WASHINGTON (AP) - Aldrich Ames, a former CIA agent who betrayed Western intelligence assets to the Soviet Union and Russia, has died in a Maryland prison at the age of 84. A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson confirmed that Ames passed away on Monday.
Ames was a 31-year veteran of the CIA, having confessed to receiving approximately $2.5 million from Moscow for leaking American secrets from 1985 until his arrest in 1994. His espionage activities revealed the identities of ten Russian officials and one Eastern European who were providing intelligence for the United States or Great Britain. Additionally, he compromised sensitive spy satellite operations, eavesdropping capabilities, and general espionage procedures. Many of his betrayals are cited as the reason behind the executions of Western agents operating behind the Iron Curtain and represented a significant setback for the CIA during the Cold War.
In court, Ames pled guilty to charges of espionage and tax evasion without going to trial. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors emphasized that his actions had deprived the United States of valuable intelligence for years. During his court appearance, Ames expressed “profound shame and guilt” regarding “this betrayal of trust, done for the basest motives,” specifically citing financial troubles that compelled him to act. Despite this acknowledgment, he minimized the impact of his actions, stating that he did not believe he had “noticeably damaged” the United States or significantly aided Moscow. “These spy wars are a sideshow which have had no real impact on our significant security interests over the years,” he said in court while questioning the overall value of vast networks of human spies worldwide.
In an interview conducted with The Washington Post the day before his sentencing, Ames reiterated that financial difficulties were the primary motivation for his espionage activities. At the time, he was assigned to the Soviet/Eastern European division at the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, when he first made contact with the KGB. He continued to provide confidential information while stationed in Rome and upon returning to Washington, all while U.S. intelligence officials were desperately attempting to uncover why numerous agents had been exposed by Moscow.
Ames's case drew parallels with that of FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who was arrested in 2001 after selling secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds. Hanssen, like Ames, caused significant damage to U.S. intelligence efforts and ultimately died in prison in 2023. Ames’s wife, Rosario, was also implicated in the espionage activities, pleading guilty to lesser charges and receiving a 63-month prison sentence for her role in assisting her husband’s spying.
