The depth of the infiltration of Communist agents into the United States is a sad reality that has not even begun to be scratched.
But if the story of the former American ambassador to Bolivia is any indication, it is even deeper than we might suspect.
Hidden in plain sight during the Bill Clinton administration, Victor Manuel Rocha held several high-ranking positions in embassies around the world and even worked in the White House.
His more than 20 years of “public service” were actually in the service of the Cuban communist dictatorship.
Rocha is a US career diplomat of Colombian origin and has always described himself as a “Cuban hardliner”, someone who opposes the regime of Fidel Castro, his true secret master.
Now the former ambassador to Bolivia has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
The New York Post reported:
“Miami-based U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom accepted Victor Manuel Rocha’s guilty plea to two counts, including acting as an agent of a foreign government, before handing down his ten-year sentence. and a half years and a fine of $500,000, the maximum allowable penalty.”
After four decades serving Cuba in a mission he described as ‘huge’and that “strengthened the Revolution immensely”Rocha was indicted last December.
Attorney General Merrick Garland described the case as “one of the most far-reaching and longest-running infiltrations by a foreign agent” – we might add, “that we are aware of to date.”
“’Today’s appeal and sentence bring to an end more than four decades of betrayal and deception by the defendant,’ Deputy Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said Friday.
“Rocha admitted that he acted as an agent of the Cuban government and at the same time held numerous positions of trust in the United States government, a staggering betrayal of the American people and the recognition that every oath he swore to the United States was a lie,” he said. the Justice Department official added.
After leaving the State Department, Rocha continued to spy, this time as an advisor to the US Southern Command, whose area of responsibility includes Cuba.
According to the Department of Justice, the spy had access to classified and classified information and, even worse, developed the ability to influence US foreign policy.
“Rocha admitted that his involvement with the Cuban intelligence service began in 1973 and continued up until the time of his arrest throughout his career in government.”
“He was arrested after a series of meetings with undercover FBI agents posing as Cuban intelligence officials, during which Rocha acknowledged the “decades” of espionage he had carried out on behalf of Cuba, spanning “40 years”. According to the Justice Department, Rocha referred to the United States as “the enemy” and praised the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro during his meetings with undercover FBI agents.
The Justice Department did not charge Rocha with espionage, a crime that is harder to prove but would have carried a harsher sentence.