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Prosecutors say Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, spent over 40 years spying for Cuba whereas he rose by means of the State Division, the place he was U.S. ambassador to Bolivia throughout the Clinton administration.
Legal professional Common Merrick Garland known as Rocha’s case, “one of many highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of america authorities by a international agent,” Monday at a press convention.
Rocha has been charged in U.S. District Courtroom for the Southern District of Florida with one depend of Appearing as an Unlawful Agent of a Overseas Authorities, one depend of conspiracy to take action and a 3rd depend, Use of a Passport Obtained by a False Assertion. The Dec. 1 grievance was unsealed Monday.
However the sworn accounts by FBI brokers paint a a lot larger image of Rocha’s alleged actions than the person expenses convey.
“Starting no later than roughly 1981, and persevering with to the current, Rocha secretly supported the Republic of Cuba and its clandestine intelligence-gathering mission in opposition to america by serving as a covert agent of Cuba’s intelligence companies,” the indictment alleges.
“To additional that position, Rocha obtained and maintained employment in america authorities in positions that supplied him: (1) entry to nonpublic data, together with categorized data; and (2) the power to have an effect on United States international coverage,” wrote prosecutors.
Rocha was solely apprehended as the results of a yr lengthy undercover FBI operation, in line with the DOJ.
Undercover FBI brokers posing as Cuban operatives met with Rocha a number of instances up to now yr, in line with the grievance.
The life Rocha allegedly described to them sounded just like the plot of HBO’s spy thriller “The Individuals.”
“Because the Direcciön requested me …to steer a standard life … I’ve – have created the legend of a right-wing particular person,” Rocha allegedly mentioned, referring to the Cuban intelligence companies. Legend is a spycraft time period for the fictional biography a covert agent cultivates to hide their identification.
Bolivian President Hugo Banzer shakes palms with Victor Manuel Rocha, the brand new U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, throughout a ceremony within the Goverment Palace in La Paz, August 3, 2000.
Reuters
After leaving his State Division roles, Rocha labored in a number of personal sector jobs, in line with the submitting, together with most not too long ago as a senior worldwide enterprise advisor at LLYC USA in Miami. In August, he left his job at legislation agency Foley & Lardner, a spokesperson for the corporate mentioned.
Rocha portrayed the end result of his work as a large success, and “greater than a grand slam.”
“My primary concern; my primary precedence was … any motion on the a part of Washington that will — would endanger the lifetime of — of the management, or the revolution itself,” Rocha mentioned to undercover FBI brokers, in line with the grievance.
The grievance cited a number of events when Rocha lied below oath about his loyalty to the U.S. and denied working for any international entities.
As not too long ago as final Friday, in a voluntary interview with State Division officers, Rocha denied ever having met with these Cuban intelligence brokers, who had been truly undercover FBI.
Rocha appeared earlier than a federal decide and a bond listening to is scheduled for Wednesday. The DOJ mentioned extra expenses in opposition to Rocha are nonetheless to return.
“Those that have the privilege of serving within the authorities of america are given an unlimited quantity of belief by the general public we serve,” Garland mentioned. “To betray that belief by falsely pledging loyalty to america whereas serving a international energy is against the law that will probably be met with the complete drive of the Justice Division.”
