Delfín Fernández is a former Cuban spy^[1] who spent 15 years working for the Cuban counterintelligence Department 11 ^[2][3] with the codename Agent Otto. ^[2][4] He defected from Cuba and moved to Spain in 1999. ^[5] He settled in Spain for five years, becoming one of Europe's most successful bodyguards. ^[3] In 2005 Fernández moved to Miami, Florida and as of 2006 he was waiting to get U.S. residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act. ^[3] Image File history File links Delfin_Fernandez. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the city in Florida. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2005 he became a naturalized citizen of Spain. ^{[citation needed]} Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ...

Defection from Cuba

Fernandez, 44 in 2006, emigrated from Cuba in 1999 after becoming disillusioned with Castro's government. ^[5] As part of Fidel and Raúl Castro's^[6] inner circle, Delfín Fernández asserts that he learnt everything from why the Cuban leader incinerates his dirty underwear to his cravings for pricey Spanish ham. ^[3] Fernandez claims that he was once sent to Spain to bring $2,500 worth of the pata negra delicacy back to Cuba ^[3] because Fidel Castro had a penchant for imported cured Spanish hams and a paranoia about assassination. ^[5] Fernandez said that chief bodyguard, Bienvenido "Chicho" Perez, had told him that Castro had his underwear burned to foil any assassination plots with chemicals during laundering. ^[5] Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (born June 3, 1931) is the First Vice President of the Cuban Council of State and currently, Acting President of Cuba. ...

His disillusionment with the government, he said, and his ambitions for a better life compelled him to defect. ^[3] Fernandez made a series of allegations, including a claim that Raúl Castro had stolen millions of pounds from government coffers. ^[5] He claimed that Fidel Castro and his brother, Raúl, assembled incriminating dossiers on foreign businessmen who wanted to invest in Cuba. ^[5] Fernández recorded every word and movement of high-profile visitors to Cuba with a high-tech array of hidden microphones and video cameras. He worked for Cuba's Department 11, set up to infiltrate hotels and travel agencies. There he acted as a spy under the cover of his official title as Operations Manager for the Guitart hotel chain, where he claimed that guests could be open to blackmail. He also stated that he bugged the hotel rooms of foreign politicians and businessmen under orders from Raúl. ^[2] Fernández said he carried suitcases with cash out of Cuba for the Castro brothers. ^[3]

Fernández said he defected in Spain in 1999 on a trip to Europe to drop off Raúl's daughter, Mariela Castro Espin, in Italy to visit her father-in-law and pick up a Rotweiller in Germany for Fidel. ^[3] Fernández was so close to Fidel that the dictator entrusted him with finding a pet rottweiler because of his contacts abroad. ^[2] According to former CIA analyst Brian Latell, a senior researcher at the University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies and someone described by the Miami Herald as "helping shape public opinion about Cuba's future",^[7] "A lot of the stories he told me were fascinating, and I found almost all of them to be highly credible." ^[3] Fernández has been an outspoken critic of the Castro government since he defected. ^[3] Mariela Castro is the director of the National Center for Sex Education in Havana and an activist for LGBT rights in Cuba. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... A Cuban-American is an immigrant to the United States from Cuba. ...

Bodyguard

Fernández settled in Spain for five years, becoming one of Europe's most successful bodyguards. Among his clients in Spain: actors Antonio Banderas and his wife, Melanie Griffith, soccer star David Beckham, Spanish actresses Ana Obregón and Esther Cañadas, former Spice Girl Emma Bunton and several high-profile businessmen. ^[3] Before his defection, Fernández claims that one of his key tasks was to spy on wealthy visitors to the island, including film stars Leonardo di Caprio and Jack Nicholson. ^[2] In 2004 he worked minding Hollywood star Antonio Banderas in Spain. ^[8] José Antonio Domínguez Banderas (born August 10, 1960), better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor. ... Melanie Griffith at Cannes, 2000 Melanie Griffith (born August 9, 1957 in New York City) is an American film actress. ... David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham OBE (born May 2, 1975) is an English footballer born in Leytonstone, London. ... Ana Obregón (born May 19, 1955 in Madrid, Spain as Ana Victoria García Obregón) is a Spanish actress. ... Esther Cañadas (born on March 1, 1977 in Alicante, Costa Blanca) is a Spanish actress and supermodel. ... The Spice Girls were an all-female English pop group who formed in 1994 in London. ... Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976) is an English pop singer, songwriter, and occasional actress, originally from the girl group Spice Girls, where she was known as Baby Spice for being the youngest member and often wearing baby doll dresses. ... Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (born November 11, 1974) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor well known for his roles in blockbuster movies like Titanic (1997), William Shakespeares Romeo + Juliet (1996) and The Aviator (2004), and was as famed for his global celebrity influence dubbed as Leomania in the late... This article refers to the actor. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Sports star scandal

According David Smith of the Observer, Fernandez worked for David Beckham for three months when he first moved to Madrid and in 2004 would sell personal information about his ex-boss's affairs with Rebecca Loos for £500,000. ^[9] Fernandez admitted he had been approached by paparazzi, who would follow Beckham everywhere. But he insisted that he had always turned down their lucrative cash offers to spill the beans. ^[10] Fernandez said that he saw Beckham kissing Rebecca Loos in the back of his car and that he drove them to the Santa Mauro hotel in Madrid three times. He said, ""I could see them kissing in the rear-view mirror. The car had dark tinted windows so nobody could see in from the outside. After that there were three more occasions I drove them to hotels in the early hours." Fernandez said that when they had their privacy Beckham and his assistant were "all over each other like teenagers". ^[8] Victoria (Posh Spice) Beckham was said to be in tears over tabloid reports that her husband, "Becks," had been having a torrid affair with his former aide, Rebecca Loos. Beckham had been photographed clubbing with Loos who used to work for his management company. ^[11] Rebecca Loos (born in Madrid, Spain at June 19, 1977) is a former personal assistant to David Beckham. ... Victoria Caroline Beckham (born Victoria Caroline Adams on April 17, 1974 and also used the stage name Victoria Adams-Wood) is an English singer best known as a member of the Spice Girls and for her marriage to footballer David Beckham. ...

Public life

The Spanish media have embraced him, writing dozens of articles about his life as a Castro insider and bodyguard. He was also a consultant on an investigative book, Conexión Habana, by Spanish authors. ^[3]

After living in Spain for five years he arrived in Miami where he had a spot on a TV show on WJAN-Channel 41. ^[3] There, as a regular television guest, he caught the imagination of the Cuban community with his disclosures of Castro's habits and idiosyncrasies and the workings of his inner circle. ^[5] Oscar Haza, a popular Spanish language talk show host on Channel 41, has invited Fernández on his show, A Mano Limpia, at least six times, firing up the ratings when he's a guest, said Channel 41 news director Miguel Cossío. The ratings were so strong that Channel 41 offered to let Fernández be a permanent guest on a new daily weekday show, Arrebatados, at 6 p.m., hosted by Maria Laria. ^[3] WJAN-CA is a Spanish-language Independent station in Miami, Florida. ... Oscar Haza is a journalist born in Dominican Republic, at the age of 22 moved to Miami to pursue his career in journalism . ... A Mano Limpia is a well-known talk show on Channel 41 (America teve) hosted by Oscar Haza. ...

References

Diario 16 (Spanish for Diary 16) was one of the most widely-circulated newspapers in Spain. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (279th in Leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... Diario 16 (Spanish for Diary 16) was one of the most widely-circulated newspapers in Spain. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... March 24 is the 83rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (84th in Leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... Diario 16 (Spanish for Diary 16) was one of the most widely-circulated newspapers in Spain. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... April 5 is the 95th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (96th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 30 is the 211th day (212th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 154 days remaining. ...

External links

• Fernández, G (21 June 2001). The Economic Power of the Castro Brothers 17. Diario 16. Retrieved on 2006-08-04.

• Allen, Peter (26 Jan 2004). Bodyguards threaten Becks 17. The Daily Mail. Retrieved on 2006-07-30.
• Costello, Carol (24 Mar 2006). Cruise Ship Fire; Going Home; Desperate Search. CNN America Morning edition. Retrieved on 2006-07-30.
• Fontova, Humberto. Castro Spies on Jack Nicholson and Pope.. Elias Seife. Retrieved on 2006-07-31.
• Jeffs, David (25 Jan 2004). POUNDS 1M BECK-TRAYAL. The Sunday People. Retrieved on 2006-07-30.
• Miami Nice for Ex-Castro man 6. The New York Post (24 Mar 2006). Retrieved on 2006-07-30.