‘Brutal betrayal’: Former US ambassador admits he has been spying for Cuba for decades
The former US ambassador has pleaded guilty to decades as a secret agent for communist Cuba.
Washington DCA former U.S. diplomat told a federal judge Thursday that he will plead guilty to charges of decades of working as a secret agent for communist Cuba, an unexpectedly quick resolution to a case that prosecutors called one of the most brazen betrayals in the history of the US is mentioned. foreign service. Victor Manuel Rocha, the former US ambassador to Bolivia, was charged by officials last December in connection with allegedly spying for Cuban intelligence for 40 years.
Rocha could face significant prison time as the 73-year-old has declared his intention to plead guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government.
Prosecutors and Rocha’s attorney suggested the plea deal included an agreed-upon sentence, but details of that were not disclosed during a hearing Thursday. Rocha will return to court on April 12, where he is expected to formalize his guilty plea and receive his sentence.
“I agree with that,” Rocha said, handcuffed and ankled, when U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom asked him if he wanted to change his plea to guilty. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop 13 charges, including wire fraud and making false statements.
During Thursday’s brief hearing, nothing was revealed about the question: What exactly did he do to help Cuba while working at the State Department? His job profile included: Ambassador to Bolivia and top posts in Argentina, Mexico, the White House and the US Interests Department in Havana.
“Ambassador Rocha,” as he preferred to be called, was known among Miami’s elite for his aristocratic, almost regal bearing, befitting his Ivy League background. His post-administration career included time as special advisor to the commander of the U.S. Southern Command and more recently as a stalwart Donald Trump supporter and Cuba hardliner, a personality that friends and prosecutors say Rocha adopted to demonstrate his true loyalties. hide.
FBI official demands quick resolution of case
FBI official Peter Lapp, who handled counterintelligence against Cuba from 1998 to 2005, said a quick resolution of the case would benefit both Rocha and the government.
Normally in counterintelligence cases the suspect is charged with espionage, but in Rocha he is accused of lesser crimes, which carry maximum prison terms of five and 10 years.