Husband-and-wife CIA operatives who, against all odds, triumphed in a deadly cat-and-mouse game against a mole within CIA.
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The shocking, untold story of one of CIA's greatest intelligence crises, an unprecedented insider account that CIA tried to block from publication.
Andrew and Jihi Bustamante were a "tandem couple"—married spies who'd dedicated their lives to the CIA.
They met as trainees at Langley and got married while hunting terrorists across the globe. Then, suddenly, they were assigned to a mission so sensitive and explosive that the CIA still has never acknowledged it. The CIA's source network in a country code-named "Falcon"—one of America's most formidable rivals—had been compromised by a mole, and the agency needed a new way to collect intelligence there. Young newlyweds, the Bustamantes were considered safe choices for this daunting task precisely because they had no experience in Falcon. They were also loyal, forgettable, and completely disposable—operatives who could help to strengthen the CIA's position in Falcon, while simultaneously serving as bait for the mole.
Although their superiors at the CIA didn't realize it, the Bustamantes also brought another advantage to the table: a granular understanding of how terrorist cells operate and how the agency could exploit those same tactics to keep America safe. Assembling a rag-tag team of fellow operatives and recruiting new sources from Falcon, the Bustamantes pioneered a new way of spying by building a cell of their own—right at the heart of the CIA.
The explosive, untold tale of one of history's greatest intelligence crises and the unlikely band of agents who were sent in to clean up the mess, Shadow Cell allows you to peer behind the curtain and see how today's spy wars are being fought—and won.
The story you are about to read is real.
One of the most modern and detailed CIA memoirs in print, this book has taken more than three years to meet CIA’s rigorous operational review process.
As authors, we are committed to advancing the public’s understanding of, and appreciation for, professional intelligence operations and the incredible men and women who fight America’s spy war every day. As former CIA officers, we are unwavering in our commitment to protect America’s national security secrets and combat those adversaries who would try to use our memoir against the country we love. It is precisely because of these two commitments that we worked so diligently (and for so long) with CIA to bring you this story.
When we showed CIA an early version of the story we intended to tell in this book, the Agency informed us that it still considers our operational history to be classified information. After an exhaustive legal dispute, CIA agreed to let us move forward with the shocking disclosures included in our story.
At its core, this book is a love letter to the courageous men and women who serve in the ranks of CIA still today. It is about an outstanding team that did outstanding work at a time when America needed outstanding bravery. The only reason we are the ones telling this story is that we eventually left CIA. As far as we know, every other member of the Shadow Cell is still on the inside. They are the real heroes, and this book is dedicated to them. Without their efforts and sacrifices, the world would be a much more dangerous place.
