Former American Diplomat Admits to Espionage for Communist Cuba over Many Years
Prosecutors claim that he worked covertly as an agent for the Cuban government for more than 40 years.
A former career U.S. diplomat has agreed to plead guilty to charges of serving as a secret agent for communist Cuba for many years. This seemingly marks the end of a prominent espionage case in the history of the U.S. foreign service.
Victor Manuel Rocha, who also served as the former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, was charged in December 2023 for covertly providing information to the Cuban government since 1981 while employed at the U.S. State Department.
Initially pleading not guilty to charges of acting as an agent of a foreign government, conspiring to do so, and making false statements to obtain a U.S. passport in mid-February, Mr. Rocha indicated during a hearing on Feb. 29 that he planned to change his plea to guilty.
Reports from the Associated Press indicated that the guilty plea change was part of a plea deal. Mr. Rocha expressed his agreement to change his plea when asked by the judge.
A sentencing hearing for Mr. Rocha is scheduled for April 12.
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Diplomat Pursued Various High-Level Roles
However, prosecutors accuse Mr. Rocha of working as a covert agent for the Cuban government for over 40 years, purposefully seeking and obtaining positions within the U.S. government to access non-public information and influence U.S. foreign policy.
Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Mr. Rocha, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Colombia, was recruited by Cuba’s Directorate of Intelligence in 1981, supporting their intelligence-gathering mission against Washington after joining the State Department.
His work at the State Department granted him access to classified information, according to prosecutors.
After leaving the State Department, Mr. Rocha continued to assist Cuba’s intelligence services by advising the Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, among other roles, from about 2006 to 2012.
He also occupied various government positions, including Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Deputy Principal Officer at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Rocha ‘Misused His Trust’
Mr. Rocha also served on the White House National Security Council.
Prosecutors claimed that he hid his double life from Washington officials, enabling him to conduct additional covert activities.
Furthermore, Mr. Rocha provided false and misleading information to the United States to support his covert mission, traveled abroad to meet with Cuban intelligence operatives, and made false statements to obtain travel documents, as per the DOJ.
Following a series of meetings with an undercover FBI agent posing as a Cuban intelligence representative, where he admitted to decades of work for Cuba, Mr. Rocha was eventually arrested.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division mentioned that Mr. Rocha had “abused his position of trust in the U.S. government to advance the interests of a foreign power.”
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
