Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The FBI closely monitored Nelson Mandela after the Cold War ended, fearing that the South American president was a national security risk, according to documents obtained by Al Jazeera.
The records show concerns among the U.S. that Mandela was a possible communist threat after he was released from prison, even as President George H. W. Bush cultivated a relationship with him and his African National Congress.
The FBI infiltrated Mandela’s meetings with a confidential informant and spied on his gatherings with world leaders, according to the records.
The heavily redacted documents were turned over to a historian, Ryan Shapiro, as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.
