The United States on Monday charged a former ambassador with spying for Cuban intelligence for more than 40 years. Justice described the case as one of the farthest and longest infiltration operations within the American government ever.
Victor Manuel Rocha is accused of multiple crimes, including serving as an illegal alien agent and using a fraudulently obtained passport. Rocha was US ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, but is said to have begun spying in 1981.
“We allege that Victor Manuel Rocha served as an agent of the Cuban government for more than forty years and sought and obtained positions within the U.S. government that provided him with access to non-public information and the ability to influence U.S. foreign policy,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. In a statement Monday.
A court document said Rocha admitted to decades of working for Cuba during a series of meetings in 2022 and 2023 with an undercover FBI agent who posed as an undercover representative of Cuban intelligence. Rocha, 73, was arrested and is expected to appear before a federal judge in Miami on Monday.
Rocha held several other positions before serving as ambassador
Rocha worked at the State Department from 1981 to 2002. He served on the White House National Security Council from 1994 to 1995 and served as an advisor to the commander of the U.S. military’s Southern Command from about 2006 to about 2012.
A US State Department spokesman said he could not provide details about this case. The consequences of this problem are currently being determined.
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