Nelson Mandela, pictured in 1994, was in prison for nearly 28 years after police were told where to arrest him Rex Features 
 
 A former CIA spy has revealed his key role in the arrest of Nelson Mandela, which led to the future South African president’s trial and imprisonment for almost 28 years. 
 
 The bombshell disclosure led yesterday to a demand for the CIA to come clean about putting behind bars a figure who became one of the world’s most revered statesmen. 
 
 A veteran political associate of Mandela called it a “shameful act of betrayal” that “hindered the struggle against apartheid”. 
 
 The former CIA operative, Donald Rickard, was unrepentant, saying that when arrested in 1962 Mandela was “the world’s most dangerous communist outside of the Soviet Union”. 
 
 He made his taped confession in March to the director John Irvin, who has recreated Mandela’s final months of freedom before… ||||| Leaders from across the world will gather in South Africa this week to pay tribute to the most extraordinary leader of our lifetime, Nelson Mandela. The chorus of tributes, from across the globe and across the political spectrum, cannot hope to do justice to this remarkable man, who emerged from 27 years in prison with a grace, dignity and will sufficient to transform the brutal apartheid system peacefully and spread hope across the world. 
 
 But Mandela was not always universally praised. In fact, U.S. administrations of both parties were far from ardent opponents of South Africa’s apartheid regime or supporters of Mandela and his organization, the African National Congress (ANC). Conservatives in particular long saw the apartheid regime as an anti-communist bulwark in the Cold War. After Mandela was sentenced to life in prison, the conservative National Review magazine defended South African courts for sending up “a batch of admitted terrorists to life in the penitentiary.” Conservative Russell Kirk opined that democratic rule in South Africa would bring “the collapse of civilization,” and the resulting government would be “domination by witch doctors … and reckless demagogues.” 
 
 Editor and publisher of the Nation magazine, vanden Heuvel writes a weekly column for The Post. View Archive 
 
 President Richard Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, believed the apartheid regime was an essential ally that was here to stay, arguing in a secret National Security Council policy study — dubbed the “Tar Baby” report — that the United States shouldn’t risk getting stuck in support of the oppressed majority. 
 
 Ronald Reagan branded the ANC a terrorist organization while dismissing apartheid as more of a “tribal policy than a racial policy.” He advocated “constructive engagement” with the regime, calling for closer trade relations while opposing economic sanctions. The emerging new right gleefully joined in labeling the ANC and other African liberation movements communist, while promoting their own “freedom movements,” largely tribal and racialist alternatives. Jack Abramoff, later infamously indicted for illegal lobbying and financial frauds, became president of the International Freedom Foundation, later exposed as a front group for the South African Army, established to discredit the ANC as communists and terrorists. Grover Norquist and others mobilized to counter the divestment movement. (Norquist sported a bumper sticker saying “I’d rather be killing commies.”) In 1990, when Mandela was released from prison and traveled to the United States, the Heritage Foundation called him a terrorist. 
 
 Mandela and the ANC enraged the Cold Warriors. The ANC was allied closely with the South African Communist Party (indeed, the latter was a significant factor in keeping the ANC a multiracial party). The Soviet Union and Cuba provided external support. Mandela refused to disavow the use of violence against the repressive apartheid regime, even when offered an earlier release from prison. Upon his release, Mandela continued to embrace Castro as a “source of inspiration.” He remained a severe critic of Israel, condemning its treatment of the Palestinians. When he opposed Bush’s war on Iraq, National Review contributor Dave Kopel condemned his “long standing dedication to Communism and praise for terrorism.” 
 
 In 1985, the ANC called for U.S. sanctions against South Africa, arguing that the apartheid regime show no sign of changing. The movement to get American institutions and businesses to disinvest from South Africa — led by student and religious activists — spread across the country. President Obama remembers giving his first political speech for the cause. 
 
 But the movement was initially scorned as extreme and unrealistic. Moderates and the U.S. business community rallied around the “Sullivan principles,” named after the Rev. Leon Sullivan, a board member of General Motors, who tried to develop a code of conduct for businesses investing in South Africa. 
 
 In 1985, 180 House members (including 45 Democrats) voted against a nonbinding resolution calling on the apartheid regime to release Mandela. The naysayers included Dick Cheney and John McCain. In 1986 the Congress eventually passed economic sanctions over Reagan’s veto, and the pressure created the conditions for Mandela’s release and South Africa’s redemption. 
 
 This history has particular relevance now. Americans should not forget how our ideological anti-communist fervor blinded us to apartheid’s brutalities, as well as that of other dictatorships. Even as we claimed to be the champion of freedom, we were happy to embrace apartheid in the cause of anti-communism, and to compromise our principles to our interests. Across the world, the United States is now engaged in a war on terrorists, often fought with deadly drones targeting from afar. Too often we overlook or, worse, are complicit in the repression that drives people to violent resistance. Too often we fail to see that one person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter. It is worth remembering that the ANC stayed on the terrorist list until 2003, forcing Nelson Mandela to get a special waiver when he traveled here. And that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., like Mandela, was denounced as a communist and a terrorist, and hunted by the FBI. 
 
 So as we celebrate the extraordinary life and triumphs of this special man and remarkable leader, we should not forget that our national security agencies got him and his movement wrong. And Cold Warriors in both parties chose to close their eyes to apartheid in the name of anti-communism. It took citizen activists, a global movement, horrible sacrifice by the South African people and a courageous leader and his team to force the change. 
 
 Read more from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s archive or follow her on Twitter. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A look back at the life of Nelson Mandela 
 
 South Africans have gathered in Johannesburg and Soweto to mourn their former leader, Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday aged 95. 
 
 Crowds have been paying tribute, dancing and singing in front of Mr Mandela's former home in Soweto. 
 
 He is to be accorded a state funeral on Sunday 15 December, President Jacob Zuma announced. 
 
 Mr Mandela spent 27 years in jail before becoming South Africa's first black president in 1994. 
 
 His administration replaced the racist white-minority regime that had enforced segregation of black and white people in a policy known as apartheid. 
 
 Mr Mandela went on to become one of the world's most respected statesmen. 
 
 At a news conference on Friday afternoon, Mr Zuma outlined a week of events to mourn the former president. 
 
 1918 Born in the Eastern Cape 1943 Joins ANC 1956 Charged with high treason, but charges dropped after a four-year trial 1962 Jailed for five years for incitement and leaving country without a passport 1964 Charged with sabotage, sentenced to life 1990 Freed from prison 1993 Wins Nobel Peace Prize 1994-99 Serves as president 2004 Retires from public life 2010 Last major public appearance at football World Cup in Johannesburg Remembering the man South African papers pay tribute to Mandela 
 
 Sunday will be an official day of prayer and reflection with special religious services 
 
 On Tuesday, a service of national mourning will be held at a 95,000-seater stadium on the outskirts of Johannesburg 
 
 Mr Mandela's body will lie in state from Wednesday to Friday in the capital, Pretoria 
 
 The funeral will be held in the village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape, where Mr Mandela grew up. South African Airways has announced that it will provide extra flights to Qunu for mourners. 
 
 Hundreds have attended an interfaith remembrance service outside Cape Town's City Hall. The Johannesburg stock exchange suspended operations for five minutes on Friday as a mark of respect. 
 
 Criticism 
 
 "We sincerely thank all South Africans for the dignified manner in which they have respected and responded to the monumental loss of this international icon," Mr Zuma said. 
 
 Speaking in Cape Town, Mr Mandela's long-time ally, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, described him as an "incredible gift" to South Africa. "He taught us extraordinarily practical lessons about forgiveness, compassion and reconciliation." 
 
 He also cited Mr Mandela's weaknesses, including "his steadfast loyalty to his organisation and some of his colleagues who ultimately let him down". 
 
 Image caption Mourners were gathered outside Mr Mandela's old home in Soweto into Friday night 
 
 Image caption Hundreds also came to pay their respects outside Mr Mandela's home in the suburb of Houghton 
 
 Mr Mandela had been receiving treatment at home for a recurring lung illness since September, when he was discharged from hospital. 
 
 As soon as the news of his death broke late on Thursday, small crowds began to gather in Soweto's Vilakazi Street, where Mr Mandela lived in the 1940s and 1950s. 
 
 Crowds also gathered outside Mr Mandela's current home, in Johannesburg's northern suburb of Houghton, where he died. A stage has been erected there and speeches are being given and hymns sung. 
 
 President Zuma visited the house in the early afternoon to pay his respects. 
 
 Across the world, leaders, celebrities and members of the public have been paying tribute. 
 
 Pope Francis said Mr Mandela had forged "a new South Africa built on the firm foundations of non-violence, reconciliation and truth". 
 
 Queen Elizabeth II said she was "deeply saddened" to learn of Mr Mandela's death and said she remembered her meetings with him "with great warmth". 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption What was apartheid? A 90-second look back at decades of injustice 
 
 "He achieved more than could be expected of any man. Today, he has gone home," said US President Barack Obama. 
 
 The White House has announced that Mr Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be travelling to South Africa next week to pay their respects and take part in memorial events. 
 
 Analysis South Africans are mourning Nelson Mandela through songs of struggle and church hymns. One of the songs is "Nelson Mandela ha hona ea tshwanang le yena" which in Sotho means there is no-one like Nelson Mandela. This song and many others like it encapsulate the deep sense of loss here and the realisation that his passing marks the end of an era. Even South Africans who had never met him had made a special place for him in their hearts. They will remember him as the father of the nation, who brought an end to apartheid and delivered the nation from the brink of civil war. Children carrying posters slowly march up and down Vilakazi street, where Mr Mandela's Soweto home is. Others are standing outside his old house, now turned into a museum. There is an air of heaviness here - none of the loud hooting of minibus taxis that usually make up the energy of this busy street, no cars speeding down blaring loud music. Instead those not part of the mournful singing speak in hushed tones. Elderly women with walking sticks are part of the group that has come to send off the nation's icon. Nelson Mandela death: Soweto's sorrow 
 
 The opening of a summit of African leaders in Paris to discuss security was dedicated to Mr Mandela, with many of those present paying tribute. 
 
 Flags are flying at half-mast on government buildings in Washington DC, Paris and across South Africa. The European Union and world football body Fifa have also ordered their flags to be lowered. 
 
 Parliament in Pretoria is expected to hold a special joint session to reflect on Mr Mandela's life and legacy. 
 
 The BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Johannesburg says South Africa will never have seen a state funeral like it, with leaders, dignitaries and other admirers of the former president expected from all over the world. 
 
 It will be a huge logistical challenge, especially given the remoteness of Qunu, our correspondent adds. 
 
 Mr Mandela died shortly before 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Thursday. 
 
 He won admiration around the world when he preached reconciliation after being freed from almost three decades of imprisonment. 
 
 He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 along with FW de Klerk, South Africa's last white president. 
 
 Mr de Klerk, who ordered Mr Mandela's release from jail, called him a "unifier" and said he had "a remarkable lack of bitterness". 
 
 Image caption The young as well as older people have been deeply affected by his death 
 
 Image caption Mr Mandela has been credited with uniting South Africans of every colour 
 
 Image caption Mr Mandela's former fellow anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu paid tribute at a service in Capetown 
 
 Image caption Mr Mandela's death has been marked around the world. Here passers-by pay tribute in the Chinese capital Beijing 
 
 Mr Mandela had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004. He made his last public appearance in 2010, at the football World Cup in South Africa. 
 
 Roving diplomat 
 
 Born in 1918, Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1943, as a law student. 
 
 He and other ANC leaders campaigned against apartheid. 
 
 Initially he campaigned peacefully but in the 1960s the ANC began to advocate violence, and Mr Mandela was made the commander of its armed wing. 
 
 He was arrested for sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, serving most of his sentence on Robben Island. 
 
 He was released in 1990 as South Africa began to move away from strict racial segregation - a process completed by the first multi-racial elections in 1994. 
 
 Mr Mandela served a single term as president before stepping down in 1999. 
 
 After leaving office, he became South Africa's highest-profile ambassador, campaigning against HIV/Aids and helping to secure his country's right to host the 2010 football World Cup.
– In an interview recorded two weeks before his death, a former CIA agent claimed he had prevented a war by giving South African authorities a tip that led to the arrest of the "Black Pimpernel"—better known as Nelson Mandela. In March, 88-year-old Donald Rickard told film director John Irvin that when he was the US vice consul in Durban in 1962, African National Congress informants told him Mandela was visiting the city and he shared that information with police, leading to Mandela's arrest at a roadblock as he tried to return to Johannesburg, the Times of London reports. The ANC leader spent the next 28 years in prison. An unrepentant Rickard said he and his CIA handlers saw Mandela as "a toy of the communists" who was completely controlled by the Soviet Union. Rickard—who retired in 1978 and died on March 30, according to an obituary in the Pagosa Springs Sun—claimed Mandela was preparing to incite a communist rebellion against apartheid, which could have led to Moscow's involvement. "If the Soviets had come in force, the United States would have had to get involved, and things could have gone to hell," he said. "We were teetering on the brink here and it had to be stopped, which meant Mandela had to be stopped. And I put a stop to it." Irvin's movie about the months before the arrest, Mandela’s Gun, will debut at the Cannes Film Festival this week, the Guardian reports. An ANC spokesman called the news "a serious indictment" and accused the agency of interfering in South African politics to this day, reports the Telegraph. The CIA has declined to comment. (President Obama toured Mandela's former prison cell in a 2013 visit to South Africa.)