US Diplomat Turned Cuban Spy Goes To Jail For 15 Years
An ex-career diplomat who once served as America's ambassador to Bolivia has recently learned his fate for working as an agent for Cuba:
Fifteen years in prison.
Victor Manual Rocha, now 73, has been found guilty of secretly passing information to Cuba's communist government for more than 40 years, according to prosecutors.
The espionage case just may be the most high profile case ever between the United States of America and Cuba.
In addition to the 15 years in Prison, Rocha must also pay a $500,000 fine and cooperate with authorities.
Rocha was dressed in a beige jail uniform on April 12 as he told a federal courtroom that "I plead guilty."
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has spoken out about the case, referring to Rocha's crimes as "one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the US government by a foreign agent."
Rocha is a well-travelled man.
He was born in Colombia, then educated at Yale and Harvard right here in America.
Rocha served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia between 1999 and 2002, as well as serving in a variety of other diplomatic postings in Argentina, Honduras, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.
Victor Manuel Rocha also served in other roles in America's government, including one with the National Security Council.
The entire time he was in these positions, he was communicating with one of America's most difficult relationships: Cuba.
In November 2022, an undercover FBI agent contacted Rocha told him that he was "delivering a message from 'your friends in Havana.'"
Over the course of three subsequent meetings, Rocha revealed details of his previous espionage on Cuba's behalf.
Throughout the conversations, Rocha referred to himself in tandem with the Cuban government, saying that they were a team of "we."
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