Former US Ambassador admitted to spying for Cuba for four decades

Havana [Cuba], March 1: Former US Ambassador to Bolivia Victor Manuel Rocha admitted to helping Cuba spy, one of the largest and longest-lasting intrusions into the US government. AFP news agency reported on March 1 that a former US Ambassador to Bolivia who was indicted for helping Cuba spy for four decades just pleaded guilty to a US judge.
Mr. Victor Manuel Rocha (74 years old) was arrested in December 2023 in what US officials called "one of the largest and most sustained intrusions into the US government by a foreign agent".
Two weeks ago, Mr. Rocha pleaded not guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government, but then told Judge Beth Bloom at a pre-trial conference on February 29 that he wanted to change his plea. declare.
The court plans to officially record the change in Mr. Rocha's testimony on April 12 for sentencing.
Mr. Rocha is Colombian-American and is accused of helping Cuba as an undercover agent for the Cuban Directorate of Intelligence (DGI) in 1981 and continuing to do so until his arrest, according to US officials.
US Attorney General Merrick Garland, when announcing Mr. Rocha's arrest, said that the diplomat "repeatedly referred to the United States as an enemy and boasted about the importance of his efforts."
Mr. Rocha has worked at the US State Department since 1981 and rose through the ranks as a career diplomat, and has held positions in Cuba, Argentina, Mexico, Dominica and the United States.
He also worked at the US National Security Council from 1994-1995 under former President Bill Clinton and served as ambassador to Bolivia from 2000-2002 under former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. In addition, Mr. Rocha also worked as an advisor to the US military command in charge of Cuba.
The criminal complaint against him describes the former diplomat "acting as a Cuban agent" through multiple meetings with an undercover FBI agent since November 2022. Accordingly, Mr. Rocha praised the late Cuban President Fidel Castro and used the word "we" when talking about himself and Cuba.
Mr. Rocha admitted to going to Havana in 2016 or 2017 to meet with contacts at DGI and asked the undercover agent to send "my warmest greetings" to DGI.
The Cuban side did not immediately comment.
Other US citizens who have been arrested for revealing secrets to Cuba include former diplomat Walter Kendall Myers and his wife, Gwendolyn Myers. The couple was indicted in 2009 on charges of spying for Cuba for nearly 30 years. Mr. Myers was sentenced to life in prison and his wife was sentenced to 81 months in prison.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper