Taking over an intelligence agency is both an honor and a formidable challenge, especially when it's in dire need of reform.

Purging politicized elements, eliminating inefficiencies, and restoring the agency’s original mission are critical tasks.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s buyout initiative presents a unique opportunity to reshape the agency.

Its success, however, hinges on whether it's part of a broader reform strategy or merely an early retirement package for bureaucrats.

Lessons from Experience

When this writer took charge of Guatemala’s Secretariat of Strategic Intelligence (SIE) in 2016, he inherited an institution plagued by corruption, incompetence, and political interference.

Intelligence leaks to private corporations, criminal organizations, and even foreign governments were rampant. Yet, legal gaps prevented holding bad actors accountable for treason and classified leaks, undermining national security.

Over 18 months, we implemented rigorous personnel verification, including polygraph tests and performance reviews for all employees, myself included.

Many corrupt or incompetent individuals left on their own, while others were weeded out through enhanced standards. A similar approach, coupled with Director Ratcliffe’s buyout, could effectively restructure the CIA.

However, the buyout alone is insufficient — it must be part of a comprehensive overhaul.

The First Cut: Letting the Rats Jump Ship

When a ship sinks, the first to flee are those who can swim.

Those accepting Ratcliffe’s buyout likely see better opportunities elsewhere, whether due to ideological discomfort with the agency’s new direction or market demand for their expertise.

This initial purge could remove those unwilling to depoliticize and refocus on intelligence gathering and analysis.

Over the past decade, political agendas have compromised the CIA’s credibility.

Career officers prioritizing ideology over objective analysis have eroded trust in the agency’s work. If the buyout effectively parts ways with those pursuing ideological causes rather than national security, it will be a success. However, further steps are needed.

The Performance Review: Trimming or Unloading the Dead Weight

A voluntary buyout does not necessarily target the real problem: underperformers and purportedly politically motivated, and purportedly corrupt bureaucrats who will not leave willingly.

To truly reform the CIA, a rigorous performance review process is essential.

The agency cannot afford dead weight. The bottom 5%-10% of recurring underperformers should be removed outright, buyout or not. Intelligence demands precision, strategy, and dedication. Those whose political biases compromise national security should face consequences. Intelligence must remain impartial; analysts who skew assessments for political purposes are liabilities. Ratcliffe’s buyout should be one step in a broader effort to eliminate incompetence and partisanship.

Reining In Contractors: Source of Wasteful Spending

If Ratcliffe’s goal is to reduce waste and save taxpayer money, he must freeze private contracting jobs and subject them to rigorous internal review.

Intelligence outsourcing has grown unsustainable, with contractors performing roles once held by CIA employees. This inflates budgets and creates security risks.

Private contractors should be evaluated based on performance and value.

Are they delivering strategic benefits or simply draining resources?

Contractors who fail to justify their costs should be cut, with their roles reassigned internally or eliminated. Intelligence is too critical to be weighed down by inefficiency. Ratcliffe could also invite the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to conduct a highly secured, compartmentalized review of contractor effectiveness to ensure U.S. taxpayers' money is well spent and are truly getting their money's worth.

Rebuilding the Ranks: Raising Hiring Standards

The buyout will create vacancies, but these cannot be filled with more of the same.

If the CIA is to regain its stature as the world’s premier intelligence agency, it must recruit the best and brightest — individuals dedicated to national service rather than political agendas.

For too long, intelligence agencies have lowered hiring standards under political and ideological pressures, often at the expense of operational effectiveness.

While diversity of thought is valuable, competence and commitment to national security must come first.

Ratcliffe now possesses the opportunity to restore rigorous selection criteria, ensuring new recruits possess the intellectual rigor, ethical fortitude, and strategic mindset necessary for intelligence work.

The Future of the CIA

Ratcliffe’s buyout initiative presents both risks and opportunities.

If executed correctly, it will serve as a much-needed purge, ridding the CIA of dead weight, de facto political activists, and inefficient contractors while making room for a new generation of intelligence officers committed to national security.

However, a buyout alone is insufficient.

Such a move must be part of a broader reform strategy, including performance-based removals, contractor accountability, and elevated hiring standards.

Only then can the CIA reclaim its role as America’s first line of defense, operating with the precision, integrity, and effectiveness that national security demands.

The stakes could not be higher.

This is not merely about budget cuts or bureaucratic reshuffling — it's about ensuring that America’s intelligence apparatus is prepared for the threats of the 21st century.

The world is watching, and the U.S. needs a CIA that is both respected and formidable once more.

Should he succeed, Director Ratcliffe has the rare opportunity to cement his legacy as one of the greatest leaders in the agency’s history.

Mario Duarte is co-founder and CEO of DH Global Strategy, a global consulting and lobbying firm.​ He is the youngest and longest serving Secretary of Strategic Intelligence to hold office in Guatemala. His professional credentials include more than 18 years of experience in the fields of intelligence, national security, consulting, and strategy development in several countries. Follow Mario Duarte on Twitter: @marioduartegar​ and Instagram: @marioduartegar. Read Mario Duarte's Reports — More Here.