* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    1000+ Entertainment Leaders Release Open Letter Criticizing TIFF’s Handling of Film – Creative Community for Peace

    1000+ Entertainment Leaders Release Open Letter Criticizing TIFF’s Handling of Film – Creative Community for Peace

    ‘The Lucky Ones’: Mae Ngai Sells Film & TV Rights To Neurosphere Entertainment – Deadline

    The Lucky Ones’: Mae Ngai Lands Thrilling Deal for Film and TV Adaptations

    Our picks for the best things to do in Cincinnati this week, Aug. 18-24 – Cincinnati Enquirer

    Unmissable Things to Do in Cincinnati This Week, Aug. 18-24

    Terence Stamp: from arthouse icon to blockbuster villain – yahoo.com

    Terence Stamp: From Arthouse Legend to Hollywood’s Ultimate Villain

    Community & Entertainment redefined: The summer fun continues with Villagio Hospitality! – WJLA

    Summer Fun Redefined: Create Unforgettable Moments with Villagio Hospitality!

    Iconic ‘M*A*S*H’ Actor, 86, Has Fans Swooning Over Resurfaced Images: ‘My Crush Since ’75’ – yahoo.com

    Iconic ‘M*A*S*H’ Actor, 86, Has Fans Swooning Over Resurfaced Images: ‘My Crush Since ’75’ – yahoo.com

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Morgan County Rescue Squad is using new technology to recover people missing in the water faster – WAFF

    Morgan County Rescue Squad is using new technology to recover people missing in the water faster – WAFF

    YSU to celebrate launch of new radiology technology program – WKBN.com

    YSU Launches Exciting New Radiology Technology Program Celebration

    Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology kicks off return to school for Lancaster County colleges [photos] – LancasterOnline

    Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Kicks Off an Exciting New School Year for Lancaster County Colleges [Photos]

    Empyrean Technology’s revenue climbs, but profit plunges 92% in EDA spending squeeze – digitimes

    Empyrean Technology’s Revenue Skyrockets as Profits Plunge 92% Amid EDA Spending Crunch

    5G-A technology provides strong support for China’s football sensation Suchao – Global Times

    How 5G-A Technology is Revolutionizing China’s Football Star Suchao

    AI’s backyard: A map of the 21st-century gold rush – EL PAÍS English

    The AI Frontier: Exploring the Thrilling Gold Rush of the 21st Century

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    1000+ Entertainment Leaders Release Open Letter Criticizing TIFF’s Handling of Film – Creative Community for Peace

    1000+ Entertainment Leaders Release Open Letter Criticizing TIFF’s Handling of Film – Creative Community for Peace

    ‘The Lucky Ones’: Mae Ngai Sells Film & TV Rights To Neurosphere Entertainment – Deadline

    The Lucky Ones’: Mae Ngai Lands Thrilling Deal for Film and TV Adaptations

    Our picks for the best things to do in Cincinnati this week, Aug. 18-24 – Cincinnati Enquirer

    Unmissable Things to Do in Cincinnati This Week, Aug. 18-24

    Terence Stamp: from arthouse icon to blockbuster villain – yahoo.com

    Terence Stamp: From Arthouse Legend to Hollywood’s Ultimate Villain

    Community & Entertainment redefined: The summer fun continues with Villagio Hospitality! – WJLA

    Summer Fun Redefined: Create Unforgettable Moments with Villagio Hospitality!

    Iconic ‘M*A*S*H’ Actor, 86, Has Fans Swooning Over Resurfaced Images: ‘My Crush Since ’75’ – yahoo.com

    Iconic ‘M*A*S*H’ Actor, 86, Has Fans Swooning Over Resurfaced Images: ‘My Crush Since ’75’ – yahoo.com

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Morgan County Rescue Squad is using new technology to recover people missing in the water faster – WAFF

    Morgan County Rescue Squad is using new technology to recover people missing in the water faster – WAFF

    YSU to celebrate launch of new radiology technology program – WKBN.com

    YSU Launches Exciting New Radiology Technology Program Celebration

    Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology kicks off return to school for Lancaster County colleges [photos] – LancasterOnline

    Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology Kicks Off an Exciting New School Year for Lancaster County Colleges [Photos]

    Empyrean Technology’s revenue climbs, but profit plunges 92% in EDA spending squeeze – digitimes

    Empyrean Technology’s Revenue Skyrockets as Profits Plunge 92% Amid EDA Spending Crunch

    5G-A technology provides strong support for China’s football sensation Suchao – Global Times

    How 5G-A Technology is Revolutionizing China’s Football Star Suchao

    AI’s backyard: A map of the 21st-century gold rush – EL PAÍS English

    The AI Frontier: Exploring the Thrilling Gold Rush of the 21st Century

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Former U.S. Diplomat Charged with Secretly Spying for Cuban Intelligence for Decades

December 4, 2023
in News
Former U.S. Diplomat Charged with Secretly Spying for Cuban Intelligence for Decades
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

MIAMI — A former career American diplomat was charged Monday with serving as a secret agent for communist Cuba going back decades in what prosecutors portrayed as one of the most brazen and long-running betrayals in the history of the U.S. foreign service.

Court papers alleged that Manuel Rocha engaged in “clandestine activity” on Cuba’s behalf since at least 1981, including by meeting with Cuban intelligence operatives and providing false information to U.S. government officials about his travels and contacts.

The complaint, filed in federal court in Miami, charges Rocha with crimes including acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government and provides a vivid case study of what American officials say are long-standing efforts by Cuba and its notoriously sophisticated intelligence services to target government officials who can be flipped.

“This action exposes one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “To betray that trust by falsely pledging loyalty to the United States while serving a foreign power is a crime that will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”

The 73-year-old Rocha, whose two-decade career as a U.S. diplomat included top posts in Bolivia, Argentina and the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, was arrested at his Miami home Friday. He wept as he sat handcuffed during his first court appearance Monday and was ordered held pending a bond hearing Wednesday. His attorney declined to comment.

The Justice Department did not reveal how Rocha attracted the attention of Cuba’s intelligence operatives nor did it describe what, if any, sensitive information he may have provided while in government.

Instead, the case relies largely on what prosecutors say were Rocha’s own admissions, made over the past year to an undercover FBI agent posing as a Cuban intelligence operative.

Rocha praised the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro as “Comandante,” branded the U.S. the “enemy” and bragged about his service for more than 40 years as a Cuban mole in the heart of the State Department and elite U.S. foreign policy circles, the complaint says.

“What we have done … it’s enormous … more than a Grand Slam,” he was quoted as saying at one of several secretly recorded conversations starting last year at discrete locations — a church and outdoor food court — in downtown Miami.

“They underestimated what we could do to them. We did more than they thought,” the document quotes Rocha as saying, referring to the United States.

To cover his tracks, he referred to Cuba as “the island” and led a “normal life” disguised as a “right-wing person,” he said in one of the recordings. He also arrived at the meetings with the undercover agent in Miami deliberately straying from the most-direct route and pausing along the way in what prosecutors allege was classic, counter-surveillance “tradecraft” as taught by Cuba’s spymasters.

“It’s what I’ve always been told to do,” Rocha told his handler about his movements.

The case is part of a historically tense relationship between the U.S. and Cuba. Washington and Havana restored diplomatic relations in late 2014 after a half-century of Cold War acrimony, though the Trump administration reimposed sanctions on Cuba and, in 2021, redesignated it a state sponsor of terrorism.

The charging document traces Rocha’s illegal ties to Cuba back to 1981, when he first joined the State Department, to well after his departure from the federal government, when he took on lucrative private sector jobs — most recently as a senior business adviser to an international public relations firm.

The FBI learned about the relationship last year and arranged a series of undercover encounters in downtown Miami between Rocha and an agent purporting to be a Cuban intelligence operative.

“I always told myself, ‘The only thing that can put everything we have done in danger is … someone’s betrayal, someone who may have met me, someone who may have known something at some point,’” Rocha said in one of of the meetings, according to the charging document.

In another meeting last year, Rocha referred to Cuba shooting down two unarmed planes sent by the Miami-based group of exiles Brothers to the Rescue in which four opponents of Castro’s government were killed in 1996.

There’s no indication in the complaint that Rocha aided the Cubans with the military operation — a major flashpoint in more than a half-century of brinksmanship between the communist-ruled island and its right-wing opponents in Miami. But at the time he served as a senior political officer at the U.S. special interest section in Havana.

“I lived through it, because I was in charge,” Rocha said. “That was a time of a lot of tension.”

Rocha’s service to Cuba may have gone back earlier than the start of his U.S. diplomatic career.

The complaint cites Rocha telling the undercover agent, who went by the name Miguel, that he first proved his loyalty in Chile in 1973 – the same year right-wing Gen. Augusto Pinochet, with U.S. backing, overthrew the socialist government of Salvador Allende.

“They must have told you something because you mentioned Chile,” Rocha told the undercover agent who presented himself as having reached out to him at the request of higher-ups in Cuba’s National Intelligence Directorate. “That inspired trust in me.”

Born in Colombia, Rocha was raised in a working-class home in New York City and went on to obtain a succession of liberal arts degrees from Yale, Harvard and Georgetown before joining the foreign service in 1981.

He was the top U.S. diplomat in Argentina between 1997 and 2000 as a decade-long currency stabilization program backed by Washington was unraveling under the weight of huge foreign debt and stagnant growth, triggering a political crisis that would see the South American country cycle through five presidents in two weeks.

At his next post, as ambassador to Bolivia, he intervened directly into the 2002 presidential race, warning weeks ahead of the vote that the U.S. would cut off assistance to the poor South American country if it were to elect former coca grower Evo Morales.

“I want to remind the Bolivian electorate that if they vote for those who want Bolivia to return to exporting cocaine, that will seriously jeopardize any future aid to Bolivia from the United States,″ Rocha said in a speech that was widely interpreted as an attempt to sustain U.S. dominance in the region.

The gambit angered Bolivians and gave Morales a last-minute boost. When he was finally elected three years later, the leftist leader expelled Rocha’s successor as chief of the diplomatic mission for inciting “civil war.”

Rocha also served in Italy, Honduras, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and worked as a Latin America expert for the National Security Council.

After his retirement from the State Department, Rocha began a second career in business, serving as the president of a gold mine in the Dominican Republic partly owned by Canada’s Barrick Gold.

More recently, he’s held senior roles at XCoal, a Pennsylvania-based coal exporter; Clover Leaf Capital, a company formed to facilitate mergers in the cannabis industry; law firm Foley & Lardner; and Spanish public relations firm Llorente & Cuenca, which said Monday that it had fired him.

John Feeley, who ended a long diplomatic career serving as U.S. ambassador to Panama, said he was “saddened and shocked that my former mentor turned out to be a career Cuban mole.”

Feeley, who retired from the State Department over differences with President Donald Trump’s administration, said that the last time he saw Rocha he was surprised by how a diplomat who had served administrations of both parties had so fully embraced Trump’s brand of politics.

“It is beyond ironic that he cultivated this cartoonish persona and that everyone apparently bought it,” he said.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Time – https://time.com/6342493/former-u-s-diplomat-charged-spying-cuba/

Tags: diplomatFormernews
Previous Post

What to Know About Israel’s Expanding Ground Assault in Gaza

Next Post

Sheryl Sandberg Calls for More Outrage Over Attacks on Women on Oct. 7

Warming‐induced changes in seasonal priority effects drive shifts in community composition – ESA Journals

How Warming Shifts Seasonal Priorities and Transforms Community Composition

August 20, 2025
Opinion | U.S. scientists are seeing their research upended – The Washington Post

U.S. Scientists Face Major Challenges as Their Research Is Disrupted

August 20, 2025
Toothpaste made with hair naturally repairs tooth enamel, scientists discover – Sky News

Toothpaste made with hair naturally repairs tooth enamel, scientists discover – Sky News

August 20, 2025
High blood pressure coupled with this common lifestyle mistake may increase cancer and early death risk – Times of India

High blood pressure coupled with this common lifestyle mistake may increase cancer and early death risk – Times of India

August 20, 2025
Morgan County Rescue Squad is using new technology to recover people missing in the water faster – WAFF

Morgan County Rescue Squad is using new technology to recover people missing in the water faster – WAFF

August 20, 2025
2025 Best NFL Linebackers: Fred Warner, Roquan Smith Lead Top 10 Rankings – FOX Sports

Top 10 NFL Linebackers of 2025: Fred Warner and Roquan Smith Lead the Pack

August 20, 2025
Men’s Freestyle Team Standings At The 2025 U20 World Championships – FloWrestling

Exciting Men’s Freestyle Team Rankings Revealed at the 2025 U20 World Championships

August 19, 2025
The Weaponized World Economy: Surviving the New Age of Economic Coercion – Foreign Affairs

The Weaponized World Economy: Surviving the New Age of Economic Coercion – Foreign Affairs

August 19, 2025
1000+ Entertainment Leaders Release Open Letter Criticizing TIFF’s Handling of Film – Creative Community for Peace

1000+ Entertainment Leaders Release Open Letter Criticizing TIFF’s Handling of Film – Creative Community for Peace

August 19, 2025
Allegheny County Health Department identifies first human case of West Nile virus in 2025 – CBS News

Allegheny County Health Department identifies first human case of West Nile virus in 2025 – CBS News

August 19, 2025

Categories

Archives

August 2025
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (780)
  • Economy (801)
  • Entertainment (21,679)
  • General (16,566)
  • Health (9,840)
  • Lifestyle (813)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (803)
  • Politics (809)
  • Science (16,014)
  • Sports (21,300)
  • Technology (15,782)
  • World (783)

Recent News

Warming‐induced changes in seasonal priority effects drive shifts in community composition – ESA Journals

How Warming Shifts Seasonal Priorities and Transforms Community Composition

August 20, 2025
Opinion | U.S. scientists are seeing their research upended – The Washington Post

U.S. Scientists Face Major Challenges as Their Research Is Disrupted

August 20, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version