The US has charged a former ambassador to Bolivia, Victor Manuel Rocha, with acting as a Cuban agent for over 40 years. This is considered one of the most serious breaches of US security in recent history. The US government is still trying to determine the full extent of the damage caused by Rocha’s actions.
In a significant development, the United States has charged Victor Manuel Rocha, a former ambassador to Bolivia, with spying for Cuba for more than four decades. The Justice Department described this as one of the longest and most extensive infiltrations of the U.S. government by a foreign agent.
Victor Manuel Rocha, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. He is facing charges for multiple federal crimes, including acting as an illegal foreign agent and using a fraudulently obtained passport, according to a statement from the Justice Department.
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “We allege that for over 40 years, Victor Manuel Rocha served as an agent of the Cuban government and sought out positions within the United States government to access non-public information and influence U.S. foreign policy.”
Authorities arrested 73-year-old Rocha, and he is to appear before a federal judge in Miami. Attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful.
Spy’s History In Establishment
Rocha worked for the State Department from 1981 to 2002. He served on the White House’s National Security Council from 1994 to 1995. He was also an adviser to the Commander of the U.S. military’s Southern Command from around 2006 to around 2012, as per the Justice Department.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, at a regular press briefing. Mentioned, “We will work with our partners in the intelligence community to assess any long-term national security implications for this matter in the coming days, weeks, and months,” while refraining from providing details on the ongoing law enforcement matter.
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According to a court document filed in the southern district of Florida. Rocha confessed to supporting Cuba’s intelligence-gathering mission against Washington since 1981. These admissions reportedly came in meetings with an undercover FBI agent posing as a covert Cuban Directorate of Intelligence representative in 2022 and 2023.
This case is sure to send shockwaves through the US government and raise serious questions about how a foreign agent was able to infiltrate the US diplomatic corps for so long. It is also likely to damage relations between the US and Cuba, which have already been strained in recent years.