MIAMI (AP) — A former American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested in a long-running FBI counterintelligence investigation, accused of secretly serving as an agent of Cuba’s govt, The Related Press has discovered.Manuel Rocha, 73, used to be arrested in Miami on Friday on a legal criticism and extra information about the case are anticipated to be made public at a court docket look Monday, mentioned two individuals who spoke to the AP on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk about an ongoing federal investigation.Some of the folks mentioned the Justice Division case accuses Rocha of operating to advertise the Cuban govt’s pursuits. Federal regulation calls for folks doing the political bidding of a overseas govt or entity throughout the U.S. to sign in with the Justice Division, which in recent times has stepped up its legal enforcement of illicit overseas lobbying.
The Justice Division declined to remark. It used to be now not in an instant transparent if Rocha had a legal professional and a regulation company the place he prior to now labored mentioned it used to be now not representing him. His spouse hung up when contacted via the AP.
Rocha’s 25-year diplomatic profession used to be spent below each Democratic and Republican administrations, a lot of it in Latin The us all the way through the Chilly Warfare, a duration of once in a while heavy-handed U.S. political and armed forces insurance policies. His diplomatic postings incorporated a stint on the U.S. Pursuits Phase in Cuba all the way through a time when the U.S. lacked complete diplomatic members of the family with Fidel Castro’s communist govt.
Born in Colombia, Rocha used to be raised in a working-class house in New York Town and went on to procure a succession of liberal arts levels from Yale, Harvard and Georgetown sooner than becoming a member of the overseas carrier in 1981.He used to be the highest U.S. diplomat in Argentina between 1997 and 2000 as a decade-long foreign money stabilization program sponsored via Washington used to be unraveling below the burden of enormous overseas debt and stagnant expansion, triggering a political disaster that might see the South American nation cycle via 5 presidents in two weeks.
At his subsequent put up as ambassador to Bolivia, he intervened immediately into the 2002 presidential race, caution weeks forward of the vote that the U.S. would bring to a halt help to the deficient South American nation if it had been to elect former coca grower Evo Morales.“I wish to remind the Bolivian citizens that in the event that they vote for individuals who need Bolivia to go back to exporting cocaine, that can critically jeopardize any long run support to Bolivia from the US,″ Rocha mentioned in a speech that used to be extensively interpreted as a an try to maintain U.S. dominance within the area.The gambit angered Bolivians and gave Morales a last-minute spice up. When he used to be in any case elected 3 years later, the leftist chief expelled Rocha’s successor as leader of the diplomatic project for inciting “civil conflict.”Rocha additionally served in Italy, Honduras, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and labored as a Latin The us professional for the Nationwide Safety Council.Rocha’s spouse, Karla Wittkop Rocha, would now not remark when contacted via the AP. “I don’t wish to communicate to you,” she mentioned sooner than placing up.
Following his retirement from the State Division, Rocha started a 2nd profession in trade, serving because the president of a gold mine within the Dominican Republic in part owned via Canada’s Barrick Gold.Extra lately, he’s held senior roles at XCoal, a Pennsylvania-based coal exporter; Clover Leaf Capital, an organization shaped to facilitate mergers within the hashish business; regulation company Foley & Lardner and Spanish public members of the family corporations Llorente & Cuenca. “Our company stays dedicated to transparency and can intently observe the placement, cooperating absolutely with the government if any data turns into to be had to us,” Dario Alvarez, CEO of Llorente & Cuenca’s U.S. operations, mentioned in an e mail.XCoal and Clover Leaf Capital didn’t in an instant reply to a request for remark. Foley & Lardner mentioned Rocha left the regulation company in August.____Tucker reported from Washington.___ Touch AP’s world investigative group at Investigative@ap.org or
