Rocha, now 73, served as U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia from 1999 to 2002. Rocha, who served in various government positions, including the National Security Council, for 25 years, served in Argentina, Honduras, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, as well as Bolivia.
“ONE OF THE HIGHEST PROFILE SPY CASES”
Rocha changed his initial plea of not guilty in court in Miami, Florida, on Thursday.
His sentence will be determined at the hearing on April 12.
This means one of the most high-profile espionage cases between Cuba and the United States will be resolved unexpectedly quickly.
According to the US-based Miami Herald newspaper, Thursday’s hearing would discuss how confidential documents related to the case will be handled.
However, it was announced that Rocha agreed with the court instead.
Rocha is accused of spying for foreign countries, committing money transfer fraud and making false statements to obtain a U.S. passport.
HE WAS THE AGENT OF THAT COUNTRY!
Evidence collected by investigators included secret recordings in which Rocha admitted to working for Cuba for decades, referred to Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro as “Commander” and called the United States an “enemy.”
It appears Rocha and his lawyers now think pleading guilty is the wisest option.
STATEMENT FROM CIA OFFICIAL: HE MAY RECEIVE LIFE PRISON
James Olson, the CIA’s former head of counterintelligence, told the BBC last month that the incident showed how Cuba’s intelligence services had outmaneuvered the US government.
“One of the reasons I have a personal grudge against the Cuban intelligence service is because they were so successful in operating against us,” Olson said.
Olson said he anticipates Rocha will be sentenced to life in prison.
US-CUBA RELATIONS
The United States and Cuba have had a tense relationship since Fidel Castro overthrew the US-backed government 60 years ago.
The United States imposed a trade embargo on Cuba in the 1960s. Former US President Barack Obama and former Cuban President Raul Castro took steps to normalize relations in 2015, but former US President Donald Trump later backed away from most of them.
ROCHA’S IMPRESSIVE RESUME
Born in Colombia, Rocha grew up in New York and studied at the country’s leading universities such as Yale, Harvard and Georgetown.
According to prosecutors, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia from 1999 to 2002 and held various government positions, including on the National Security Council, for 25 years. In addition to Bolivia, he also served in Argentina, Honduras, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
After leaving the State Department, he worked as a special advisor to U.S. Southern Command, the part of the U.S. military responsible for Cuba.
THIS IS HOW ROCHA GOT AWAY! “THIS IS LIKE QUESTIONING MY MASCULINE”
The indictment stated that in November 2022, an FBI agent, claiming to be a representative of the Cuban Intelligence Services, contacted Rocha via WhatsApp “to convey a message from his friends in Havana.”
Rocha agreed to meet the person several times, including one at a food court at a shopping mall, “because there was no way anyone would see him there,” according to case documents.
During three conversations with the undercover FBI agent, Rocha began providing details about his time working as an agent for the Cuban government, according to the indictment.
Rocha allegedly used the phrase “we” when referring to Cuba and himself.
When an FBI agent posing as a spy working for Cuba asked him, “Are you still with us?” Rocha said he was “angry” that his loyalty was being questioned.
“This is like questioning my masculinity,” he said.
