U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces that Victor Manuel Rocha, the former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, has been charged with acting illegally as a foreign agent for the government of Cuba, Dec. 4, 2023.
Prosecutors say Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, spent more than 40 years spying for Cuba while he rose through the State Department, where he was U.S. ambassador to Bolivia during the Clinton administration.
Rocha's case is "one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent," Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday at a press conference.
"To further that role, Rocha obtained and maintained employment in the United States government in positions that provided him: (1) access to nonpublic information, including classified information; and (2) the ability to affect United States foreign policy," wrote prosecutors.
I have – have created the legend of a right-wing person," Rocha allegedly said, referring to the Cuban intelligence services.
Persons:
General Merrick Garland, Victor Manuel Rocha, Clinton, Merrick Garland, Rocha, Rocha's
Organizations:
State Department, United, Southern, Southern District of, Foreign Government, DOJ, Undercover, Cuban
Locations:
Bolivia, Cuba, American, Miami, U.S, United States, Southern District, Southern District of Florida, Republic of Cuba, States, Cuban