Summary

In Part 2, Chapter 3, "The Queen of Cuba," Gladwell examines another Cuban spy story during the 1990s. He describes Cuba's embarrassment at the number of refugees fleeing to Florida, which resulted in their downing of three Hermanos al Rescate, Brothers to the Rescue, planes. The next day, CNN interviewed Eugene Carroll, a former U.S. rear admiral. The timing of Carroll's interview seemed too coincidental to ignore. Just days before, he had warned the U.S. government about overflights. Agents suspected Carroll's public appearance was planned in anticipation of the attack.

Gladwell then describes DIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, agent Ana Belen Montes’s story. A Cuban expert, Montes was famed for her work. No one, therefore, suspected her of working for the Cuban government. After the plane attacks, Montes's colleagues, Reg Brown and Scott Carmichael investigated her. Carmichael interviewed Montes and told...