Vladimir Putin Tried to Assassinate Kremlin Spy Turned CIA Informant in Miami in 2018: Report
June 20 2023, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
Vladimir Putin reportedly tried to assassinate a Kremlin spy-turned-CIA informant in Florida five years ago, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a surprising development to come as tensions between Russia and the United States remain at an all-time high, Putin reportedly attempted to kill Aleksandr Poteyev in Miami in 2018 after the former Kremlin intelligence official defected to the states.
According to Daily Mail, Poteyev’s work with the CIA resulted in the United States arresting 12 Russian spies residing undercover across the country – including infamous Putin spy Anna Chapman.
The outlet also reported that Poteyev fled Russia and escaped to the United States in 2010, at which point the CIA resettled the Putin traitor in Florida.
It was not until eight years later that Russia, with the help of a scientist from Oaxaca, Mexico named Hector Alejandro Cabrera Fuentes, launched their assassination plot in an effort to take Poteyev out.
Fuentes, who was tied to Moscow after he studied microbiology in Kazan, Russia, was instructed to travel to Miami and confirm Poteyev’s location.
But Fuentes was ultimately caught as he attempted to enter Poteyev’s apartment complex and, as he attempted to flee to Mexico two days later, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers.
A search of Fuentes’ phone and computer found a photo of Poteyev’s license plate from inside the apartment complex two days earlier and, after his arrest, Fuentes reportedly spilled Putin’s assassination plans to the United States officials.
The failed assassination attempt on Poteyev’s life ultimately intensified tensions between the United States and Russia, and the American government imposed sanctions against Moscow as a result of the incident.
Ten Russian diplomats were also reportedly expelled from the United States, while the Kremlin banished ten American diplomats from Moscow.
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As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the incident involving Poteyev in Miami in 2018 was far from the first time Putin attempted to assassinate a Kremlin intelligence official who turned their back on Russia.
Sergei V. Skripal, another former Russian spy, was allegedly poisoned in Salisbury, England in 2018 by Moscow operatives.
Skripal was convicted more than ten years earlier when he was found guilty of selling state secrets to British intelligence in 2006.
