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Ex-ambassador charged with serving as secret agent for Cuba's intelligence services for decades

Published:Monday | December 4, 2023 | 11:23 AM
An FBI seal is seen on a wall on August 10, 2022, in Omaha, Nebraska. A former American diplomat who served as US ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested in a long-running FBI counterintelligence investigation, accused of secretly serving as an agent of Cuba’s government, The Associated Press has learnt. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

MIAMI (AP) — A former American diplomat who served as US ambassador to Bolivia has been charged with serving as a covert agent for Cuba's intelligence services dating back decades, the Justice Department said Monday.

Newly unsealed court papers allege 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 US government officials.

The complaint, filed in federal court in Miami, charges Rocha with acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.

The 73-year-old had a 25-year career as a US diplomat, including top posts in Bolivia, Argentina and the US Interests Section in Havana.

He is due in court later Monday. 

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