Victor Manuel Rocha admitted his decades of intelligence-gathering work for Cuba to an undercover FBI agent last year, court papers say
04 December 2023 - 22:43
byAndrew Goudsward and Katharine Jackson
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US attorney-general Merrick Garland. Picture: REUTERS/EVERLYN HOCKSTEIN
Washington — The US on Monday charged a former ambassador to Bolivia with spying for Cuba for over 40 years, in what the justice department described as one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the US government by a foreign agent.
Victor Manuel Rocha, who served as US ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, was charged with committing multiple federal crimes including acting as an illegal foreign agent and using a fraudulently obtained passport, the justice department said in a statement.
“We allege that for over 40 years, Victor Manuel Rocha served as an agent of the Cuban government and sought out and obtained positions within the United States government that would provide him with access to nonpublic information and the ability to affect US foreign policy,” attorney-general Merrick Garland said in the statement.
Rocha, 73, was arrested and was due to appear before a federal judge in Miami on Monday. He was not immediately reachable for comment.
Rocha worked for the state department from 1981 to 2002, the department said. He served on the White House’s National Security Council from 1994 to 1995, and worked as an adviser to the US military’s Southern Command from about 2006 to around 2012, the department added.
State department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters he was unable to provide details on an ongoing law enforcement matter.
“We will in the coming days, weeks, months, work with our partners in the intelligence community to assess any long-term national security implications for this matter,” Miller said at a regular press briefing.
In a court document filed in the southern district of Florida, the US accuses Rocha of having secretly supported Cuba and its clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against Washington since 1981.
Rocha admitted his decades of work for Cuba in a series of meetings in 2022 and 2023 with an undercover FBI agent who posed as a covert Cuban General Directorate of Intelligence representative, according to the court document.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
US charges former diplomat with spying for Cuba
Victor Manuel Rocha admitted his decades of intelligence-gathering work for Cuba to an undercover FBI agent last year, court papers say
Washington — The US on Monday charged a former ambassador to Bolivia with spying for Cuba for over 40 years, in what the justice department described as one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the US government by a foreign agent.
Victor Manuel Rocha, who served as US ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, was charged with committing multiple federal crimes including acting as an illegal foreign agent and using a fraudulently obtained passport, the justice department said in a statement.
“We allege that for over 40 years, Victor Manuel Rocha served as an agent of the Cuban government and sought out and obtained positions within the United States government that would provide him with access to nonpublic information and the ability to affect US foreign policy,” attorney-general Merrick Garland said in the statement.
Rocha, 73, was arrested and was due to appear before a federal judge in Miami on Monday. He was not immediately reachable for comment.
Rocha worked for the state department from 1981 to 2002, the department said. He served on the White House’s National Security Council from 1994 to 1995, and worked as an adviser to the US military’s Southern Command from about 2006 to around 2012, the department added.
State department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters he was unable to provide details on an ongoing law enforcement matter.
“We will in the coming days, weeks, months, work with our partners in the intelligence community to assess any long-term national security implications for this matter,” Miller said at a regular press briefing.
In a court document filed in the southern district of Florida, the US accuses Rocha of having secretly supported Cuba and its clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against Washington since 1981.
Rocha admitted his decades of work for Cuba in a series of meetings in 2022 and 2023 with an undercover FBI agent who posed as a covert Cuban General Directorate of Intelligence representative, according to the court document.
Reuters
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