According to court records unsealed Monday, the former US ambassador to Bolivia has been accused in federal court with working as a secret foreign agent of Cuba.
Former American diplomat Manuel Rocha, 73, "secretly supported the Republic of Cuba and its clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against the United States by serving as a covert agent of Cuba's intelligence services," prosecutors wrote.
Rocha was the US ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, and in the 1990s, he was the Deputy Principal Officer of the US Interests Section in Cuba. Rocha also worked for the US embassy in the Dominican Republic, the US consulate in Italy, and the US embassies in Mexico and Argentina in various capacities.
According to court filings, throughout multiple encounters with an undercover FBI agent serving as a member of Cuban intelligence, Rocha constantly referred to the US as "the enemy" and admired Cuban revolutionary and leader Fidel Castro.
Prosecutors believe Rocha was "in charge" of the "knock down of the small planes" during his time working for the State Department in Havana, when Cuba shot down two unarmed planes operated by members of Brothers to the Rescue, a US-based group opposed to Castro's government, killing four men.
Prosecutors allege in the indictment that the Cuban government has been working for years to recruit people in the United States to help with intelligence gathering, including members of the US government.
Prosecutors claimed that as a State Department employee, Rocha had "unique" access to non-public government material.
Rocha is facing three federal counts, including serving as a foreign government's unauthorized agent. Rocha has been arrested, according to a person familiar with the situation, and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Miami today.
Rocha's lawyer is not yet mentioned on the public docket, and he has not yet made a formal plea.
An undercover FBI agent approaches Rocha.
According to court records, an undercover FBI agent masquerading as a Cuban intelligence agent messaged Rocha on WhatsApp in November 2022, shortly after investigators were tipped off to Rocha's suspected covert operation. Prosecutors claim that the undercover employee stated in the communication that they "have a message for you from your friends in Havana." It is about a sensitive subject."
I don't understand," Rocha allegedly said, "but you can call me." The former ambassador agreed to meet with the undercover staffer in Miami to discuss the situation.
During the meeting, Rocha allegedly took several precautions to avoid being followed, including taking a longer route to their meeting location and asking the undercover employee to speak at a "food court" with only "low-level employees... So, there is no possibility for - for anyone to see me."
During their initial contact, Rocha allegedly informed the undercover employee that the Cuban intelligence agency, known as the Dirección General de Inteligencia, had "asked me... to lead a normal life," and that he had "created the legend of a right-wing person."
I always told myself, 'The only thing that can jeopardize everything we've done is... someone's betrayal, someone who may have met me, someone who may have known something at some point," Rocha stated, according to a recording of the conversation quoted in court records.
He was said to have said: "My number one concern; my number one priority was … any action on the part of Washington that would - would endanger the life of — of the leadership, or the — or the revolution itself.
Several weeks later, at another meeting, Rocha allegedly explained his State Department job search to the undercover employee, saying, "I went bit by little... It was a rigorous procedure... regimented - yet disciplined."
"I knew exactly how to execute it, and obviously the Dirección was with me... they knew I knew how to do it... According to prosecutors, "it was a long and difficult process."
Rocha allegedly boasted about his "decades" of labor for the Cuban government, stating it "strengthened the revolution" during "the last 40 years," and bemoaned "the blows that the enemy," presumably referring to the US government, "has dealt to the current revolution."
According to court filings, Rocha worked as a "senior international business advisor" at consultancy firm LLYC USA at the time of his detention. In a statement to CNN on Monday, LLYC stated that Rocha is "no longer associated with LLYC, effective immediately" and that it will "collaborate fully with the authorities if required.