Dead Drop August 16

IT’S A HARD NOC LIFE: By its nature, the work of the Central Intelligence Agency is often shrouded in the cloak of secrecy.  And few secrets are more protected than the specifics of the work done by officers who are under “non-official cover.” Known as “NOCs”. These individuals operate without the protections normally given to the more typical Agency officer overseas who often can rely on diplomatic immunity if caught plying the intelligence trade.  So, it was interesting to see a very long article this week in Rolling Stone titled: “The CIA Sent Him Deep Undercover to Spy on Islamic Radicals. It Cost Him Everything.” Rolling Stone writes about a NOC who they say was known by the pseudonym “Anthony Lagunas.” They are quick to say that is not his true name – and it appears they do not know what his true name actually was.  But the publication says they relied on 13 former agency officials for their story. Thirteen (in case you didn’t know) is a very large number for sourcing a story.  It’s about 11 more than many stories these days.  The article says that shortly after 9/11, Lagunas became a “convert NOC” posing as a disaffected Westerner who converted to Islam and who went forward without a safety net in an effort to penetrate Al Qaeda. By some accounts, he was very good at his job – so much so that on one visit back to the United States he was taken to the White House to meet with President George W. Bush. Whether that was done to impress Bush – or Lagunas is subject to debate.  The bottom line of the very long article is that Lagunas may have suffered from PTSD as a result of years of living beyond the edge. He was given other – presumably less edgy assignments, but the implication is that the stress of his covert conversion assignments eventually did him in. He reportedly died in Southeast Asia in 2016.  Rolling Stone’s 13 sources seem unclear about whether he died of a heart attack, suicide, or alcohol and drug related reasons.  They cite two sources as saying: “whenever Lagunas returned to CIA headquarters from the Middle East, his bosses ensured he met with a staff psychologist.” We don’t know exactly what happened to Lagunas either, but we know that in 2022, the CIA appointed its first “well-being officer.” 

PAWN STARS:  With athletes from their country banned from competing in the just-completed Olympics over charges of doping – what were Russians supposed to do to satisfy their competitive sporting interests? Well, some might have turned to a regional chess championship held in Caucasus republic of Dagestan.  One competitor, a woman named Amina Abakarova, was caught on security video apparently trying to get a leg up on the competition by attempting to poison one of her rivals. The Dagestan sports minister alleged in a statement that Abakarova spread a substance that contained mercury on a chessboard that was later used by another woman named Unaiganat Osmanova – who fell ill but survived. Authorities are investigating the matter and, if the poisoning is confirmed, Abakarova may face legal action, lifelong disqualification in the chess federation – or possibly — get a job offer from the GRU.