A renowned microbiologist who worked his way out of a small town in Mexico to the very top of his field internationally has been arrested and charged with spying for the Russian FSB. In what reads as a
spy novel starting in El Espinal, Oaxaca and concluding at Miami International Airport, the story of Hector Cabrera Fuentes is one of needless self-destruction.
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Renowned microbiologist Hector Cabrera Fuentes was arrested at Miami International Airport in late 2020, it has been reported.
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He is charged with being co-opted into spying on a US government informant for a Russian FSB agent.
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Cabrera, a hometown hero of El Espinal, Oaxaca where he's from originally, is a decorated microbiologist with many accolades in his field and has a long history of social work back home.
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But that wasn't the only Cabrera; the beloved hometown hero was living two lives.
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The first was with his Mexican wife, with whom he was looking to return to Mexico City with via Miami before his arrest.
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The second with his Russian wife, living in Germany with two daughters.
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Cabrera's unfortunate tale of espionage started when his Russian wife was called to Russia for beaurocratic matters. When she tried to return to Germany, she was barred from leaving.
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Cabrera traveled to Russia to see his second family when he was contacted by a Russian official he had met years earlier through work.
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The mysterious official, who is unidentified, had somehow obtained old emails from one of Cabrera's old email addresses that showed him searching for residence in Miami. The official told him that they could "help each other."
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The official set Cabrera and his first wife up with an apartment in Miami, asking only that he record the comings and goings of another resident -- who happened to be a US government informant.
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Cabrera held up his end of the bargain for an unspecified amount of time, tailing the other resident and recording their movements for this official. But he made one, critical mistake.
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Only one day before he was set to depart for Mexico City with his mexican wife, Valentines Day, he ignored the official's explicit instruction to avoid taking photographs of the informant. For some reason, whether out of laziness or a false sense of security being so close to his departure date, he chose to take a photo of the informant's vehicle instead of writing the plate number down.
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This attracted the attention of a security guard, who reported Cabrera.
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Authorities arrested Cabrera the next day at Miami International Airport as he was preparing to board.
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He has been found guilty and is awaiting sentencing this May.
