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Former US ambassador charged with spying for Cuba since 1981

A former US ambassador to Bolivia and member of the National Security Council has been charged with spying for Cuba for 40 years, the Justice Department announced Monday.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231204-former-us-ambassador-charged-with-spying-for-cuba

Excerpt:

.....Rocha, a naturalized US citizen originally from Colombia, allegedly began aiding Havana as a “covert agent of Cuba’s General Directorate of Intelligence” in 1981, and his espionage activities continued to the present, the statement said......

Rocha, who served on the National Security Council from 1994 to 1995 in the administration of Bill Clinton and was the ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 under Clinton and George W. Bush, was to appear in court later Monday in Florida.

Rocha joined the State Department in 1981 and rose through the ranks as a career officer, also serving in posts in Havana, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, the Dominican Republic and Washington.

His government posts offered him access to non-public information, including classified information, and the ability to “affect US foreign policy,” the government said in its statement.

The charges against him include: conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government; acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior government consent; and using a US passport obtained by making false statements.

Rocha allegedly admitted his activities to an undercover FBI agent posing as a Cuban operative.

“Throughout the meetings, Rocha behaved as a Cuban agent, consistently referring to the United States as ‘the enemy,’ and using the term ‘we’ to describe himself and Cuba,” the Justice Department said.

Rocha praised late Cuban leader Fidel Castro and described his work for Cuba as “a grand slam,” the statement said.
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