Former United States Ambassador to Bolivia, Victor Manuel Rocha, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for spying on the American government for over a decade on behalf of Cuba.
Miami-based US District Judge Beth Bloom handed down the sentence on Friday after Rocha pleaded guilty to two counts, including acting as an agent of a foreign government. He was also fined $500,000, the maximum penalty allowed.
Rocha’s espionage activities were described by Attorney General Merrick Garland as “one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the US government by a foreign agent.”
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen remarked, “Rocha admitted to acting as an agent of the Cuban government at the same time he held numerous positions of trust in the U.S. government, a staggering betrayal of the American people and an acknowledgement that every oath he took to the United States was a lie.”
Rocha, who served as ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, held high-ranking posts in several embassies and even the White House during the Bill Clinton administration over his more than 20 years in public service.
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