Víctor Manuel Rocha, the former American diplomat accused of spying for the Cuban government for several decades, He pleaded guilty to these charges. The official was arrested in December of last year, after an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) linked him to this activity.
Rocha, originally from Colombia, appeared in court this Thursday, February 29, where he accepted the accusations against him before a federal judge in Miami. This changes the version given initiallyin which he assured that he was unaware of all the evidence presented against him.
Everything indicates that the FBI had been suspicious of Rocha for years, so they set a trap for him using an undercover agent who claimed to also work for the Castro regime. Upon learning of this alleged “ally,” Rocha made several statements that incriminated him. These statements were recorded and used as evidence.
Merrick Garland, US attorney general, described what happened to the diplomat as one of the “most far-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the US government by a foreign agent.”
This change in statements by Rocha suggests that the official would be close to an agreement with the prosecution, which seeks a reduction in charges in exchange for his cooperation. To do this, Rocha should provide information considered valuable on the modus operandi of Castro’s intelligence services, as well as names of contacts with whom he met throughout his 40 years of espionage.
This had already been predicted by expert Alberto Milian, a Miami-Dade district judge who has experience in counterintelligence cases.
“The defense would seek to negotiate, using the information that Rocha has, to reduce the severity of the sentence,” said Milian, noting that these negotiations could include benefits such as a pension for the official’s wife.
According to journalist Mario J. Pentón, Rocha’s cooperation is expected to help find the whereabouts of more Cuban spies in the United States, something that could have the regime nervous.
Rocha held several important positions within the North American government for 25 years, during which time he had access to non-public information that would have affected the country’s foreign policy.
During his career, Rocha also held some positions in Havana, such as deputy principal officer in the then US Interests Section and Director of Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council in Washington DC. Additionally, he was ambassador to Bolivia among the years 2000 and 2002.
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