Photo courtesy of Gobierno Danila Medina via Flickr.
On December 4th, the Justice Department filed a criminal complaint against former ambassador to Bolivia Manuel Rocha on spying charges for Cuba.
By Kiera McLaughlin ’26
Global Editor
Former U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha has been arrested after allegedly spying for Cuba’s General Directorate of Intelligence for more than 40 years.
On Dec. 4, 2023, the Justice Department publicized the charges against Rocha, which directly cite him as being a “clandestine agent,” The Washington Post reported.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that Rocha’s spying for Cuba is “one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the U.S. government by a foreign agent,” the Miami Herald stated.
“[Rocha’s spying for Cuba is] one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the U.S. government by a foreign agent.”
According to The Washington Post, these charges are based on meetings between Rocha and an undercover agent employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, who was pretending to be a Cuban intelligence operative.
The agent recorded the discussions with Rocha to gather statements. During these meetings, Rocha revealed his position with the Cuban government and stated that “What we have done … is enormous. More than a grand slam,” when commenting on his work with the nation, the Miami Herald reported.
This statement, along with others, has him facing up to 10 years in prison due to a criminal complaint by the Justice Department, although he has not been charged with acts of espionage, The Washington Post reported.
BBC News reported that Rocha also referred to the United States as “the enemy” and stated that his work with Cuba “strengthened the Revolution,” during the meetings with the undercover FBI agent.
Manuel Rocha was born in Colombia and became a naturalized U.S. citizen, according to The Washington Post. During his time in government, he worked as the U.S. ambassador to Bolivia from 1999 to 2002 and worked in other high official roles for 25 years, the BBC reported. He was also posted in Argentina, Honduras, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
In 1996, Rocha was a principal deputy at the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, the Miami Herald reported. While he was there, the Cuban government shot down two planes that belonged to the anti-Castro, Miami exile organization known as Brothers to the Rescue. BBC News reported that Rocha claimed to be “in charge” during the sting operation, which killed four people.
In addition to working in Havana, Rocha was also the head of the Office for Inter-American Affairs at the National Security Council from 1994 to 1995 during the Clinton administration, according to the Miami Herald. At the time, the administration was responding to the Balsero crisis following the anti-government protests in Cuba in 1994. During the incident, 35,000 Cubans attempted to travel to southern Florida on boats after Castro opened up the Cuban borders, the Miami Herald noted.
According to BBC News, the Justice Department has also accused Rocha of providing the United States with misleading information and making false statements to acquire travel documents. The Miami Herald additionally noted that Rocha has influenced and socialized among officials in Washington, who could have unknowingly provided information to Cuba through Rocha’s connection.
The publicization of this case and Rocha's acting as a spy for the Cuban government has drawn shock from his colleagues and government officials, according to The Washington Post. Judith Bryan, who worked at the U.S. Interest Section in Havana with Rocha, said she “never would have imagined in my wildest dreams this was going on.”
John Feeley, a former U.S. ambassador to Panama who worked with Rocha at the embassy in the Dominican Republic from 1991 to 1994, said that Rocha seemed like “somebody who was going places,” The Washington Post reported. When they later met up in 2018, Feeley explained that “he had gone full-on Donald Trump,” which Feeley commented “was a perfect cover.”
According to the Miami Herald, there have also been accusations of irregularities in this case by intelligence experts. According to interviews conducted by the Miami Herald, the complaint by the Justice Department lacks specific details about information that could have been spread by Rocha’s connection to Cuba. The Miami Herald reported that further complicating this case could be the fact that Rocha’s acts against the U.S. government happened so long ago.
Peter Lapp, a former FBI special agent who arrested Ana Montes, an analyst at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency who spied for the Cuban government, said that “they’re calling him a spy without really saying it.”
He continued to say, “There’s no distinction between Rocha and Montes. He openly admitted to espionage, but they don’t appear to have enough to charge him for espionage like we were able to with Montes. It’s really quite unusual,” Lapp said in an interview with the Miami Herald.
According to the FBI’s official website, Ana Montes was a senior analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency and a spy for Cuba. She was arrested 10 days after the 9/11 attacks due to her access to classified information about the plans to invade Afghanistan. The website claims that Montes’ “motivation” was “pure ideology — she disagreed with U.S. foreign policy” and was accepting money for information from the Cuban government. She ended up pleading guilty and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
According to the Miami Herald, prosecutors noted at Rocha’s hearing on Dec. 4 that they may find other charges to file against Rocha. According to The Washington Post, Garland told reporters that “those who have the privilege of serving in the government of the U.S. are given an enormous amount of trust by the public we serve.” He continued, stating that “to betray that trust by falsely pledging loyalty to the U.S. while serving a foreign power is a crime that will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”