Convicted spy for communist Cuba says he was radicalized against the U.S. while attending prestigious universities
Manuel Rocha studeied at Yale, Harvard, and Georgetown.
Rocha served as ambassador to Bolivia from 2000-2002 under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
A former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia who was recently sentenced to 15 years in federal prison has attributed his radical political beliefs to his college education.
Manuel Rocha, who has been arrested and convicted as a spy for the Cuban government, recently said in a statement that his education at American universities was what caused his radicalization.
Rocha, who is 73 years old, wrote in a statement to a federal judge on April 12 that, during his “formative years in college,” he was “heavily influenced by the radical politics of the day.”
“My deep commitment at that time to radical social change in the region led me to the eventual betrayal of my oath of loyalty to the United States during my two decades in the State Department,” Rocha continued.
Rocha received his B.A. from Yale University in 1973, in addition to master’s degrees from Harvard University in 1976 and Georgetown University in 1978.
On April 12, Rocha was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his acts of espionage against the United States on behalf of communist Cuba.
In his statement, Rocha also said that he is attempting to move past the radicalization of his younger years.
“I know that my actions have caused great pain to my family, former colleagues, and the closest of friends,” Rocha concluded. “I ask them all for their understanding and their forgiveness. They need to know I am deeply and sincerely sorry.”
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom, who sentenced Rocha, referred to him as an “enemy” of the United States and fined him $500,000, according to the Miami Herald.
“This action exposes one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said after Rocha’s arrest in December. “We allege that for over 40 years, Victor Manuel Rocha served as an agent of the Cuban government and sought out and obtained positions within the United States government that would provide him with access to non-public information and the ability to affect U.S. foreign policy.”
“Those who have the privilege of serving in the government of the United States are given an enormous amount of trust by the public we serve,” Garland continued in his statement. “To betray that trust by falsely pledging loyalty to the United States while serving a foreign power is a crime that will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.”
According to the Justice Department, Rocha “consistently [referred] to the United States as ‘the enemy,’ and [used] the term ‘we’ to describe himself and Cuba.”
Rocha served as ambassador to Bolivia from 2000-2002 under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He also served as the Director for Inter-American Affairs for the National Security Council from 1991-1994.
Campus Reform has contacted Yale University, Harvard University, and Georgetown University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
