Detained Ex-US Ambassador ‘Was Agent For Cuba’
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MIAMI/WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – A former American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia has been detained on charges of serving as an agent of Cuba’s government, Worthy News monitored.
Manuel Rocha, 73, was reportedly arrested in Miami in a long-running counterintelligence investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
More details were expected to emerge at a court appearance Monday, The Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
Born in Colombia, Rocha was raised in a working-class home in New York City and obtained a succession of liberal arts degrees from Yale, Harvard, and Georgetown before joining the foreign service in 1981.
Rocha’s 25-year diplomatic career was spent under both Democratic and Republican administrations, much of it in Latin America during the Cold War.
It included a stint at the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba during a time when the U.S. lacked full diplomatic relations with Fidel Castro’s communist government.
Despite Havana’s claimed recent reforms, the communist-run island remains a dangerous place for dissidents and devoted Christians, rights activists say.
It was not immediately clear if Rocha had a lawyer, and a law firm where he previously worked said it was not representing him.
His wife reportedly hung up when contacted by the AP for comment. Worthy News wasn’t immediately able to try as well.
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