Former ambassador to Bolivia charged for allegedly collaborating with Cuban intelligence companies over a number of a long time.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged a former US ambassador to Bolivia for allegedly working with Cuban intelligence companies as an secret agent for a number of a long time.
In court docket papers unsealed on Monday, the DOJ alleged that Manuel Rocha had taken half in “clandestine activity” with the Cuban authorities since not less than 1981, sharing false data with the US and assembly with Cuban operatives.
The 73-year-old former ambassador labored within the US Foreign Service for 25 years, holding prime posts in South American nations resembling Bolivia and Argentina.
The case towards Rocha “exposes one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent”, Attorney General Merrick Garland stated in a press release explaining the costs.
“Those who have the privilege of serving in the government of the United States are given an enormous amount of trust by the public we serve,” Garland stated.
“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 DOJ has charged Rocha with performing as an unlawful agent of a international authorities. US regulation requires these performing on behalf of international governments to register with the DOJ.
The Associated Press information company reported that Rocha was arrested on Friday as a part of a counterintelligence probe by the FBI, the US home intelligence company.
The AP reported that Rocha was charged in a federal court docket in Miami, Florida, and that he’s anticipated to seem in court docket on Monday.
The web site of the US Department of State says that Rocha was sworn in as ambassador to Bolivia on July 14, 2000.
In 2002 he intervened in Bolivia’s presidential race, warning that the US would minimize off assist if Bolivians elected Evo Morales, a left-wing candidate and former coca leaf grower.
Rocha’s speech, interpreted as an effort to form the result of an election in a area the place the US has an extended historical past of subterfuge and interference, angered Bolivians and helped propel Morales to victory.
Since retiring from authorities service, Rocha has began a brand new profession because the president of a Dominican gold mine owned partly by Canada’s Barrick Gold that has been accused of environmental degradation, the AP reported.
The firm has additionally confronted allegations that it was complicit in extrajudicial killings in Tanzania.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/4/former-us-ambassador-accused-of-acting-as-covert-agent-for-cuba?traffic_source=rss