Why CNI agents turn traitors: real-life stories from Rueda’s book
Spanish intelligence at risk: how internal betrayals threaten national security
The Flores case—a wake-up call for CNI: what will change in Spain’s intelligence services
Spain is once again debating why intelligence agents end up on the wrong side of the law and what happens when the state turns its back on its own people. The book ‘No me llames traidor’ by journalist Fernando Rueda has sparked new discussions about the limits of loyalty and betrayal within the national security system. Against the backdrop of high-profile cases like former CNI staffer Roberto Flores, it’s clear that even the most secretive agencies are not immune to internal threats.
Shadows of intelligence
Within CNI, unwritten rules shape everyday realities, and loyalty is often in question. According to russpain.com, most acts of betrayal never reach the public eye. Only select cases, like Flores’s, become media stories. The rest are investigated and silenced within the agency itself, creating a climate of mistrust and constant tension among staff.
The reasons agents choose betrayal are always complex and layered. Money, pressure, fear, or a hunger for power—each case is unique. Equally important, however, are situations in which the state abandons its people, leaving them without support at critical moments. This undermines faith in the system and triggers new conflicts within the agency.
Hidden mechanisms
Investigations searching for ‘moles’ in the CNI resemble a complex game without rules. Under strict secrecy and compartmentalization of information across departments, finding a traitor is nearly impossible. Any attempt at an open search may only do harm by alerting the perpetrator. As a result, most of these cases drag on for years, and some never reach a conclusion.
Rueda’s book gives the example of British intelligence, where for a quarter of a century they failed to identify an agent working for Russia. The Spanish system faces similar challenges: even with suspicions, proving guilt is extremely difficult. Agents receive special training to evade internal checks and often act so cautiously that catching them red-handed is impossible.
The price of silence
The question of who becomes a traitor and why remains open. In reality, as russpain.com points out, most of these stories will never leave official offices. The state prefers to handle such issues quietly to avoid undermining public trust in the system. But it is this secrecy that becomes fertile ground for new betrayals.
As international scandals, leaks, and geopolitical conflicts become routine, Spanish intelligence agencies are forced to operate under constant alert. Each new act of betrayal is not just a blow to their reputation but also a warning that internal procedures and relationships with staff must be reexamined.
In his book, Fernando Rueda raises questions rarely discussed in public: who is really at fault—the individual who chooses to betray, or the system that failed to keep them loyal? The answers remain ambiguous, while the line between loyalty and treason grows increasingly blurry.
The story of Roberto Flores is just one among many, but it became a symbol of vulnerability within even the most secure institutions. In 2010, he was convicted of passing classified information to Russian intelligence, exposing weaknesses in CNI’s oversight system. Similar incidents have occurred in other countries: in the United Kingdom and the United States, ‘moles’ have repeatedly gone undetected for years. These cases show that no intelligence agency is immune to internal threats, and that trust within the system is a resource easily lost and almost impossible to restore.
