Former US Ambassador Sentenced to 15 Years for Spying

Victor Manuel Rocha, a former US ambassador, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for spying for Cuba for over four decades. The 73-year-old was arrested in December and pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government. Rocha, originally from Colombia and a naturalized US citizen, began aiding Havana as a covert agent of Cuba’s General Directorate of Intelligence in 1981.

US authorities revealed that Rocha referred to the United States as 'the enemy' and boasted about the significance of his espionage efforts. Despite serving in diplomatic roles and as an advisor to the US military command responsible for Cuba, Rocha's allegiance to Cuba remained hidden until his arrest.

The sentencing judge, Beth Bloom, imposed the maximum penalty permitted by law, including a 15-year prison term and a $500,000 fine. Rocha's case is one of several espionage incidents that have strained US-Cuba relations over the years, dating back to the Cold War era.

Notable past cases include the convictions of Walter Kendall Myers and Gwendolyn Myers, who spied for Cuba for nearly 30 years, and military intelligence analyst Ana Montes, who admitted to gathering intelligence for Cuba for almost a decade. Cuba, under a US embargo since 1962, remains on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Victor Manuel Rocha's sentencing highlights the ongoing challenges posed by espionage activities between the US and Cuba. The case serves as a reminder of the complex history and tensions that persist between the two nations, despite efforts to improve diplomatic relations in recent years.