Former US ambassador to Bolivia admits spying for Cuba for more than 40 years

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) – Former US Ambassador to Bolivia Victor Manuel Rocha admitted that he has been acting as an illegal agent for Cuba for over 40 years, media reports said on Friday.

Rocha, 73, is accused of secretly transferring data to the Cuban government since 1981, according to the BBC.

He has worked for the US State Department and the National Security Council between 1981 and 1995, and has since held other senior posts.

Undertaking the post of the US ambassador to Bolivia in 2000-2002, the former official on Thursday changed his initial plea of not guilty before the court in Miami, Florida.

On April 12, he is expected to be sentenced after a hearing, bringing one of the most high-profile espionage cases between Havana and Washington to an unexpectedly swift conclusion.

Rocha is charged with three criminal counts, including conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government, acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General, and using a passport obtained by false statement.