The Department of Justice (DOJ) in the United States has filed charges against a former US ambassador to Bolivia, accusing them of collaborating with Cuban intelligence services as a covert agent for numerous decades.
According to recently revealed court documents, the DOJ contends that Victor Manuel Rocha engaged in “clandestine activity” with the Cuban government dating back to at least 1981. The charges assert that Rocha disseminated false information to the US and held meetings with Cuban operatives during this period.
The 73-year-old former ambassador worked in the US Foreign Service for 25 years, holding top posts in South American nations such as Bolivia and Argentina.
“We allege that for over 40 years, Victor Manuel Rocha served as an agent of the Cuban government and sought out and obtained positions within the United States government that would provide him with access to non-public information and the ability to affect US foreign policy,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in the statement.
The case against Rocha “exposes one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent”, he said.
“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. The Department of Justice
“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.”
The DOJ has charged Rocha with acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. US law requires those acting on behalf of foreign governments to register with the DOJ.