
CIA Implicated in Attack on North Korean Embassy in Madrid - yasp
https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/03/13/inenglish/1552464196_279320.html
======
tivert
From the linked article:

> What’s more, unlike other intelligence activities – such as cyberattacks,
> which are characterized by their discretion, the attack on the North Korean
> embassy was especially violent. On February 22 at 3pm, 10 masked men
> carrying alleged imitation weapons broke into the embassy, located north of
> the capital in the residential area of Aravaca. They tied up the eight
> people inside and put bags on their heads. The victims were beaten and
> interrogated. A woman managed to escape from a window on the second floor
> and her screams for help were heard by a neighbor, who contacted the police.

> Officers arrived at the scene but when they tried to enter the embassy a man
> opened the door to them and told them that there was nothing going on.
> Minutes later, two luxury vehicles sped out of the embassy. The cars used
> for the getaway belonged to the diplomatic mission and were later abandoned
> in a nearby street.

This doesn't add up _at all_. An operation like this would be guaranteed to
blow up into a major diplomatic incident with repercussions far more negative
than whatever the US could hope to gain. Surely real CIA agents understand
that.

This "operation" literally sounds like some James Bond plot.

~~~
pjc50
> guaranteed to blow up into a major diplomatic incident

So they've pissed off Spain. So what? Arrogance is a characteristic. Maybe
they assumed Spain was like other Latin American countries where they could
operate freely.

The Saudi murder of Khashoggi was similarly blatent, and that's not really
affected US support for them.

~~~
lawlessone
The EU as whole may have an issue with it.

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blancheneige
>Government sources say that it would be “unacceptable” for an ally to take
such action. Not only would it mean that the US agency had operated on Spanish
soil without asking for authorization or informing the authorities, it would
also be a violation of the international conventions that protect diplomatic
delegations.

Something tells me the Spanish govt will do nothing about it besides issuing a
non-consequential statement of disapproval just like when Merkel found out her
blackberry was being tapped by the five eyes. Gotta love sovereignty,

~~~
freeflight
> just like when Merkel found out her blackberry was being tapped by the five
> eyes. Gotta love sovereignty

Fun side-fact about that particular thing: Not much did happen there because
nothing about that was actually illegal. The NSA totally had and still has,
the right to spy on Merkel [0].

Exceptions for this kind of surveillance were already lobbied into the German
constitution by NSA surveillance interests decades ago [1]. Couldn't have
German constitutional rights be in the way of winning the intelligence Cold
War.

The German BND gladly goes along with it all of this, as their origin traces
right back to the CIA [1].

[0] [https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2013-10/nsa-
uerberwa...](https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2013-10/nsa-
uerberwachung-merkel-interview-foschepoth)

[1]
[http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/20140...](http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201403/20140307ATT80674/20140307ATT80674EN.pdf)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gehlen_Organization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gehlen_Organization)

------
duxup
This really doesn't sound like a CIA operation.

Maybe some folks involved had some "connection" at some point in their lives,
but this seems really weird as an official or even non official operation.

Like what do you get interrogating these folks anyway, you automatically give
away what you're asking for. Strange.

~~~
astazangasta
I read the transcripts of Haspel's torture sessions. They read like an episode
of "24". These are dumb, violent people with an exaggerated sense of their own
heroic virtue. Par for the course.

[https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence-
torture...](https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence-torture-
archive/2018-04-26/gina-haspels-cia-torture-file)

~~~
duxup
Certainly possible, but this seems out of character for even that
"explanation".

------
gabrielblack
If confirmed, it's a great example of lack of professionalism. This is the
behavior of a gang of drunken thugs, no words. Which kind of information worth
the diplomatic incident and the irritation of a partner nation ? Because that
kind of desperate action only is justified to rescue information of capital
importance.

------
sudoaza
Wouldn't surprise me, they recently caught a guy related to the DEA/US EMbasy
in Argnetina extorting politicians and business men, among other things.

------
alexandernst
I love all the "this doesn't sound like a CIA operation" comments.

What do you actually know about anything CIA-related that makes you believe
you know if this or that is or isn't a CIA thing?

~~~
duxup
The description of the event seems fairly unique, seems it is unlike any
security service's usual behavior.

~~~
alexandernst
What is the usual behavior of any security service? How do you know what is
normal and what is not normal if you don't have any actual knowledge about
this subject? For all we know, this might actually be the usual behavior.

~~~
duxup
Do you feel what is described in the article happens often?

------
thepangolino
This seems to back up the side claiming that the Deep State is out to get
Trump, here by sabotaging the peace talks with North Korea.

~~~
rrook
What is the "deep state", exactly? I understand it to be the right's bogeyman
on the left, but I've never heard it taken seriously outside of
more...esoteric discussions.

~~~
pjc50
The security services and foreign services pursuing their own agenda, over and
above (or even in contradiction to) the elected government's directions and
supervision.

It's rather odd framing this as a right vs. left discussion when traditionally
it's been the other way round. FBI harassment of MLK, or COINTELPRO, are
traditional examples of the deep state against the left. The left could write
a very long charge sheet against the CIA.

Of course, this is consistent with the argument that the people complaining
about the deep state on the right aren't "organic" but instead funded by a
foreign intelligence service.

~~~
rrook
I didn't really mean to frame it as right vs left; that's just the context
that I've seen the topic discussed in. I was hoping to be as neutral as
possible with my query.

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robert_foss
No surprises there. The day after this Trump's negotiations fell through with
NK.

~~~
metaphyze
Actually, this happened BEFORE the summit. Feb 22nd. The summit was Feb 27-28.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_North_Korea%E2%80%93Unite...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_North_Korea%E2%80%93United_States_Hanoi_Summit)

~~~
robert_foss
Exactly, this happened before the summit. And then the summit was derailed.

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rezeroed
Deliberately brazen. Ex-cia, current fsb. Or something along those lines.

~~~
rezeroed
Why not? (Fix the fkn downvoting)

------
versale
Previous "discussions":
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19380948](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19380948)
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19378071](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19378071)

~~~
hombre_fatal
To save anyone the click: those are just previous, failed submissions with
zero comments.

