(UnitedVoice.com) – Victor Manuel Rocha served as the US ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The Colombian-born diplomat grew up in America and went to some of the country’s most prestigious universities (Harvard, Georgetown, and Yale). He worked for the US government for decades — and was also allegedly working for the Cuban government.
On December 4, the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs announced charges against the former US ambassador. The criminal complaint alleges Rocha started secretly supporting the Cuban government around 1981. Federal prosecutors claim he worked for Cuba’s General Directorate of Intelligence as a foreign agent and gathered intelligence for the nation.
To help his mission, federal authorities claim Rocha obtained a job at the State Department. He worked for the US government from 1981 to 2002. He rose through the ranks of the State Department, serving as the first secretary at the US Embassy in Mexico City, deputy chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, deputy chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and many other positions. During his time in the federal government, he had access to information not made public, including classified information. He also had “the ability to affect US foreign policy,” the DOJ reported.
When Rocha left the government in 2002, he reportedly continued working for Cuba’s spy agency. From 2006 until 2012, he was an advisor to the US military’s commander of the US Southern Command. That division of the military oversees a region that includes Cuba.
In 2022 and 2023, Rocha met with an undercover FBI agent who was posing as a covert Cuban General Directorate of Intelligence representative. During the meetings, he mentioned that he worked for the Cuban government for 40 years. The FBI agent said Rocha behaved as an agent for Cuba during those sessions. He’s now charged with conspiring to act as a foreign agent without notifying the attorney general, using a passport obtained by false statement, and other charges.
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