Stories related to: defectors

Seven Cuban soccer players defected from the national team over the last two days—five on Tuesday and two last night—slipping from their Tampa hotel after a game to seek asylum in the US, the Miami Herald reports. The first five have contacted a lawyer and are in discussions with a second-tier soccer team, Miami FC; they may start training as soon as today, Reuters reports. The loss of seven players could be the team’s downfall in Olympic trials. More »

The CIA plotted to recruit Iranian officials to defect and managed to entice a handful to do so over the last two years, reports the Los Angeles Times . The secret program, begun in 2005, was intended to disrupt Iranian nuclear research. The primary criterion for recruitment, according to a former CIA official, was: "Who, if removed from the program, would have the biggest impact on slowing or stopping their progress?" More »

Thousands are fleeing Kim Jong Il's regime, thanks to an expanding network of brokers who smuggle defectors to Seoul through China, the Washington Post reports. Savvy Seoul brokers charge them up to $10,000 for a luxury "planned escape," complete with fake documents, but stakes are rising as Beijing and Pyonyang tighten border control. Citizens caught trying to flee face prison time—officials who aid them, execution. More »

An Iraqi defector codenamed Curveball, a primary source behind the WMD intelligence that inspired the invasion, is the subject of a new book that bears his handle, but  the CIA is the most guilty party in author Bob Drogin's account.  Analysts “twisted” and “magnified” the low-level engineer's stories beyond recognition, Drogin tells Salon. More »