Former US Ambassador Admits Spying for Cuba for Decades
- March 1, 2024
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Former US Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha, arrested in Miami last December and charged with several criminal charges related to fraud and spying for Cuba for 40 years, announced
Former US Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha, arrested in Miami last December and charged with several criminal charges related to fraud and spying for Cuba for 40 years, announced this Thursday in a Miami court that he will plead guilty.
Rocha, 73, said today he will plead guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government after pleading not guilty to the charges against him on Feb. 14.
Rocha’s change of testimony and sentencing hearing were set for April 12, according to court documents accessed by EFE.
The Colombian-born former diplomat served as U.S. ambassador to several Latin American countries and is accused of “committing numerous federal crimes while secretly acting for decades as an agent of the government of the Republic of Cuba,” according to the U.S. government indictment.
Asked by Circuit Judge Beth Bloom at Thursday’s court hearing if he wanted to change his previous plea of not guilty, Rocha said, “I agree.”
Rocha faces a total of 15 charges across 6 crimes, which carry a prison sentence of up to 60 years if convicted.
The charges include a charge of “acting as an unlawful agent of a foreign government (Cuba),” as well as conspiracy to commit the same crime and “defrauding the United States.”
He also faces five counts of fraud, according to the court document: three for “making a false statement on a passport application,” four for “using a passport obtained by false application” and one for “false statements and representations.” , accusation.
According to the United States, the former ambassador is accused of numerous federal crimes because he secretly acted for approximately forty years as an “agent of the government of the Republic of Cuba.”
Rocha was arrested in Miami on December 1 after confessing his activities to an FBI agent posing as another Cuban spy.
From 1981 to 2002, Rocha was an employee of the U.S. Department of State and held various positions at the U.S. embassies in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia.
According to the indictment, between 2022 and 2023, three meetings occurred between Rocha and an FBI special agent who posed as “Miguel,” a representative of Cuba’s General Directorate of Intelligence.
In these meetings, which were recorded and conducted in Spanish, the former diplomat repeatedly referred to the United States as the “enemy” and admitted that his greatest concern while at the State Department was “strengthening the Cuban revolution.” EFE
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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