2008 Woodie Awards
Georgetown professor accused of being Cuban spy
By: U- WIRE
Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: Campus
Gillian Gunn Clissold's academic career resembles that of the many professors and researchers truly dedicated to their area of study.
During her 10 years at Georgetown, almost six of which were spent as director of the Caribbean Project within the university's Center for Latin American Studies, she was considered one of the leading American experts on Cuba, having traveled to the island nation almost once a year for 14 years.
But recent reports have accused Gunn of being more than academically interested in Cuba - a U.S. lieutenant has named her as a spy for the Cuban government. Gunn has denied the allegation, calling it "preposterous."
Lt. Col. Chris Simmons, a retired U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency counterintelligence officer and active lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, appeared on a Spanish-language television show in Miami three weeks ago. On the show, he named four people, including Gunn, as spies for the Cuban government. According to The Miami Herald, the other three Simmons named have been accused as spies before, but Gunn has never before been accused of working with Cuban intelligence.
In the course of his investigation, Simmons said he worked with a former Cuban officer who specializes in identifying academic spies in the United States. He said he also utilized declassified records and additional interviews in reaching his conclusion.
Simmons said that Gunn was not a spy in the traditional sense, but that she was what is called a spy of influence.
"The way [the unnamed Cuban officer's] section worked academics was they would find sympathetic academics and provide them with opportunities to visit Cuba and [have] access to the highest government officials," he told THE HOYA. "In exchange, [the academics] would discuss their meetings with U.S. government officials in an effort to change U.S. policy."
Simmons said he is making these allegations as a private citizen, and he emphasized that his views do not reflect the views of the federal government. He added that he conducts his research primarily through his company, the Cuban Intelligence Research Center, which is located in Leesburg, Va.
During her 10 years at Georgetown, almost six of which were spent as director of the Caribbean Project within the university's Center for Latin American Studies, she was considered one of the leading American experts on Cuba, having traveled to the island nation almost once a year for 14 years.
But recent reports have accused Gunn of being more than academically interested in Cuba - a U.S. lieutenant has named her as a spy for the Cuban government. Gunn has denied the allegation, calling it "preposterous."
Lt. Col. Chris Simmons, a retired U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency counterintelligence officer and active lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, appeared on a Spanish-language television show in Miami three weeks ago. On the show, he named four people, including Gunn, as spies for the Cuban government. According to The Miami Herald, the other three Simmons named have been accused as spies before, but Gunn has never before been accused of working with Cuban intelligence.
In the course of his investigation, Simmons said he worked with a former Cuban officer who specializes in identifying academic spies in the United States. He said he also utilized declassified records and additional interviews in reaching his conclusion.
Simmons said that Gunn was not a spy in the traditional sense, but that she was what is called a spy of influence.
"The way [the unnamed Cuban officer's] section worked academics was they would find sympathetic academics and provide them with opportunities to visit Cuba and [have] access to the highest government officials," he told THE HOYA. "In exchange, [the academics] would discuss their meetings with U.S. government officials in an effort to change U.S. policy."
Simmons said he is making these allegations as a private citizen, and he emphasized that his views do not reflect the views of the federal government. He added that he conducts his research primarily through his company, the Cuban Intelligence Research Center, which is located in Leesburg, Va.
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