Vicky Peláez
Vicky Peláez is a Peruvian journalist, currently writing for The Moscow News and Sputnik. In “Russians Among Us,” Gordon Corera writes that Peláez was “one of the first female reporters in Peru” and “quickly built a reputation as a gritty journalist, unafraid to take risks.” Born in 1956, “her political views were left-wing. She saw herself as standing up to the powerful and speaking for the oppressed, and was a critic of American foreign policy, especially in Latin America.” In June 2010, Peláez, her husband Mikhail Vasenkov, and eight others were arrested by the FBI for allegedly carrying out long-term, deep-cover assignments in the U.S. on behalf of Russia. All ten pleaded guilty and were deported to Russia as part of a spy swap, but Peláez “has always maintained that she did not know her husband was a Russian illegal.” The arrests, part of an FBI investigation called Operation Ghost Stories, inspired the TV show “The Americans.” The FBI had monitored Peláez and Vasenkov for years, listening in as the couple discussed his reports to Moscow and her travel to Peru to collect money from Russian embassy employees. Vasenkov even told the FBI that “his wife had indeed gone to South America and delivered letters to the ‘Service’ on his behalf.” Various news reports suggest that Peláez and Vasenkov moved back to Peru following their arrest and deportation.