A former US diplomat stationed in Buenos Aires has been convicted of espionage

Víctor Manuel Rocha, former American diplomat who served as virtual ambassador to Argentina, among other destinations, He was sentenced this Friday in Miami to 15 years in prison Of spy for the Cuban government and defrauding the U.S. government, a case considered one of the greatest betrayals in the history of the country’s Foreign Service.

Rocha, 73, admitted to federal charges before federal Judge Beth Bloom in Miami conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, crimes that could put him behind bars for several years. His defense lawyer had already made it known weeks ago that his client had reached an agreement and accepted the sentence handed down in court on Friday: 15 years in prison with three years of probation and Fines of $500,000.

The conditions were not revealed, but it is assumed that Rocha knows many Cuban government secrets that he could reveal.

Before the agreement, Rocha had pleaded not guilty. But after the deal declared his guilt and negotiated a conviction in one of the largest cases of American diplomatic and intelligence deception.

The former diplomat he spent decades at the US State Department and served in Buenos Aires between 1997 and 2000 as the top U.S. representative in the country, as the embassy had no official envoy, although his title was Chargé d’affaires. Then he went as ambassador to Bolivia and years later left diplomacy to devote himself to private business.

Rocha made global media headlines when he was arrested in Miami on December 1, after an extensive FBI investigation, which included the work of an undercover agent who He introduced himself as a Cuban spy and recorded the conversations she had with him.

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

“This action exposes one of the most extensive and long-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent,” 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 the matter What 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 US embassy in Cuba

The U.S. Foreign Agent Registration Act requires those working under the control of foreign governments to notify the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.