{"id":2189794,"date":"2024-02-29T21:41:02","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T02:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-u-s-diplomat-admits-to-spying-for-cuba\/"},"modified":"2024-02-29T21:43:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T02:43:51","slug":"former-u-s-diplomat-admits-to-spying-for-cuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-u-s-diplomat-admits-to-spying-for-cuba\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-U.S. Diplomat Confesses to Spying for Cuba"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-u-s-diplomat-admits-to-spying-for-cuba%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2189794&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">3 of 5 |\u200b FILE \u2013 Manuel Rocha sits in his office at Steel Hector &#038; Davis in Miami\u2064 in January 2003, \u2062joining the firm\u2062 to help open doors in Latin America. On Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, \u200bRocha, 73, told a judge he would admit to federal\u2064 counts of conspiring to act as an agent \u200bof a foreign government, charges that could land him behind bars for several years. (Raul Rubiera\/Miami Herald via \u200dAP, \u200dFile)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>OAN\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/tag\/abril-elfi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Abril\u200c Elfi<\/a><br \/>6:18 PM \u2013 Thursday, February 29, 2024<\/p>\n<h2>Ambassador Admits to Spying for Cuba, Will Plead Guilty<\/h2>\n<p>A former\u2063 career U.S. diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia who admitted to\u200d a judge \u2062that he spied for Cuba for decades \u200dwill plead guilty to his charges. <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px; text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>On Thursday, Victor Manuel\u200d Rocha, 73, admitted to\u200c spying for Cuba and told the judge that he\u200d \u201cintends to plead guilty to federal charges.\u201d\u200b  <\/p>\n<p>Rocha\u2062 was first indicted \u200din December of last year on \u2062charges accusing him \u2063of being \u2062a \u2062spy for Cuba\u2019s intelligence agency for decades. During the hearing, Rocha \u2064said that he would agree \u200cto plead guilty to two charges of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government. <\/p>\n<p>Regarding his guilty plea,\u200c prosecutors agreed to drop over\u200b a \u2064dozen additional charges, \u200caccording to <em>AP \u200bNews<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>The\u200d maximum sentence for the two counts is five to ten years in prison. When the judge asked Rocha if he wanted to change his plea, he said, \u201cI am in agreement.\u201d\u00a0Following the hearing, his intention to modify his plea was noted on the case docket. Rocha\u2019s next\u2062 court date is April\u200d 12<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators said that in 1973, \u200bRocha was enlisted in Chile by the Directorate of \u200dIntelligence, the spy organization of Cuba. Prosecutors claim\u200b that the intelligence\u2064 service told him\u200b to fabricate a story in order to hide his \u201cdouble life.\u201d \u200d <\/p>\n<p>Attorney\u2064 General Merrick\u2064 Garland described the case as \u201cone of the highest-reaching\u200c and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-career-u-s-diplomat-accused-of-secretly-spying-for-cuban-intelligence-services\/\" title=\"Ex-diplomat accused of spying for Cuban intelligence\">longest-lasting infiltrations<\/a> of the U.S. government by a foreign agent.\u201d\u00a0He \u200calso stated that Rocha\u2064 pursued \u2064U.S. government jobs\u200c that \u201cwould provide \u2064him with access to non-public information \u200band the ability to affect U.S. foreign policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The \u2064kind of information Rocha might have\u2064 divulged to Cuba or how he could have influenced \u200dU.S.\u200b policy has\u200b not been publicly released. <\/p>\n<p>The retired diplomat had believed that the undercover FBI agent who set up meetings with him was\u2064 a representative of Cuba\u2019s spy agency, and\u200d Rocha had at least three separate meetings with the \u2064disguised agent. He referred to the \u2062U.S. as \u201cthe\u2064 enemy\u201d and said \u201cwhat we have done\u201d \u200bwas \u2064\u201cenormous\u201d and \u201cmore than a grand\u200b slam,\u201d according to the criminal complaint.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cMy number one concern; my number one\u2063 priority was \u2026 any \u200caction on the part of Washington\u2062 that would endanger the life\u2062 of the leadership, or the revolution itself,\u201d Rocha \u2064allegedly told the undercover agent.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Being\u2063 born in \u2062Colombia, Rocha obtained U.S. \u2062citizenship through naturalization in 1978. He began working for\u200d the State Department in 1981 and held a number \u200cof positions in Latin America for more\u2064 than 20 years, including ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. He had jurisdiction over\u200b Cuba\u200c while \u2064working as the National Security Council\u2019s director for inter-American affairs and as the \u2062deputy principal officer\u2062 of the American embassy in Havana. Following his departure from the State \u2063Department,\u2063 he served as an advisor to the commander of the U.S. Southern Command, \u200dwhich surrounds Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>Rocha\u2019s employment with the U.S. government overlapped\u200d with that of Ana Montes, a former Defense \u2064Intelligence Agency Analyst\u200d who spent \u200b20 years in prison for spying \u200dfor\u2064 Cuba before she \u200cwas released in 2023. Montes was<strong> <\/strong>recruited by Cuban intelligence in 1984 before she\u2064 was hired \u2063by the Defense Intelligence Agency. <\/p>\n<p>In one of his meetings with\u200c the undercover FBI agent, prosecutors said Rocha praised a U.S. \u200cgovernment employee who had \u200dspied for Cuba, saying she \u201cwas betrayed.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts\u200b directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts\">https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"rc-widget-10bad2\" data-rc-widget data-widget-host=\"habitat\" data-endpoint=\"\/\/trends.revcontent.com\" data-widget-id=\"278641\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dpsp-share-text\" style=\"margin-bottom:10px\"> \t\t \t\t\u2064 \t\tShare this post!\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Both Trump and President Biden visit the Texas Border, \u200dHunter opens up about \u2064the\u200c Big Guy and Jerry Jones might own more than the Cowboys.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-visits-southern-border-amid-record-high-immigration-numbers\/\" title=\"Biden tours Southern Border amidst surging immigration figures\">highly crucial visit<\/a>, President Biden makes\u2062 a \u200brare \u2062trip to the southern border. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>with Carolyn Phippen<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>with Bill Wells<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>UnitedHealth Group faces a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-dissidents-petition-supreme-court-to-strike-down-donor-disclosure-law\/\" title=\"Chinese Dissidents Petition Supreme Court to Strike Down Donor Disclosure Law\">major data breach<\/a> as \u2063hackers\u2062 claim to have stolen millions of\u200b sensitive records.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Legal battle ensues as X challenges the Center for Countering Digital Hate\u2019s criticism of hate speech.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Bitcoin surges towards a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-crushes-mi-ahead-of-super-tues\/\" title=\"Trump dominates Michigan ahead of Super Tuesday\">record high fueled<\/a> by ETF\u200d approvals and investor \u2063excitement,\u200b marking its largest \u200bmonthly gain \u200din over three years.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>A California \u2064state judge tentatively rules in \u2062favor of 6,000 Black factory workers for alleged race discrimination and harassment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> rnrn  <\/p>\n<h2> How long was the former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, Victor Manuel Rocha, \u200callegedly spying for Cuba?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Ambassador\u200c Admits to Spying for\u2063 Cuba, Will Plead Guilty<\/p>\n<p>In\u2064 a shocking turn of \u200devents, a former career \u200cU.S. \u2062diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, Victor Manuel Rocha, has admitted to spying \u2064for Cuba for decades. Rocha recently\u2063 appeared in court and informed the judge of his intention\u200c to plead guilty \u200bto\u2063 the charges brought against him.<\/p>\n<p>Rocha, 73, was indicted last year on \u2063charges\u2063 of being a spy \u200dfor\u2063 Cuba&#8217;s intelligence agency, and during the hearing, he expressed his willingness to \u2063plead \u2062guilty to two charges of conspiring to act as\u200b an agent of a foreign\u2064 government. As part of the plea \u200cagreement, prosecutors\u2064 have agreed to \u2063drop \u2064over a dozen additional charges.<\/p>\n<p>If convicted, Rocha \u200dcould face a maximum sentence\u200d of five to ten years in prison. When the judge asked if he wanted to \u200bchange his plea, Rocha replied, &#8220;I am in agreement.&#8221; This change of\u2062 plea was duly noted on the case docket, \u2062and Rocha&#8217;s next\u200b court date is scheduled \u200bfor April 12th.<\/p>\n<p>According to investigators, \u2064Rocha was\u200b recruited\u200b by Cuba&#8217;s Directorate \u2063of Intelligence in 1973 while he was in Chile. Prosecutors claim that he\u2062 was instructed by \u200bthe intelligence \u2062service to fabricate a story in\u2063 order to disguise\u200d his double\u2064 life as a \u2062spy. Attorney General Merrick Garland described Rocha&#8217;s case as \u2063&#8221;one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations\u200d of the U.S. government\u200c by a foreign \u200bagent.&#8221; \u200dGarland also \u2063stated that Rocha sought U.S.\u2063 government jobs that would provide him with access to non-public information and the ability to influence U.S. foreign policy.<\/p>\n<p>The nature of\u200d the information Rocha may have divulged \u2062to Cuba or how he could have influenced U.S. policy has not \u2064been publicly disclosed. \u200cWhat\u200d is known is that Rocha had at least three meetings with an undercover FBI agent, \u2064whom he believed was a representative \u200dof Cuba&#8217;s spy agency. In these \u200cmeetings, Rocha referred to the\u200d U.S. \u2064as &#8220;the enemy&#8221; and boasted\u2063 about the extent \u2062of their activities.<\/p>\n<p>Rocha, who was born\u200b in Colombia, \u200dobtained U.S. citizenship in \u200c1978. He began working for the\u2062 State Department in 1981\u200b and held various positions in Latin America over a span of more than 20 years. He served as the \u200dambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 and had jurisdiction over Cuba during his time as the National Security Council&#8217;s director for inter-American affairs and as the deputy principal officer of \u200bthe \u200bAmerican embassy\u2063 in Havana. After leaving the State Department, he worked as an advisor to the commander of the U.S. Southern Command, \u2062which directly oversees operations in Cuba.<\/p>\n<p>Rocha&#8217;s case has sent shockwaves through the diplomatic \u200dcommunity, highlighting the need for stricter security measures and heightened vigilance in safeguarding sensitive information. As the legal proceedings unfold, it remains to be seen how this revelation \u2064will impact U.S.-Cuba \u2063relations and the ongoing \u200befforts to counter espionage activities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manuel Rocha, 73, of Steel Hector &amp; Davis, Miami, admitted to conspiring as an agent in Latin America. In January 2003, he joined the firm to facilitate opportunities. On Feb. 29, 2024, Rocha confessed to federal charges before a judge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2196,"featured_media":2189795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/c3.oann.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/dims.apnews-4.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2189794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/c3.oann.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/dims.apnews-4.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2196"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2189794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2189794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2189795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2189794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2189794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2189794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}