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☆ For U.S. Cuban claims holders, spy Manuel Rocha's plea deal raises fresh questions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-14 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Raul Rubiera | Miami Herald | Getty ImagesWhen Carolyn Lamb saw news of Cuban spy Victor Manuel Rocha's arrest on the news last December, she recognized him immediately. The lower the value of the claims, the less the Cuban government would have to pay in any future negotiated settlement. Ashby assumed Rocha's paranoia about eavesdropping was in response to the George W. Bush administration's opposition to the Cuba claims buying business. But according to the Justice Department, by that point Rocha was already in his third decade as a Cuban agent. File photo of former US ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha, talking to the press on the 11th of July 2001.

Persons: V, Manuel Rocha, Steel Hector, Davis, Raul Rubiera, Carolyn Lamb, Victor Manuel Rocha's, Rocha, Lamb, Lamb's, Castro, Justin Solomon, CNBC Castro didn't nationalize, of Rocha, Fidel Castro's, It's, Jason Poblete, Poblete, John Kavulich, Sears Roebuck, Timothy Ashby, Ashby couldn't, Ashby, George W, Bush, Little, Covert, Gonzalo Espinoza Organizations: Miami Herald, Steel, Cuban, US State Department, National Security, Cuban Telephone Company, " Beverage Company, CNBC, Pepsi, General Electric, Century Fox, Cuba Trade, Economic Council, Justice Department, Citizen, State Department, National Security Council, DOJ, Cubans, FBI, AFP, Getty Locations: America, Omaha, Bolivia, Cuba, Havana, United States, Cuban, Rocha, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Mexico, Argentina, Miami, Chile

☆ Former U.S. Ambassador Is Sentenced to 15 Years for Acting as Cuban Agent
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Patricia Mazzei | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A former United States ambassador accused of working for decades as a secret agent for Cuba in one of the biggest national security breaches in years pleaded guilty on Friday and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Manuel Rocha, 73, pleaded guilty to two charges — conspiring to defraud the United States as a foreign agent and failing to register as a foreign agent — as part of an agreement with the federal government. He also faces three years of supervised release, and a $500,000 fine. Mr. Rocha, wearing a beige prison uniform and black glasses, conceded before he was sentenced to the “betrayal of my oath of loyalty to the United States during my two decades in the State Department.”“During my formative years in college, I was heavily influenced by the radical politics of the day,” said Mr. Rocha, who prosecutors said was recruited by Cuban intelligence agents in 1973. “Today, I no longer see the world through the radical eyes of my youth.”

Persons: Manuel Rocha, —, . Rocha, ”, Rocha Organizations: United, State Department, “ Locations: United States, Cuba, Cuban

☆ Former US diplomat accused of spying for Cuba indicates he plans to plead guilty, court docket shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Manuel Rocha, the former US ambassador to Bolivia accused of acting as a secret foreign agent of Cuba, said in court Thursday that he plans to plead guilty to charges, according to his court docket. During a hearing in Miami Thursday, Rocha and prosecutors “announce[d] the Defendant will be changing his plea,” according to the court docket. The court record does not give any information about what charges Rocha plans to plead guilty to. Rocha served as the US ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 and as the deputy principal officer of the US Interests Section in Cuba in the 1990s. His role as the political officer at the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic gave him “special responsibility” for Cuba, prosecutors alleged.

Persons: CNN — Manuel Rocha, Rocha, “, Fidel Castro Organizations: CNN, Prosecutors, US Embassy, Embassy, Cuban Locations: Bolivia, Cuba, American, Miami, Dominican Republic, Italy, Mexico, Argentina

A former U.S. ambassador accused of working for decades as a secret agent for Cuba indicated on Thursday that he would plead guilty, a move that would bring to a swift end the legal case over one of the biggest national security breaches in years. Manuel Rocha, 73, said in federal court in Miami that he would file a change of plea, signaling that he is prepared to plead guilty. He was charged in December with acting as an agent of a foreign government and defrauding the United States. Mr. Rocha is expected to plead guilty to two counts of conspiring to act as a foreign agent. Prosecutors are expected to drop the other charges; the wire fraud charge carried a 20-year maximum sentence.

Persons: Manuel Rocha, Rocha, Rocha’s Organizations: Prosecutors, Associated Press Locations: U.S, Cuba, Miami, United States

Federal prosecutors said on Monday that a retired State Department official worked for decades as a secret agent for Cuba, and told an undercover F.B.I. agent that the United States was “the enemy.”In a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Miami, the prosecutors said that the diplomat, Manuel Rocha, had secretly aided Cuba’s “clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against the United States” since 1981 as he rose undetected through the ranks of the diplomatic corps and the National Security Council. Mr. Rocha, 73, appeared to have met with handlers from Cuba’s premier spy agency as recently as 2017, prosecutors said, and boasted that his 40 years of spying on behalf of the communist government in Havana had “strengthened the revolution immensely.”For more than two decades, Mr. Rocha handled matters related to Latin America in a series of roles at the State Department under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, including a stint as ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. More recently, Mr. Rocha, a native of Colombia who grew up in New York, served as an adviser to the U.S. military command responsible for Cuba.

Persons: Manuel Rocha, Cuba’s, . Rocha, “, Rocha, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush Organizations: State Department, United, National Security Locations: Cuba, United States, Miami, Havana, America, Bolivia, Colombia, New York

CNN —Carla Vall, lawyer for Spanish soccer star Jennifer Hermoso, reiterated that the kiss by ex-Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales to her client after the Women’s World Cup final was non-consensual. That’s what we’ll show,” Vall said after leaving the National Court in the capital of Madrid. “it’s just the beginning of the investigation at court,” Vall added. Earlier this week, the National Court announced it had admitted a complaint made against Rubiales by Spanish prosecutors for sexual assault and coercion. Interim RFEF president Pedro Rocha then began to make moves as part of his “regeneration” of the federation, firing controversial coach Jorge Vilda and appointing his deputy, Montse Tomé.

Persons: Carla Vall, Jennifer Hermoso, Luis Rubiales, Rubiales, ” Vall, “ it’s, Olga Tubau, Irina R Hipolito, Shutterstock, Hermoso, “, Pedro Rocha, Jorge Vilda, Montse Tomé, Rocha, Víctor Organizations: CNN, Royal Spanish Football Federation, Spanish, National Court, Rubiales, Interim, High Council of Sport Locations: Spanish, Madrid, RFEF

“We wish to end this statement expressing that the players of the Spanish women’s national team are professional players, and what most fills us with pride is putting on the shirt of the national team and always taking our country to the highest places. World players’ union FIFPRO posted on X in support of the players’ decision saying, “FIFPRO fully supports the Spain Women’s National Team in their united call for change. The identical letters said that “the situation” within the Spanish national team – about which RFEF was “aware” – had been affecting the players’ “emotional state” and health. Of the 15 players who signed the letters, only three were in Spain’s World Cup squad: Mariona Caldentey, Aitana Bonmatí and Ona Batlle. Despite their youth and relative inexperience, the Spanish players produced an impressive performance Down Under.

Persons: Luis Rubiales, Jennifer Hermoso, Rubiales, RFEF, d’Or Féminin, Alexia Putellas, “, FIFPRO, Pau Gasol, –, Hermoso, Pedro Rocha, Jorge Vilda, Montse Tomé, Rocha, Víctor, Tomé, Thomas Coex, ” –, Mariona, Aitana, Ona Batlle, Amanda Perobelli, Spain’s Organizations: CNN, Women’s Nations League, Royal Spanish Football Federation, Spanish women’s, “, Spain Women’s National Team, High Council of Sport, Sweden, Getty, Spanish, Reuters, Vilda Locations: Spanish, Spain, “, RFEF, Switzerland, Madrid, AFP, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Sweden, women’s

CNN —Spain’s National Court has admitted the complaint made against former soccer chief Luis Rubiales for “the crimes of sexual assault and coercion” by Spanish prosecutors, according to a court press release issued on Monday. The admittance of the prosecutor’s complaint – part of the Spanish legal process – allows the court to begin gathering evidence, which could lead to possible charges against Rubiales, who resigned from his position as president of country’s soccer federation (RFEF) on Sunday. Jenni Hermoso filed an official complaint with Spanish prosecutors last week, which has now been accepted by the National Court. The unwanted kiss on Hermoso sparked condemnation in Spain and led to widespread calls for Rubiales to resign from his role as RFEF president. Jorge Vilda was fired as head coach of the Spanish women's team in a series of "regeneration" changes being made by RFEF.

Persons: CNN —, Luis Rubiales, “, ”, Jennifer Hermoso, Rubiales, El, Jenni Hermoso, ” Rubiales, Hermoso, –, Jorge Vilda, RFEF, Juan Manuel Serrano Arce, Pedro Rocha, Montse Tomé, Rocha, Víctor, Verónica Boquete, Vilda, ” Boquete Organizations: CNN, Diario AS, Vanguardia, Spanish, Hermoso, National Court, FIFA, Getty, High Council of Sport, Nations League, Sweden, Cadena COPE Locations: Spanish, ”, Spain, RFEF

CNN —Spanish star player Jennifer Hermoso has filed an official complaint with prosecutors against the president of the country’s soccer federation, Luis Rubiales, over an unwanted kiss after the Women’s World Cup final. The complaint was filed on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Spanish prosecutor’s office told CNN. Rubiales has apologized and described the kiss after the Spanish national team’s victory at the World Cup final on August 20 as “mutual” – a claim Hermoso denied, saying she was not respected. The unwanted kiss has prompted a major shake-up in Spanish soccer, with the government pushing for Rubiales to resign and RFEF removing Jorge Vilda from his role as coach of the women’s national team. He was replaced by Montse Tomé, the first woman in Spanish national team history to hold the position.

Persons: Jennifer Hermoso, Luis Rubiales, ”, Rubiales, Hermoso, TAD, Jorge Vilda, Montse Tomé, ‘, “, Pedro Rocha, Vilda, Tomé, Rocha, Víctor, –, Verónica Boquete, ” Boquete Organizations: CNN, Spanish, Royal Spanish Football Federation, FIFA, women’s, Interim, High Council of Sport, Nations League, Sweden, Cadena COPE Locations: Spanish, Rubiales, Spain, RFEF

☆ Life in ocean's 'twilight zone' threatened by climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The ocean’s mesopelagic zone, also called the “twilight zone,” is located between 656 feet and 3,280 feet (200 meters to 1,000 meters) below the surface. The twilight zone also a crucial habitat for marine life that dives in search of prey, like sharks, or lanternfish that hide in the twilight zone during the day and swim to the surface waters to feed at night. Small crustaceans known as Megacalanus princeps live in the ocean's twilight zone at a depth of 1,000 meters in the Northeast Atlantic. Natural Visions/Alamy Stock PhotoNew research warns that the climate crisis could reduce life in the twilight zone between 20% and 40% by the end of the century. “What we really need to protect the (twilight zone) is to stop, or at least slow down, the high rate of change that we are subjecting our planet’s climate to.”

☆ Big Bow Energy: Fashion’s Latest Power Statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Kristen Bateman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

TURN OF THE TIED From left: power bows at Louis Vuitton’s spring 2023 show, Acne Studios’s spring 2023 show and on Simone Rocha’s fall 2023 runway. Look to the red satin bows that drenched diaphanous black dresses on London designer Simone Rocha’s latest runway. Big black bows playfully obscured models’ torsos at Acne Studios’s spring 2023 show. And during its latest Paris presentation, Japanese brand Noir Kei Ninomiya used sparkly pink or black loops to adorn harnesses that evoked bondage. Designer Kei Ninomiya said he’s intrigued by the way bows “represent something positive, as well as the variety of shapes and expressions that they can convey.” Feel-good harnesses, anyone?

Chaos struck Brazil's capital Sunday when supporters of far right former President Jair Bolsonaro descended on government buildings, breached them, climbed on a rooftop and broke windows. Leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, sworn in Jan. 1, responded by authorizing federal intervention in the Federal District until the end of January. Many among the demonstrators wore the national colors of Brazil, yellow and green, associated in recent years with Bolsonaro supporters. Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva walks in Planalto Palace after it was stormed by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia on Sunday. Eraldo Peres / APIbaneis Rocha, the governor of Brazil’s capital district, said more than 400 people involved in the demonstrations and breaches have been arrested.

☆ 'A cowardly and vile attack': Over 400 arrested after Bolsonaro supporters storm Brazil's Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

World leaders condemned what they described as a "cowardly and vile" attack after thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro invaded the country's Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace. Brazil's security forces have regained control of the country's political institutions and Brasilia governor Ibaneis Rocha said more than 400 people had been arrested as of Sunday evening. Lula sealed a remarkable return to Brazil's presidency late last year, securing 50.9% of the runoff vote to defeat far-right incumbent Bolsonaro. Many of Bolsonaro's supporters refused to accept the result, however, and political analysts have long feared a U.S.-style attack on the country's prominent government buildings. Lula blamed Bolsonaro for "encouraging" the riots, saying there were several speeches by the former president to incite Sunday's attack.

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