Miami-Dade District Judge Alberto Milian, who is also a former prosecutor with extensive experience in counterintelligence for the United States Army, shared details about the case of Víctor Manuel Rocha, accused of having spent decades spying for the Cuban Government.
Milian indicated that, as this is a case with accusations of counterespionage, it is expected that the Security Services and the Prosecutor’s Office will try to obtain all possible information from Rocha, this through extensive interviews, all while the former official’s defense tries to protect the interests of your client.
“The defense will seek to negotiate, using the information that Rocha has, to reduce the severity of the sentence,” Milian declared during an exclusive interview with reporter Mario Vallejo.
Likewise, he indicated that this approach could include negotiations to ensure some benefits such as a pension for the detainee’s wife, something that is common in this type of case.
The expert considers that, for its part, the prosecution will try to discover all possible information about its espionage activities, this includes the secrets that were handed over to the Castro regime, the identity of compromised American undercover officers, “and the methodology used in the investigation.” communication”.
Milian considers that it is very likely that the defense strategy will be to avoid a federal trial and take the “more elegant” way out, something of which he feels confident because, if Rocha refuses to cooperate, he could spend the rest of his life in prison because he has 15 charges against him that could sentence him to more than 70 years in prison.
Milian explains that, today, the use of individual agents has become predominant in modern espionage, unlike the complex spy networks that were used in previous years.
In that sense, the former diplomat’s cooperation could be invaluable for US national security, as Rocha could identify other illegal agents who have had contact with him, although this type of information is delicate, and must be handled with care, therefore that “lawyers need special authorization to access it.”
The first formal arraignment hearing against Rocha was set for January 12, 2024, after being delayed twice this month.
