International Courant
A former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia and member of the Nationwide Safety Council pleaded responsible Friday to secretly appearing as an agent of the federal government of the Republic of Cuba for many years, the Division of Justice (DOJ) mentioned.
A federal decide sentenced Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, of Miami, to fifteen years in jail for spending a long time working in opposition to the U.S. authorities for communist Cuba in “clandestine intelligence-gathering missions.”
“Immediately’s plea and sentencing ends greater than 4 a long time of treachery and deceit by the defendant,” mentioned Assistant Legal professional Common Matthew G. Olsen of the DOJ’s Nationwide Safety Division. “Rocha admitted to appearing as an agent of the Cuban authorities whereas concurrently holding quite a few positions of belief within the U.S. authorities, a shocking betrayal of the American folks and an admission that each oath he made to the USA was a lie. “
Prosecutors agreed to drop greater than a dozen different fees in trade for his responsible plea, based on the Related Press.
FORMER AMBASSADOR OF THE US AMBASSADOR, NSC MEMBER NOTED AS A SECRET AGENT FOR COMMUNIST CUBA FOR DECADES: DOJ
Former US ambassador arrested in Florida, accused of serving as agent of Cuba, AP supply says (Photograph by GONZALO ESPINOZA/AFP through Getty Pictures)
Rocha was a former U.S. State Division worker who served on the Nationwide Safety Council from 1994 to 1995 and as U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002.
‘For many years, Victor Manuel Rocha secretly acted as an agent of a hostile international energy. He thought the story of his secret mission to Cuba would by no means be informed as a result of he had the intelligence, data and self-discipline by no means to be found. Rocha underestimated those self same expertise within the prosecutors and legislation enforcement officers who labored tirelessly to carry him to justice for betraying his oath to this nation,” mentioned U.S. Legal professional Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida.
“This motion exposes one of the far-reaching and longest infiltrations of the USA authorities by a international agent,” Legal professional Common Merrick B. Garland mentioned earlier.
Most effective
U.S. District Courtroom Decide Beth Bloom accepted Rocha’s responsible plea to counts 1 and a couple of of the indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to behave as an agent of a international authorities and conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and to behave as an agent of a international authorities with out discover as required by legislation.
The courtroom then sentenced Rocha to the statutory most penalty primarily based on his conviction: 15 years in jail, a $500,000 effective, three years of supervised launch and a particular evaluation.
The courtroom additionally imposed vital restrictions on Rocha.
FORMER US AMBASSADOR ACCUSED OF WORKING SECRETLY FOR CUBA PLEADS NOT GUILTY
Victor Manuel Rocha poses for a photograph in a Miami workplace in January 2003. (Raul Rubiera/Miami Herald/The Related Press)
Underneath the phrases of the events’ plea settlement, Rocha is required to cooperate with the U.S., together with aiding with any injury assessments associated to his work on behalf of the Republic of Cuba. Rocha should forgo all future retirement advantages, together with pension funds, owed to him by the U.S. primarily based on his prior employment with the State Division.
He should additionally switch to the US any earnings to which he’s entitled in reference to publications about his legal conduct or his US authorities service.
“Regardless of taking an oath to defend the Structure of the USA, Rocha betrayed the USA by secretly working as a Cuban agent for many years,” mentioned Nationwide Safety Department Government Deputy Director Larissa L. Knapp from the FBI. “After years of mendacity and endangering nationwide safety and Americans, he lastly accepted accountability for his actions and acquired the utmost jail sentence. This could function a warning to our adversaries that the FBI will work tirelessly to destroy international intelligence companies and anybody who works with them in opposition to the pursuits of the USA and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the legislation.”
Secret info
In response to a DOJ legal grievance, Rocha used his job on the State Division between 1981 and 2002 to acquire categorized info and affect U.S. international coverage.
After serving on the State Division, Rocha moved in 2006 as an advisor to the commander of the U.S. Southern Command, a joint command of the U.S. Military whose space of accountability contains Cuba.
FORMER US AMBASSADOR CALLED CASTRO THE ‘COMANDANTE’, LABELS US ‘THE ENEMY’: DOJ
Victor Manuel Rocha, who served as US ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, seems throughout an interview with an undercover FBI worker in Miami on February 17, 2023. (U.S. District Courtroom/Southern District of Florida/Handout through REUTERS)
The DOJ mentioned Rocha offered false and deceptive info to the US to take care of his categorized standing, traveled exterior the US to satisfy with Cuban intelligence brokers and made false and deceptive statements to acquire journey paperwork.
Reward Castro
In response to the grievance, Rocha made a collection of recorded confessions to an undercover FBI agent posing as a Cuban intelligence agent who contacted Rocha through WhatsApp saying he had a message “from your folks in Havana.”
Rocha praised the late communist chief Fidel Castro, calling him “comandante,” labeling the US an “enemy” and bragging about his service for greater than 4 a long time as a Cuban mole on the coronary heart of American international coverage.
FORMER US AMBASSADOR ARRESTED, ACCUSED OF SECRETLY ACTING AS AN AGENT FOR CUBA: REPORT
Bolivian President Hugo Banzer, left, shakes arms with Victor Manuel Rocha, then U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, throughout a ceremony on the Authorities Palace in La Paz, August 3, 2000. (Reuters/DM/JP/HB)
He additionally allegedly informed the secret agent that his efforts to infiltrate the US authorities have been “meticulous and extremely disciplined” and he repeatedly bragged concerning the significance of his efforts, saying that “what has been accomplished has enormously strengthened the revolution.” , Garland beforehand mentioned. .
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In response to information, Rocha’s 25-year diplomatic profession was spent below each Democratic and Republican administrations, a lot of it in Latin America in the course of the Chilly Conflict.
Fox Information Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
Former US Ambassador, NSC Official Admits to Performing as Secret Agent for Cuba, Learns Destiny: DOJ
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