In December 2023, Victor Manuel Rocha, a naturalized U.S. citizen. was charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government (Cuba) and defrauding the U.S. as well as committing wire fraud and making false statements to obtain and use a U.S. passport.[1]
On February 29, Rocha in federal court said he will file a change of plea, indicating he is prepared to plead guilty to two counts of conspiring as a foreign agent, each of which carries a maximum prison sentence of five to 10 years. And his female attorney indicated in court that she and prosecutors have reached an agreement on his possible prison term, which was not specified at this hearing.[2]
This development came just hours after the widow of a prominent Cuban dissident who had been killed in a mysterious car crash filed a wrongful death suit against Rocha.
Rocha’s sentencing is scheduled for April 12, when the plea agreement will be revealed.
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[1] U.S. Indicts and Arrests Victor Emmanuel Rocha on Charges of Acting as a Cuban Undercover Agent, dwkcommentaries.com (Jan. 23, 2024);COMMENT: Developments in Criminal Prosecution of Victor Manuel Rocha, dwkcommentaries.com (Feb. 14, 2024).
[2] Mazzei, Adams & Londono, Former U.S. Ambassador Accused of Being Cuban Agent Signals Guilty Plea, N.Y. Times (Feb. 29, 2024); Wu, Former U.S. ambassador admits to serving as secret agent for Cuba, Wash. Post (Feb. 29, 2024); Weaver, Former U.S. diplomat to plead guilty to acting as a secret agent for the Cuban government, MiAMI HERALD (Feb. 29, 2024); Goodman & Mustian, Former career US diplomat to admit working for decades as a Cuban intelligence agent, apnews.com (Feb. 29, 2024).