Lawrence Laser: a CIA operative in Latin America for most of his life

This story is part of an ongoing Miami Herald series chronicling the lives of South Florida COVID-19 victims.

Lawrence “Larry” Laser spent two-thirds of his life working for the CIA as an undercover operative and a contractor. The rest, said his family, was dedicated to his wife and the church

Laser was born in Washington, D.C. on May 2, 1933. He was raised in Kenwood, Maryland, where he met his wife, Phyllis, and started his career in the CIA’s Latin American Division. He died on April 13 of COVID-19.

He is survived by Phyllis, his children, Debra, Kevin and Lawrence Michael, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

“He was an incredible entertainer,” said Kevin Laser, his son. “He loved people and loved to be with people. He was a very good person.”

Larry Laser married Phyllis in the University of Maryland’s chapel at the end of their junior year in 1954. After graduation, he taught Spanish at the university, and Phyllis joined the CIA’s office of security. He soon followed her to Langley, where he joined the Latin American division.

Laser became an undercover operations officer, and they traveled extensively. They spent ten years stationed in Brazil and four in Miami.

They developed an immediate love for Brazil during their time there, and the city council of Belo Horizonte voted Laser an honorary citizen. Both quickly learned the language, and they were called almas gemeas, soulmates in Portuguese, by locals, said Kevin Laser.

“He loved Latin Americans, and Latin Americans loved him,” he said.

During his years in the CIA, Laser served as chief of base, chief of station, chief of operations for Latin America, and chief of counter-narcotics.

His main job centered around information-gathering. He met people and developed friendships that, in turn, would provide him with information of use to the agency, his son said.

“It’s mostly an information-gathering job and it’s a contact-gathering job,” Kevin Laser said. “If people like you and they feel comfortable around you, they provide information that you want.”

The couple hosted social events from birthday parties to cocktail soirees almost every night of the week. The couple was in sync during these events — and soon so were their outfits. This transitioned to their later life: they would regularly match outfits.

For the first 18 years of Kevin Laser’s life, the family moved every two years. They were twice stationed in Miami. In 1968, they bought a home in Coral Gables where they stayed for only two years before leaving for Maryland. On four occasions between 1959 and 1974, they were assigned to Brazil.

In 1975, the family returned to South Florida for what was likely Laser’s last undercover operation. Kevin doesn’t know exactly what the mission was, but suspects his father served as chief of operations for the Caribbean.

He retired from the agency in 1977 at age 44, after turning down an offer from Frank Carlucci, then deputy director of the CIA, to be his right-hand man, Kevin Laser said.

Laser became an active member of Bay Area Community Church, where he and Phylis regularly attended services. The Lasers’ love for entertaining didn’t halt after their retirement. They volunteered as DJ’s in senior centers and nursing homes and talked about the gospel every chance they had.

For the next 30 years, Laser did contract work for the agency in Maryland every so often, transporting and arranging housing for Latin America police officers whom the CIA was training in counter-narcotics and counterterrorism.

“These guys absolutely loved him because he went above and beyond the call of duty,” Kevin Laser said. “He was the best person in the position the CIA ever had. He loved doing it, and that was incredibly important in terms of getting people from the police in other countries to have a good impression of the U.S.”

Laser also served as director of international affairs for an energy company and president of a business security/intelligence firm.

In 2010, Phyllis’ health began to deteriorate and Laser turned full-time to her care. In 2014 they bought an apartment on Fort Lauderdale Beach, where they would occasionally vacation.

In the months before the COVID-19 outbreak, the family became concerned for Phyllis’ health. But Laser seemed relatively fine. Then the first wave of the pandemic hit. He fell ill in mid-March and had to be admitted into a nursing home in Maryland by the end of the month. Phyllis insisted she be admitted with him, fully understanding the health risks. They stayed in the same room and both contracted the virus.

Laser, unable to make it to the hospital, died in the nursing home of COVID-19. Phillys has since recovered.

His funeral was postponed, but his death created opportunities for others to share his story with the world.

“He loved nothing more than to talk about his love for Latin America and Jesus, and I think this is exactly what he would have wanted,” said his grandson, Shawn Laser.

Nicole Forero, a Florida International University journalism student, wrote this story for the Miami Herald.