[News] CIA Spy Ring Promoted LGBTQ Causes and Israel Normalization in Yemen

[Anti-Imperialist News]

mintpressnews.com
<https://www.mintpressnews.com/cia-spy-ring-yemen-promoted-homosexuality-israel-normalization/288407/>
Exclusive: CIA Spy Ring Promoted LGBTQ Causes and Israel Normalization in
Yemen
Ahmed Abdulkareem
October 14, 2024
------------------------------

While Yemen usually conjures images of conflicts with Israel and the
Saudi-led coalition, a new dimension to the complex country and its people
has emerged: Yemen’s secret war of spies. MintPress News delves into the
largest CIA spy cell ever uncovered in Yemen, revealing a major security
operation that apprehended its members and exposed American espionage
activities, dramatically altering our understanding of Yemen’s complex
battlefield.

In June, MintPress revealed
<https://www.mintpressnews.com/inside-force-400-spies-and-sabotage-in-israels-covert-war-on-yemen/287613/>
how the Ansar Allah-led government of Sanaa had dismantled an espionage
cell – Force 400 — allegedly working for the United States and Israel,
detailing the cell’s members and their activities. Washington responded by
calling for the release of individuals it claimed were employees of the
United Nations, diplomatic bodies, and NGOs, labeling them as hostages held
by the Houthis, a pejorative term often used by Western officials to
describe the political and military movement known as Ansar Allah.

MintPress News correspondent Ahmed AbdulKareem was granted exclusive access
to several detainees captured by Yemeni security services, allowing him to
conduct a series of interviews with the alleged spies. Additionally, a
trove of top-secret documents was provided to MintPress, corroborating the
testimony of many of the detainees given during these interviews. MintPress
also reviewed hours of footage showing interrogations conducted by Yemeni
security personnel, which confirmed the details of the allegations against
the detainees that were provided to MintPress during interviews with
high-level security officials from Ansar Allah.

While arrests related to the vast espionage cell began in earnest in 2021,
officials in both the United States and Yemen remained tight-lipped about
the discovery. However, Ansar Allah officials told MintPress that
Washington was aware of the arrests and initiated a series of secret
negotiations for the detainees’ release shortly thereafter. Those
negotiations ultimately failed, and details began to leak in the Arab
press. This led Yemeni officials to publicly disclose the discovery of the
espionage ring and eventually revived negotiations between the two parties
in Muscat, Oman.

In a groundbreaking investigation, *MintPress News* uncovers the inner
workings of one of the largest spy networks ever exposed in Yemen, shedding
light on how American and Israeli intelligence agencies covertly
infiltrated Yemeni society. Through clandestine operations, they
manipulated local dynamics, exploiting religious divisions and sowing seeds
of normalization with Israel. The ultimate aim: gathering intelligence for
Saudi airstrikes on military targets.

Exclusive access to top-secret documents, detainee testimonies, and
interrogation footage reveals a harrowing narrative of espionage. Spies
were recruited through psychological manipulation, sexual blackmail, and
torture, highlighting the extent to which U.S. and Israeli operatives bent
moral boundaries to secure cooperation.

This investigation offers a disturbing glimpse into the shadow war being
waged in Yemen—one fueled by exploitation and coercion. It marks the
beginning of an ongoing series that will unveil further layers of this
covert operation in future reports.
The Double Life of Abdul Azzan

Abdul Mohsen Hussein Ali Azzan, a high-level spy arrested last June, worked
for both the CIA and the Israeli Mossad for 15 years. Recruited by U.S.
intelligence in 2010, his handler was Joanne Cummings
<https://www.mei.edu/profile/joanne-held-cummings>, the director of the
political and economic department at the U.S. embassy in Sanaa, who managed
his activities until 2013. According to his account, Azzan converted from
Islam to Christianity while working for an American company in Atlanta that
engaged in proselytizing under the guise of selling printer ink.

Azzan did not just infiltrate and recruit Yemeni parliamentarians; he also
gathered critical intelligence on shoulder-fired air defenses, unmanned
aerial vehicles, and ballistic missiles. This high-value information was
shared with American intelligence, as evidenced by documents reviewed by
MintPress and by Azzan himself during an exclusive jailhouse interview with
MintPress correspondent Ahmed AbdulKareem.

“Thanks to the Atlanta company and my new religion, I was able to form a
good relationship with the Americans,” Azzan, a graduate of Sanaa
University, told MintPress.

I wrote a letter to the CIA through Murad Dhafer, a friend who worked for
them. I wasn’t accepted immediately, but I was enrolled in a special
intelligence course. Later, I connected with Carlo Penda, the Canadian
director of the Parliament Program at the [National] Democratic Institute,
and eventually became a director.”

Ansar Allah accuses the National Democratic Institute
<https://www.ndi.org/middle-east-and-north-africa/yemen> (NDI) in Sanaa of
conducting intelligence missions under the guise of spreading democracy and
promoting human rights. They claim that through this institute, the CIA
recruited spies, some of whom were later arrested, while also collecting
information and preparing research and studies for U.S. intelligence
agencies.

“At the end of 2009, I started working at the American Embassy, where
Joanne Cummins, the Director of the Political and Economic Program,
recruited me for the CIA,” Azzan recounted. He underwent a series of tests,
including a lie detector test, and took courses under two American
intelligence officers. Subsequently, he was connected with Richard Kaufman,
the representative of Israeli interests at the embassy. “In 2014, the
embassy sent me to America, where I met a senior American intelligence
official,” he added.

Before the war against Yemen began in March 2015, the U.S. embassy left
Sanaa. However, it managed to attach its operatives to American companies
still operating at the time and international organizations such as the
High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Azzan was among them. He moved to
work with Cambridge Analytica’s UK-based parent company, SCL group, exposed
in 2018 by Max Blumenthal to be conducting espionage activities
<https://thegrayzone.com/2018/05/23/scl-group-yemen-surveillance-cambridge-analytica/>
on behalf of Archimedes,” a U.S.-based military contractor. Azzan
identified the company as a subsidiary of Moby Media Group, owned by Afghan
businessman Saad Mohseni, who has been linked to the CIA
<https://www.ansarollah.com.ye/archives/687429>. In 2013, the company
opened its headquarters in Sanaa, managed by British national Sarah
Cunningham, according to Azzan.

In addition to his intelligence work, Azzan provided services to the
intelligence company where he served as general manager. According to
Azzan, the company operated on two tracks: collecting information,
preparing field surveys and conducting media campaigns to shift public
opinion toward Israel.

“One of our intelligence activities was the Landscape program, where we
studied all local media outlets,” Azzan explained to MintPress.

*“The goal was not just to run media campaigns for American companies, but
also to identify and recruit media leaders to promote Israeli normalization
under the guise of acceptance and peaceful coexistence.” *

In 2014, the embassy sent Azzan to Washington for a two-week training
session, where he met a senior CIA official.

After 2018, I worked for the U.S. Department of Defense under the guise of
the director of the Labs office in Yemen. My handler was Fahim Ahmed, the
regional director of Labs, and through the company, I was connected to a
Jewish [Israeli] intelligence organization in America. This organization
was interested in studying Yemeni sects, understanding their references,
and exploiting them for normalization and fueling sectarian differences.”

As security suspicions about the company grew, SCL decided to leave Sanaa.
Azzan was then transferred to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) in Sanaa. Leveraging the organization’s extensive reach in
the Yemeni governorates, Azzan was able to provide his American
intelligence contacts with high-value information about camps, launch
sites, and naval forces, which were later targeted by Saudi airstrikes. He
noted that he worked openly and cooperatively with OHCHR officials to
gather this intelligence.
[image: US Yemen Civilian Deaths]Yemeni police inspect a site of Saudi-led
airstrikes targeting two family homes in Sanaa, Yemen, March, 2022. Hani
Mohammed | AP

“Under the supervision of the resident representative, Mohamed Al-Shami and
I were gathering information with a network of analyst observers in each
governorate,” Azzan explained. “My work continued until my arrest at the
end of 2021. When we couldn’t access a target area, we would ask the
resident supervisor to contact local authorities under the guise of a
humanitarian proposal. He would facilitate this, ensuring we took no
actions that would reveal our true intentions,” Azzan added.

The most significant damage was yet to come. In 2016, Azzan began working
for the Israeli Mossad through Michael Boven, the former Economic Attaché
at the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa. After the embassy’s closure, Boven moved to
the U.S. embassy in Israel. He had previously supervised Azzan at the Middle
East Initiative
<https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-new-u-s-proposal-for-a-greater-middle-east-initiative-an-evaluation/>
in Sanaa, forging a close relationship based on shared religion, financial
incentives, and what Azzan described as true friendship.

“I would meet Michael in Jordan as the director of Labs (SCL). During one
of these meetings, he introduced me to Saul Gad, an Israeli officer in the
Mossad. I met Gad in the Dead Sea area of Jordan and began working for
him,” Azzan revealed.

Azzan provided Mossad with highly sensitive information, including details
about Sanaa International Airport, transportation movements, changes in
Ansar Allah’s leadership, military activities, and destroyed weaponry. He
also leaked data from the High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the
locations of government officials and Ansar Allah leaders.

My baptism influenced my willingness to work for Israel as a Christian at
the Atlanta company, which was led by Protestants who support Israel and
believe that Christ’s return depends on Israel’s dominance in the Middle
East. This connection continued with my association with the IDEA
organization <https://www.idea.int/>, which is linked to the ‘Saturdays
Church.’”

Azzan also contributed significantly to the success of the Dar Al Salam
Organization
<https://esango.un.org/civilsociety/showProfileDetail.do?method=showProfileDetails&tab=3&profileCode=613941>.
This local group collaborated with Jewish organizations in the U.S. and
Europe, aiming to disarm individuals of personal weapons like Kalashnikovs
and persuade clerics to promote coexistence and normalization with Israel.
USAID Consultant Turned CIA Operative

The Yemeni collaborators, which Ansar Allah officials say numbered over 20
individuals, were well aware of their roles with American intelligence,
though they told MintPress that the CIA did not offer them any guarantees
post-recruitment. Shaif Hafazallah Al-Hamdani, a senior consultant for
development management programs at the U.S. Agency for Development, served
the CIA for 27 years. He was recruited by Adam Earli
<https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/pl/ngo/29573.htm>, then the Cultural
Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa.

“I joined the CIA in 1997 through the American Cultural Attaché. They told
me I would be cooperating with American Intelligence, a high position, and
I accepted,” he confessed. MintPress News was able to view Al-Hamdani’s
documents, photographs with intelligence officers, and embassy evaluation
forms.

Al-Hamdani carried out his espionage duties as an employee of the United
States Agency for Development (USAID). He designed intelligence follow-up
and evaluation mechanisms, coordinating USAID’s work with the intelligence
contractor, MSI
<https://www.msiworldwide.com/projects/monitoring-evaluation-and-learning-services-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa/>.
One of his primary tasks was to verify the implementation of these
mechanisms to meet the requirements of American intelligence and other
agencies such as IBTCI <https://www.ibtci.com/projects-app/yemen-ymelp> and
MSI.

According to a security source, monitoring and evaluation are crucial
methods for gathering military information and pinpointing military and
manufacturing facilities. Al-Hamdani stated that USAID’s cooperation with
MSI aimed to access project areas to locate ballistic missile launch sites
and unmanned aerial vehicles. They also monitored and determined military
installation locations, provided coordinates to the CIA, and assessed
combat situations on the fronts and the position of goods, food, fuel, and
essential services.

The measures taken by Washington and its allies to punish Yemen have
varied. Yet the crown on the jewel has always been to move the Central Bank
from Ansar Allah-controlled Sanaa to Aden, where U.S.-backed groups
maintain control. Al-Hamdani explains:

In 2016, Mr. Brad Hance, the U.S. Deputy Ambassador and intelligence
official, assigned me to receive the Central Bank’s code and transport it
to Aden. I delivered it to another American agent working in the Aden bank.”

[image: Yemen spies]Unidentified men ride through the streets of Taiz,
Yemen, 2018, then the scene of fierce clashes between Ansar Allah and the
Western-backed government of Aden. Photo | AP

Al-Hamdani emphasizes that the cultural attaché at the American embassy was
a critical hub for American intelligence operations. Spy recruitment often
occurred under the guise of cultural exchanges, skill enhancement programs,
and scholarships like the Fulbright program
<https://ye.usembassy.gov/flta-for-2025-2026/>. This program offers
scholarships to outstanding university graduates for a year and a half of
master’s degree preparation in the United States. During this period,
potential spies are assessed, their abilities studied, and select
individuals are recruited.

Potential spies are also identified and selected through EducationUSA at
AMIDEAST <https://educationusa.state.gov/centers/educationusa-amideast-aden>,
based in Aden, and the Humphrey Fellowship Program
<https://ye.usembassy.gov/2025-2026-hubert-h-humphrey-fellowship-program/>,
aimed at “outstanding civil employees.” Additionally, the U.S. Speaker
<https://exchanges.state.gov/us/program/us-speaker-program> and
International Visitor Programs play a role. Al-Hamdani notes that American
intelligence successfully recruited numerous local spies through these
initiatives.

*“Agents were also selected through events at the embassy and educational
scholarships for outstanding students to institutes like YALI, Oxide, and
AMIDEAST, which was run by American intelligence officer Sabrina Weber,
targeting influential youth.”*

One document reviewed by MintPress mentions a man named Chris Eckel, who
allegedly attended a cultural seminar in Sanaa. When Eckel’s name was
mentioned to Al-Hamdani, he identified him as an intelligence officer who
worked with him on missions. Al-Hamdani’s contributions were highly valued,
as evidenced by an American Embassy evaluation documents viewed by
MintPress, which stated:

*During this period, Shaif did much more than what was asked of him. The
mission’s programs would have taken longer. His historical knowledge proved
valuable.*

In addition to his tasks transferring the Central Bank code and
recruitment, Al-Hamdani planted eavesdropping devices in the homes of
senior officials, including Washington allies like former South Yemen Prime
Minister Abu Bakr al-Attas. Al-Hamdani told Ansar Allah security officials
that part of his training courses were in cybersecurity.
Cultural Subversion: Targeting Yemeni Values

Socially, one of the roles assigned to clients was to promote homosexuality
and make society more accepting, according to Al-Hamdani. “The embassy was
supporting homosexuals through the Cultural Attaché, promoting it at the
American NGO, YALI <http://yali/>, by distributing brochures to those
inclined or desiring to be homosexual, promoting it as personal freedom.
They were also issuing visas under the pretext of persecution.”

Al-Hamdani isn’t the only one who spoke about the American embassy’s role
in promoting homosexuality in Yemen, a practice that blatantly violates
Yemeni social, tribal, and religious norms. Other spies, including Muhammad
Ali Ahmed Al-Waziza, who worked with the CIA for 14 years, also mentioned
this role. Al-Waziza stated,

Visas were given to gay people, and homosexuality was promoted through
educational stories taught in the institutes. We had gay teachers at the
institute, and the language was taught through gay and lesbian films.”

Al-Waziza worked as an administrative assistant at YALI. He joined the U.S.
Embassy in 2007 as a translator and then worked as an investigator. After
the embassy closed, he continued his espionage work as an employee at Resonate
Yemen <https://www.resonateyemen.org/>, which is affiliated with Ahmed Awad
bin Mubarak, who currently serves as Prime Minister in Yemen’s Aden-based
Riyadh-backed government. The local organization was founded and regulated
by USAID.

His mission was to maintain continuous communication with recruits
contracted by the American Embassy from government agencies, especially the
Passport Service, the Ministry of Interior, and other service ministries.
Al-Waziza successfully stole the Yemeni Immigration and Passports Authority
database from its servers and handed it over to American intelligence.

A document reviewed by MintPress includes a letter signed by former NSA
staffer Harry T. Sweeney
<https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-sweeney-94a936bb>, who was working as a
specialist in polygraph testing. The letter, lauding Al-Waziza’s efforts,
reads, “I particularly appreciate your contributions to Yemeni culture and
your suggestions on how to approach specific people based on your extensive
experience in the consular section.”

When Asnar Allah security officials asked the spies about him, they all
agreed that the reserved and secretive Al-Waziza was the closest to the
CIA. He was the only one allowed to access the top floor of the embassy
building, which was designated for the CIA. The first floor was for
employees, especially analysts, while the second floor was reserved for the
ambassador.

Al-Waziza, according to information obtained from interrogations by Ansar
Allah, was heavily relied upon for conducting investigations and gathering
intelligence. He underwent various training courses, including one on
people management skills in Florida. Al-Waziza conducted investigations
within the embassy for American intelligence and was involved in
recruitment, often using methods such as sexual blackmail, according to
another spy, Bassam Ahmed Al-Mardahi. Al-Mardahi described how he was
coerced into working for the CIA after being filmed during a sexual
encounter in Germany and subsequently blackmailed.

I was recruited by being sexually assaulted during a course held by the
American embassy in Germany. There, I was secretly filmed having sex in a
hotel in Frankfurt. After my return to Sanaa, the clips were sent to me,
and I was threatened with working with intelligence or having them
published online.”

Al-Mardahi recruited local members from various Yemeni institutions for
American intelligence and conducted a study on the number of weapons held
by the population in Sanaa, earning between $300 and $500 a month for his
services.

The arrest of dozens of spies might offer hope for the release of thousands
of prisoners and detainees held by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and their allies
in southern Yemen. The United States is reportedly pushing
<https://english.news.cn/20240629/11489d8b3a0e4ec0999f3de30d7f2495/c.html>
for negotiations regarding prisoner exchanges between its allies and the
Ansar Allah delegation in Muscat, Oman. According to a source in Ansar
Allah, there is a possibility of a proposal to release the spies in
exchange for Israel stopping its aggression against Gaza.

Feature photo | Illustration by MintPress News

* Ahmed AbdulKareem is a Yemeni journalist based in Sana’a. He covers the
war in Yemen for MintPress News as well as local Yemeni media.*

* Republish our stories! * MintPress News is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.
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