SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- A federal judge this Friday sentenced former diplomat Víctor Manuel Rocha to 15 years in prison for spying for decades for the Cuban regime.
The sentence came after admitting that he worked as a secret agent for Cuba, in a plea agreement established with the Prosecutor’s Office, AP reported.
Manuel Rocha will also pay a $500,000 fine and cooperate with authorities after pleading guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government. In exchange, the Prosecutor’s Office dropped more than a dozen charges, including wire fraud and false statements.
“I plead guilty,” Rocha told Judge Beth Bloom, adding that he understood the seriousness of his actions.
A total of 15 years and the sum of $500,000 was the agreement that the Prosecutor’s Office had reached with Rocha, who would admit his guilt on April 12.
“Maximum penalty”
Rocha, 73, faces a total of 15 charges for 6 crimes and together he could serve a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.
The case has aroused the anger of a large number of Cuban exiles in the United States, who gathered this Tuesday outside the Wilke D. Ferguson Federal Court, in downtown Miami, to demand the “maximum sentence” against the former diplomat. .
The protesters carried banners and photographs of Rocha with the phrase “maximum condemnation” and words like “traitor,” in addition to Cuban and American flags. They sought to capture the attention of Judge Beth Bloom, prior to this Friday’s session.
Last February, Rocha had pleaded not guilty but later announced that he would plead guilty to serving as a secret agent for Cuba for decades. He was expected to face five to 10 years in prison for two counts of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government.
A great betrayal
Prosecutors alleged in December 2023 that the former ambassador, a former State Department employee who served on the National Security Council and was a U.S. diplomat in Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, spied on the United States for more than 40 years as an agent of Cuba.
The “clandestine activities” in favor of Cuba date back to at least 1981, when he joined the US foreign service, according to information shared by the authorities of that country.
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2024-04-13 07:30:29
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