Former U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, Victor Manuel Rocha, has pleaded guilty to spying for Cuba’s intelligence service and has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, culminating in a case that prosecutors describe as one of the most extensive betrayals in U.S. history.
Rocha, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, was indicted in December on charges of spying for Cuba for over 40 years. Initially pleading not guilty, Rocha later reversed his plea.
During Friday’s hearing, there was brief uncertainty about the severity of the plea deal Rocha had agreed to, which lacked restitution for potential victims and did not address Rocha’s U.S. citizenship status.
However, prosecutors defended the 15-year sentence, pointing out that Rocha, now 73, was likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.
The plea deal was subsequently amended to include restitution for victims, to be determined later, and denaturalization could follow as a civil action.
Rocha has agreed to cooperate with authorities and provide information about his activities.
“For most of his life, Mr. Rocha lived a lie,” said David Newman, a top Justice Department official, during a news conference following the sentencing.
“While holding various senior positions in the U.S. government, he was secretly acting as an agent for the Cuban government. That is a staggering betrayal of the American people.”
Rocha’s exact actions in support of the Cuban regime remain undisclosed, as he was not charged with espionage but rather with acting as a foreign agent.
Newman suggested that evidence for espionage charges was lacking due to the long period between the alleged actions and the investigation.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has characterized the case as one of the most far-reaching infiltrations of the U.S. government by a foreign agent.
Rocha, a Colombian-born U.S. citizen, was recruited by Cuba’s spy agency in Chile in 1973 after graduating from Yale University.
He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1978 and served in various roles within the U.S. government, including a stint as an ambassador to Bolivia.
His espionage activities were uncovered when the FBI received a tip and subsequently surveilled Rocha meeting with an undercover agent he believed to be a representative of Cuba’s spy agency.
The case highlights ongoing concerns about espionage threats from countries beyond China and Russia, with Cuban intelligence continuing to pose a significant risk to U.S. national security.
