OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
5:05 PM – Monday, December 4, 2023
The Justice Department announced that a former American diplomat who worked as a United States ambassador to Bolivia and Argentina has been accused of secretly working as a spy for Cuba’s intelligence services since 1981.
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On Monday, former career U.S. diplomat Victor Manuel Rocha was charged on accusations of spying for Cuba’s intelligence services since 1981.
The FBI detained 73-year-old Rocha at his Miami home on Friday.
During his two decades as an American diplomat, Rocha held important positions in Bolivia, Argentina, and the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba. After he made a brief court appearance on Monday, he was placed under arrest pending a bond hearing on Wednesday.
According to prosecutors, this case is one of the most “brazen and long-running betrayals” in the history of American foreign services.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the arrest of Rocha, who is a one time U.S. ambassador to Bolivia. Garland stated that this case discloses one of the “highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations” of the American government by a foreign representative.
“Those who have the privilege of serving in the government of the United States are given an enormous amount of trust by the public we serve,” Garland said in a statement. “This action exposes one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent. To betray that trust by falsely pledging loyalty to the United States while serving a foreign power is a crime that will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”
Rocha is being convicted of helping to promote the Cuban government’s enterprises, which is legally not considered a crime unless it is performed on U.S. grounds without registering with the Justice Department as a “foreign lobbyist.”
Allegedly, Rocha has been secretly working on behalf of Cuba since November 1981.
As a result, he has been confronted with at least three criminal charges: conspiracy to act as foreign agent to defraud the U.S., acting as an illegal agent for a foreign government, and use of a passport obtained by false statement.
The government mentioned that there may also be additional charges to come in future weeks.
In November of 2022, Rocha reportedly received a WhatsApp message from an undercover FBI agent.
“Good Afternoon ambassador, my name is Miguel and I have a message for you from your friends in Havana,” FBI special agent Michael Haley wrote in a criminal complaint, citing the undercover agent. “It is in regard to a sensitive matter. Are you available for a telephone call?”
This resulted in appointments on November 16th, 2022, February 17th, and June 23th of this year, when Rocha reportedly bragged about his “longtime loyalty to Havana,” according to the complaint.
In the last meeting, Rocha allegedly took offense when the undercover agent asked whether he was still committed to being loyal to Havana.
Rocha responded using vulgar words, stating that such an investigation is “like questioning my manhood.”
“I am angry. I’m pissed off,” Rocha reportedly said. “It’s like you want me to drop them … and show you if I still have testicles.”
Additionally, Rocha repeatedly called the U.S., “the enemy,” according to Garland.
“He told the undercover that his efforts to infiltrate the United States government were ‘meticulous’ and ‘very disciplined,’” Garland said. “And he repeatedly bragged about the significance of his efforts saying that, ‘What has been done has strengthened the revolution immensely.’”
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