Ex-US ambassador to Bolivia arrested, accused of serving as an agent of Cuba: Report

Former United States ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha has been arrested in a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) counterintelligence probe, accused of secretly serving as an agent of Cuba's government, the news agency Associated Press reported early Monday (Dec 4). Speaking to the Associated Press, two people familiar with the developments said that Rocha, 73, was arrested in Miami last Friday on a criminal complaint.

More details about the case are expected to be made public at a court appearance later on Monday. One of the people told the news agency that the Justice Department case has accused Rocha of working to promote the Cuban government’s interests.

Federal law requires people doing the bidding of a foreign government or entity inside the US to register with the Justice Department.

A look at Rocha's diplomatic career

Rocha served as a diplomat for 25 years, working under both Democratic and Republican administrations. Much of his career was spent in Latin America during the Cold War. The report said that Rocha's diplomatic postings included a stint at the US Interests Section in Cuba at a time when Washington lacked full diplomatic relations with the Fidel Castro government.

He also served in Italy, Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, and worked as a Latin American expert for the National Security Council.

The 73-year-old was a top diplomat in Argentina from 1997 to 2000. During his next stint as the US ambassador to Bolivia, Rocha intervened directly into the 2002 presidential race, warning weeks ahead of the vote that Washington would cut off assistance to the South American country if it were to elect former coca grower Evo Morales.

“I want to remind the Bolivian electorate that if they vote for those who want Bolivia to return to exporting cocaine, that will seriously jeopardise any future aid to Bolivia from the United States,″ Rocha said in a speech that was widely interpreted as an attempt to sustain US dominance in the region.

This gambit angered Bolivians and gave Morales a last-minute boost. When Morales was elected three years later, he expelled Rocha's successor as chief of the diplomatic mission for inciting a civil war.

After retiring from the State Department, Rocha began a business career, serving as the president of a gold mine in the Dominican Republic partly owned by Canada’s Barrick Gold.

The Associated Press report said that most recently, the 73-year-old held senior roles at Pennsylvania-based coal exporter XCoal, Clover Leaf Capital, law firm Foley & Lardner and Spanish public relations firms Llorente & Cuenca.

Speaking to the news agency, Llorente & Cuenca's US operations CEO Dario Alvarez said, "Our firm remains committed to transparency and will closely monitor the situation, cooperating fully with the authorities if any information becomes available to us."

(With inputs from agencies)