Víctor Rocha, former US ambassador to Argentina, will plead guilty to espionage for Cuba

Victor Manuel Rocha, a former American diplomat who served as ambassador to Argentina, among other destinations, He said Thursday he will plead guilty in Miami to espionage for the Cuban government and fraud against the U.S. government.

Rocha, 73, told a federal judge in Miami that he would admit to federal conspiracy charges act as an agent of a foreign government, crimes that could put him behind bars for several years. His defense attorney indicated that prosecutors agreed to the sentence, but the length of that term was not revealed in court Thursday. He is scheduled to return to court on April 12.

“I agree”, Rocha told Judge Beth Bloom. Only a few weeks ago Rocha had pleaded not guilty. But he has now said he will admit to the charges, in one of the biggest cases of American diplomatic and intelligence deception.

The former diplomat spent decades in the US State Department and served in Buenos Aires between 1997 and 2000 as the highest representative of the United States in the country, as the embassy had no official envoy, although its title was Chargé d’Affaires. He then went as ambassador to Bolivia and years later left diplomacy to devote himself to private business.

Rocha was a major player in the media world back when He was arrested in Miami on December 1 after a thorough investigation by the FBI, which included the work of an undercover agent who posed as a Cuban spy and recorded conversations he had with him.

Days later, Rocha was indicted by a grand jury in Miami for defrauding his country and acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, news that shocked American diplomacy.

“This action highlights one of the most far-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations by a foreign agent of the United States government,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said when the former diplomat was arrested.

“We allege that, for more than 40 years, Víctor Manuel Rocha served as an agent of the Cuban government and sought and obtained positions within the United States government that afforded him access to non-public information and the ability to influence the foreign policy of the United States,” he added.

The criminal complaint provided no details on whatWhat information could he have revealed to Cuba? or how it might have affected U.S. politics. According to the indictment, Rocha had high-level security clearances that gave him access to top-secret information. Before landing in Argentina and Bolivia, Rocha had been number two at the American embassy in Cuba

The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires those working under the control of foreign governments to notify the U.S. Attorney General’s Office. Rocha is also accused of make false statements obtain and use a US passport.

Rocha is still being held in federal prison but is not sitting still. According to what emerged days ago, the former diplomat sold title to four luxury apartments in a condominium in downtown Miami, worth 4 million dollars, which now remains entirely in the hands of his wife Karla Wittkop Rocha. The information, reported by America TV, indicates that the transfer took place on February 8, although the documents appeared to have been signed in January.