MIAMI -- A college professor and his wife, a university administrator, have been charged with being illegal agents of Cuba's communist government run by President Fidel Castro, according to court documents unsealed Monday.

Carlos Alvarez, 61, a psychology professor at Florida International University, and his wife, 55-year-old Elsa Alvarez, have been charged with acting as agents of Cuba without registering with the U.S. government as required.

The indictment said that the couple had provided the Cuban government with information about individuals, groups, political figures, exiles and matters of interest to Cuba.

Carlos and Elsa Alvarez were ordered held without bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrea Simonton, who rejected pleas by their attorneys for release on bail. Simonton said she agreed with federal prosecutors that the couple would leave their five children and return to Cuba if released.

Neither entered a plea. Another hearing was set for Jan. 19. They were arrested Friday, months after giving voluntary statements this summer about their contacts with Cuba to the FBI, prosecutors said.

The Indictment

Brian Frazier, an assistant U.S. attorney, said that Alvarez had spied for Cuba since 1977 and his wife since 1982. Neither was charged with the more serious offense of espionage, and FBI agents acknowledged there is not evidence that they provided classified or military information to Cuba.

Much of what they provided, according to Frazier, involved information about the U.S. political situation, prominent Cuban-Americans in South Florida and the names of at least one FBI agent.

Frazier said the two used an elaborate encryption system provided by Cuba to communicate with their handlers via short-wave radio and carried messages to and from Cuba using their academic covers.

"These were highly placed and very well-regarded operatives in the United States," Frazier said.

The History At FIU

According to the FIU Web site:

"Carlos M. Alvarez is Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Foundations and Professional Studies in the College of Education at FIU. He received a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Florida in 1972, and is a specialist in the psychology of ethnic identities, interactive conflict resolution, and higher education in Latin American and the Caribbean.
"Alvarez has chaired discussion groups and presented papers relating to Cuban-American ethnic identity, education and society in Cuba, and the political psychology of U.S.-Cuban relations at several international conferences. He has been a consultant for a number of educational institutions and organizations, including the Department of Educational Planning and Research for the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C."

Elsa Alvarez is described as a coordinator in the social work training program, specializing in psychological treatment, crisis intervention and group psychotherapy. Her records indicated that she had received extremely positive evaluations for her performance.

Elsa Alvarez had just returned Dec. 5 from a six-month long medical leave. The reason for the leave was not specified.

Colleagues React

More than 30 friends were at the courthouse to support the couple. Many waited outside of the crowded courtroom. When Local 10 Political reporter told them that Carlos and Elsa Alvarez had already admitted to being spies, many expressed shock and others wept.

Colleagues at FIU said the arrests came as a complete shock. Many expressed disbelief that Alvarez could be considered a spy.

The couple's offices were left as though they expected to return. His with notes, pictures of him with students, and a gift. Hers was tidy, filled with psychology-related books and impressionist art.

There was no indication in the offices or in any records kept by the college of any possible ties to spying for Cuba.

South Florida-Cuba Connection

The indictment marks the latest turn in the cloak-and-dagger underworld of espionage between the United States and Cuba, much of it taking place in South Florida where thousands of Cuban exiles live.

In August, the convictions and sentences of five alleged Cuban spies were thrown out by a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that the five were unfairly tried because of intense publicity, community prejudice and inflammatory remarks by prosecutors.

They were accused of being part of the Wasp Network of Cuban spies operating on U.S. soil. They admitted being agents of Cuba but insisted they were spying on Cuban exiles opposed to Castro, not on the United States itself.

The full 11th Circuit has agreed to rehear the arguments on whether the five got a fair trial.