Ricardo Morales Navarette (June 14, 1939 – December 20, 1982), also known by the moniker "El Mono", was a Cuban exile and agent of the United States Central Intelligence Agency.
He worked for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for a period, including a stint in the Congo in 1964, where he claimed to have killed hundreds while serving as a mercenary.
[3] Over the next six years, Morales was the target of two unsuccessful assassination attempts, including a bomb attack on his car in April 1974.
[3] Investigators traced the bombing to two Venezuelan passengers, Freddy Lugo and Hernán Ricardo Lozano,[7][8] and soon after, Bosch and fellow Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles were implicated in the attack and arrested in Venezuela.
[3] In a 2006 interview, Bosch stated that before his arrest he was summoned to Morales's office, and offered some money and the chance to leave Venezuela, which he declined.
[3] The case that followed the narcotics investigation in 1982 was thrown out of court by a judge who stated that Morales lacked credibility as a witness.
[8] In reporting his death, The Washington Post described him as a "spy, counterspy, mercenary, confessed murderer, bomber, informer, dope dealer and operator extraordinary".