Unconventional spies thrive in the murky world of espionage including the Vatican’s Holy Alliance and Mossad’s Sayanim, both pivotal in gathering intel, assisting, and supporting clandestine operations. This week, we ponder their sometimes unorthodox methods. Don't forget toexplore our Archive and Share & Subscribe with your friends!
The Holy Alliance
While the Vatican denies having a dedicated intelligence agency, it has informants in the world’s remote corners and relations with foreign countries and their intelligence agencies. A Vatican service known as The Holy Alliance (and later the Entity) has reportedly underpinned the surface of faith and diplomacy for more than five centuries, a clandestine sacred service with incredible powers.
When Mossad officer Zvi Aharoni landed in Argentina to capture Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in 1960, he needed help from the Sayanim, the shadowy global network of Jews willing to assist Mossad in any way possible - no questions asked. Sayanim volunteers arrange safe houses or supply cash and license plates. More than 60 years later, the Sayanim are still loitering in the shadows.
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The US Coast Guard has tracked foreign spy ships and arrested drug lords for more than 200 years yet little is known about how the high-seas operatives work across a vast geographic area stretching from Puerto Rico to Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam. More than 50,000 members are first responders, rescuing those stranded at sea, yet intelligence operatives are integrated at every level. Here are five operations that pushed ‘Coasties’ to their limits from 9/11 to China’s ‘spy balloon’ capture.
Before the Berlin Wall fell in ‘89, East Germany was a haven for military spies. US, Soviet, British, and German officers chased each other through darkened streets and forests. It was a free-for-all for Dave Butler, part of the British Commanders'-in-Chief Mission (BRIXMIS). Lock-picking and smashing vehicles were all part of the adventure until Butler found himself stranded behind enemy lines.
Espionage allegations against two Americans have put the spotlight on Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), the KGB’s main successor. The agency oversees counterintelligence and revokes the press visas of media who dare to criticize Putin’s regime. This week we take a closer look at the FSB, the stealthy operatives behind the imprisonment of US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich.
The US-led UN Command has initiated talks with North Korea over American soldier Travis King who ran across the Demilitarized Zone, the world's last remaining Cold War frontier. On the other side of the DMZ, sit leader Kim Jong Un and an array of powerful spy agencies including the Ministry of State Security whose job is to track down, ID, and catch intruders deemed ‘hostile agents’.
