The US Attorney’s Office presented the formal complaint against former diplomat Víctor Manuel Rocha, on the night of Monday, December 4, after being arrested on Friday in Miami, accused of working as an alleged spy for Cuba. If the allegations are proven, Rocha would be the first member of the elite US Foreign Service to be charged and convicted of betraying his oath in the country’s history.
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After a life dedicated to American diplomacy, Víctor Manuel Rocha has been arrested and will be taken to court in Miami. This was announced on the night of Monday, December 4, by the United States Prosecutor’s Office, which accuses Rocha – who was the US ambassador to several Latin American countries – of working as a spy for Cuba.
“This measure exposes one of the highest level and longest infiltrations in the United States Government by a foreign agent. “We allege that, for more than 40 years, Víctor Manuel Rocha acted as an agent of the Cuban Government and sought and obtained positions within the United States Government that provided him access to non-public information and the possibility of affecting US foreign policy,” said the Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, in a statement released by the State Department.
Rocha has an extensive career as a diplomat, now retired. He worked for the State Department under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush for more than two decades. He served on the National Security Council from 1994 to 1995; He served as principal deputy director of the United States Interests Section in Havana, between 1995 and 1997; He was US ambassador to Bolivia, from 2000 to 2002, and served as an advisor to the US military command, 2006 to 2012, a position with which he had relevance in the US embassies in the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Cuba.
But, according to the Prosecutor’s Office complaint, his work as a spy began much earlier. The diplomat, who was born in Colombia and later became an American citizen, would have been collaborating with the Cuban Government since 1981. One of his objectives, according to data published by the US authorities, was to “strengthen the Cuban revolution.”
How did they discover the alleged spy?
After more than forty years allegedly as a spy, many wonder what the mistake was that incriminated Rocha. According to the attached evidence, the former diplomat would have betrayed himself. Of course, during a setup planned by the FBI, in which they made an undercover agent of the agency, “Miguel” – who was posing as a Cuban intelligence agent – meet with Rocha last year in Miami.
“What we have done is enormous (…) More than a Grand Slam,” he noted in one of these listens.
During these, the American of Colombian origin praised Fidel Castro and referred to him as “commander”, in addition to describing the United States as the “enemy” and accusing the inefficiency of the US counterespionage department, which was not able to detect him during more than 40 years as a Cuban mole, according to the complaint.
According to the evidence, Rocha’s strategy consisted of posing as a right-wing person so that he would not be associated with the matter. His acquaintances claim that the former diplomat was an open follower of the far-right former president Donald Trump. Supposedly false inclinations that would only be part of his cover.
According to the AP news agency, which published the information exclusively, when arrested and interrogated last Friday by the Diplomatic Security Service, Rocha denied having met anyone who matched the description of the undercover FBI agent.
The revelation has also surprised professional colleagues, such as John Feeley, a former diplomat and former US ambassador to Panama, who worked alongside Rocha decades ago. For him, it is one of the worst leaks in the history of the country’s intelligence.
“It is more than ironic that he has cultivated this cartoonish personality (…) And that apparently everyone has believed it,” Feeley said.
His observation is shared by others. And, among all the espionage scandals of the last 40 years, Rocha would be the first member of the elite US foreign service accused of betraying his oath to the nation.
“For decades, Rocha allegedly worked as an undercover agent for Cuba and abused his position of trust in the United States Government to promote the interests of a foreign power,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the US Security Division. National Department of Justice.
Born in Colombia, Rocha grew up in a working-class home in New York City and earned a succession of liberal arts degrees from Yale, Harvard, and Georgetown Universities before joining the Foreign Service.
Now, he could face charges related to violation of the national and diplomatic security of the United States.
With AP and local media
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