A former US diplomat, Manuel Rocha, was arrested for serving the Cuban government without registering with the US government. Rocha most likely acted on ideological grounds rather than strictly financial ones.
Rocha was born in Cuba 73 years ago, making his background investigation difficult to conduct for the years prior to his arrival. Cuban exiles are often some of the most anticommunist Americans, but some are uniquely at risk of recruitment by the Communist state. The NY Post reports:
A former American diplomat who served as US ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested in a long-running FBI counterintelligence investigation, accused of secretly serving as an agent of Cuba’s government, The Associated Press has learned.
Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in Miami on Friday on a criminal complaint and more details about the case are expected to be made public at a court appearance Monday, said two people who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing federal investigation.
Rocha was not charged with espionage or treason for his conduct during his time with the State Department. Federal officials will no doubt comb through old records to see what kind of information he might have compromised. NY Daily News says:
According to one of the sources, Rocha worked to promote Cuban government interests but failed to register with the U.S. Department of justice as federal law requires. Neither he nor the Justice Department would comment on Sunday.
Rocha worked in the foreign service for 25 years, spanning Democratic and Republican administrations. A good portion of his service took place in Latin America during the Cold War, including at the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba, during the years of partial diplomatic relations with that country’s communist government.
Former government officials have essentially no limits on working for foreign governments after their retirement. While those doing it secretly are by far the worse, corruption is open in DC with bureaucrats being paid by hostile states.
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