for US treason and spying for Cuba. His wife Gwendolyn was sentenced to 81 months in prison for her help to her husband. The spouses confiscated property worth $ 1.7 million, including an apartment in Washington and a 12-meter yacht ^[7] .

“In a closing statement, Myers stated that“ the Cuban people feel threatened ”and the Cubans“ have good reason to feel threatened ”by the United States. At the trial, the prosecutor stated that the Myers couple shared the ideals of the Cuban Communist Revolution and were its ardent supporters ” ^[9] . Myers first visited Cuba in December 1978: “In recent months, I have become very hardened. Watching the evening news on TV makes me a radical, ”he wrote about the trip in his diary, which the court attached to the case. In contrast, Cuba Castro, he wrote, “made an exciting impression,” the revolution “unleashed the enormous potential of the Cubans and freed their spirit” ^[10] . Separately, he noted a stark contrast between the availability of healthcare in Cuba and in the United States. They indicate that in 1995 the couple visited Cuba and had dinner with Fidel Castro.

Interestingly, the Myers message exchange with Havana was through a shortwave radio transmitter using Morse code ^[1] (they kept the communication device on their yacht ^[11] ). In addition, the couple met with Cuban agents in Mexico, where they transmitted information in stores, exchanging carts with the right people ^[7] .

Wife - Gwendolyn Steingrabber (Steingraber) Myers, worked as an analyst in the bank.