Kendall Myers, a former State Department employee who led a clandestine life as a spy for Cuba, passed away on March 12 at the age of 88. He died from cancer in a prison medical center in Springfield, Missouri, as confirmed by his daughter, Amanda Myers. At the time of his death, Myers was serving a life sentence due to his involvement in a long-term espionage conspiracy.
### Life Imprisonment for Espionage
Kendall Myers was convicted in 2009 on charges related to conspiracy to commit espionage and wire fraud. Along with his wife, Gwendolyn Myers, who died in 2015, he engaged in a spy operation that lasted over three decades, primarily during a period marked by Cold War tensions between the United States and Cuba. Gwendolyn, also part of the clandestine activities, was sentenced to 81 months in prison for her contributions to the operation, which included gathering and transmitting national defense information. Together, the couple forfeited $1.7 million in assets—the total of Myers’ federal salary accumulated over his lengthy career.
During sentencing, Kendall Myers defended his actions by claiming they were not motivated by anti-American sentiment but rather by a desire to assist the Cuban populace in safeguarding their revolution. “We did not act out of anger toward the United States or from any thought of anti-Americanism,” he stated, emphasizing their ideological motivations.
### Operations and Consequences
Throughout his tenure at the State Department, Myers advanced to roles that granted him substantial access to sensitive intelligence. According to James Olson, a former CIA counterintelligence chief, the information provided by Myers during his time at the Bureau of Intelligence and Research was likely damaging to U.S. interests. “He would have been in a position to give them hot-off-the-press information about what was going on within the intelligence community,” Olson said.
Myers and his wife utilized various methods to relay classified information to their Cuban handlers, including shortwave radio messages and secretive package drops in supermarket carts. Their espionage activities took them to several countries, including Cuba, where they reportedly met with Fidel Castro in 1995 under false identities. Myers later described Castro as “wonderful” during discussions with undercover FBI agents involved in investigating the couple.
Interestingly, the motivation behind the Myerses’ espionage was stated to be ideological rather than financial; they were reimbursed only for equipment and did not receive monetary compensation from Cuban intelligence. This characteristic of ideological spies can complicate detection efforts, as noted by Olson.
### Personal Background and Legacy
Walter Kendall Myers Jr. was born on April 15, 1937, in Washington, D.C. He came from a notable lineage, being a great-grandson of Alexander Graham Bell and the grandson of Gilbert H. Grosvenor, a former chairman of the National Geographic Society. Myers attended Brown University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history and later completed a master’s and a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Throughout his career, he was involved in both academia and government service, teaching Western European studies at Johns Hopkins while also working with the Foreign Service Institute. His espionage career began after he was recruited by Cuban intelligence while living briefly in South Dakota.
By 2007, Myers retired from the State Department, but his involvement with Cuban intelligence resumed when he was approached by an undercover FBI agent in 2009. During these interactions, he expressed a longing for his past connections, stating, “You have been a really important part of our lives, and we have felt incomplete.”
### Family and Final Years
In addition to his daughter, Amanda, Myers is survived by a son, Michael, from his first marriage, along with three stepchildren and four grandchildren. His family indicated that he continued to teach part-time at Johns Hopkins until his arrest.
Kendall Myers’s passing marks the end of a controversial chapter in U.S. history, reflecting complex issues surrounding espionage, ideology, and loyalty during a pivotal time in global politics.
Source: Original Reporting
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