The former United States ambassador to Bolivia, Víctor Manuel Rocha, was accused on Monday of spying for Cuba for more than 40 years. The Justice Department described the case as one of the largest and most sustained cases of infiltration by foreign agents into U.S. government agencies.
Victor Manuel Rocha, who served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, is charged with several federal crimes, including acting as an illegal foreign agent and using a fraudulently obtained passport, the Justice Department said in a statement.
“We allege that for more than 40 years, Víctor Manuel Rocha served as an agent of the Cuban government and sought and received positions within the United States government that provided him access to non-public information and the ability to influence US foreign policy.” . Attorney General Merrick said in a statement.
Rocha worked at the State Department from 1981 to 2002, the document states. In 1994-1995 he was a member of the National Security Council and from 2006 to 2012 he worked as an advisor to the commander of the United States Southern Command, the Department of Justice notes.
The court document filed in the Southern District of Florida accuses Rocha of secretly supporting Cuba since 1981 through covert intelligence gathering and that his actions were directed against the United States.
According to the document, Rocha admitted to having worked for Cuba for decades during a series of meetings in 2022 and 2023 with an undercover FBI agent posing as an undercover Cuban intelligence official.
Rocha, 73, was arrested and is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Miami on Monday.