Aldrich Ames: The CIA's Most Notorious Double Agent Passes Away at 84

Sun Feb 15 2026 03:16:29 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Aldrich Ames, a once-prominent CIA officer turned infamous double agent, has died while serving a life sentence for espionage. His actions compromised numerous CIA operations and resulted in the deaths of various intelligence assets.

Aldrich Ames, the CIA agent who sold secrets to the Soviets and later Russia, has died at the age of 84. Serving a life sentence for his treachery, Ames's espionage activities led to the exposure and death of multiple CIA assets over nearly a decade, ultimately driven by personal financial struggles. His life story illustrates the complex interplay of loyalty, betrayal, and the devastating consequences of espionage.

Aldrich Ames, a CIA officer who became one of America's most damaging double agents, has died aged 84.

The former counterintelligence officer, who was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, died on Monday at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, CBS News reported.

Ames was jailed on April 28, 1994, after he admitted to selling secret information to the Soviet Union and later Russia.

His actions compromised over 100 clandestine operations and divulged the identities of more than 30 agents spying for the West, leading to the deaths of at least 10 CIA intelligence assets.

Desperate for money to pay debts, Ames reportedly began providing the KGB with the names of CIA spies in April 1985, receiving an initial sum of $50,000.

Known to the KGB by his code name, Kolokol (The Bell), Ames went on to identify a majority of the CIA's spies in the Soviet Union, earning substantial rewards in return.

To my enduring surprise, the KGB replied that it had set aside for me $2 million in gratitude for the information, he stated in a court declaration.

In total, Ames admitted to receiving around $2.5 million from the Soviet Union for his betrayal, which financed a lavish lifestyle, including luxury cars and vacations, despite earning a CIA salary rarely exceeding $70,000 per year.

Ames's tenure at the CIA began when his father, a CIA analyst, aided him in securing a job after he dropped out of college in 1962. He went on to marry fellow CIA agent Nancy Segebarth in 1969 and later, during his career in Turkey, met his second wife, Maria del Rosario Casas Dupuy, who later faced charges as his accomplice.

Despite having serious personal issues, including alcohol problems, Ames rose to become head of the CIA's Soviet counterintelligence department. However, while his career flourished, his personal life unraveled, ultimately leading him down the path of espionage.

His deception continued until his arrest on February 21, 1994, following a mole hunt that began closing in on him the year prior. Ames cooperated with authorities and secured a plea deal that ensured a more lenient sentence for his wife.

Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey labeled Ames a malignant betrayer of his country, emphasizing the fatal consequences of his actions driven by greed.