Manuel Rocha
Official portrait
United States Ambassador to Bolivia
In office
July 14, 2000 – August 7, 2002
PresidentBill Clinton
George W. Bush
Preceded byDonna J. Hrinak
Succeeded byDavid N. Greenlee
Personal details
Born1950 (age 72–73)

Victor Manuel Rocha (born 1950) is an American diplomat and former United States Ambassador to Bolivia. In 2023, Rocha was charged with acting as an illegal agent of Cuba.[1]

Background

Rocha was born in 1950 in Colombia.[2] He graduated from the Taft School in 1969, where he was captain of the soccer team, and graduated from Yale University cum laude in 1973.[3] He received a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1976 and a Master of Arts in international relations from Georgetown University in 1978.[4]

In November 1981, Rocha began working for the US Department of State, serving as a Political Officer in the US Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from December 1982 to January 1985. From February 1987 to February 1989, he worked as a Political-Military Affairs Officer in the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Rocha next served as First Secretary of the US Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico from February 1989 to November 1991.[5]

From November 1991 to July 1994, Rocha served as Deputy Chief of the US Embassy in Santo Domingo. From July 1994 to July 1995, he worked as the Director of Inter-American Affairs on the US National Security Council, influencing diplomacy with the Cuban government. Between 1995 and July 1997, Rocha operated as the Deputy Principal Officer of the US Interests Section in Havana, Cuba, which was the de facto embassy until the 2015 Cuban thaw normalizing diplomatic relations. Between July 1997 and November 1999, Rocha served as Deputy Chief of the US Embassy in Buenos Aires.[5]

Ambassadorship to Bolivia

Rocha was sworn in as United States Ambassador to Bolivia on July 14, 2000, and presented his credentials to the President of Bolivia on August 4, 2000, serving until August 7, 2002.[4]

Rocha's 2002 speech threatening to cut American aid to Bolivia over Evo Morales' support for the coca growers movement has been credited with boosting Morales' Movement for Socialism party in the 2002 Bolivian general election.[1][6]

Career after leaving the Foreign Service

Rocha is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He serves on the University of Miami's International Advisory Board. He has also been a member of Henry Kissinger's International Council on Terrorism and has served on the advisory board of the Cuba Transition Project of the University of Miami. He is a special advisor to the U.S. military commander of SOUTHCOM. He was Director of Government Relations for Arcos Dorados Holdings, the company that owns and manages most of the McDonald's restaurants in Latin America. He is formerly a Senior Advisor on International Business for American law firm Foley & Lardner LLP, with his office in Miami, and president of Barrick Gold Corp. Pueblo Viejo, in the Dominican Republic.

The consulting firm LLYC hired Rocha as a Senior International Business Advisor in September 2023.[7] Upon learning of the United States government's lawsuit against Rocha for acting as an illegal foreign agent for Cuba, his employment was terminated in December 2023.[8]

Foreign agent charges

Rocha in a meeting with an undercover FBI agent

On December 1, 2023, Rocha was arrested in Miami, Florida, and charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Cuban government, therefore acquiring his United States passport through false statements. Agents of foreign governments are required to disclose their work to the US Attorney General and Secretary of State.[1]

According to the criminal complaint filed against Rocha in the District Court for Southern Florida, he has admitted to gathering intelligence for Cuba since 1981, despite the federal government's classification of the Cuban government as a sponsor of international terrorism.[5][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Goodman, Joshua; Tucker, Eric (December 3, 2023). "Former US ambassador arrested in Florida, accused of serving as an agent of Cuba, AP source says". Associated Press. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  2. ↑ "V. Manuel Rocha (1950–)". Office of the Historian. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  3. ↑ Penhollow, Bonnie Blackburn (Spring 2004). "Making All the Difference". Taft Bulletin. Taft School. pp. 16–21. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Biography - Manuel Rocha". United States Department of State. January 20, 2009. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 United States of America v. Victor Manuel Rocha (S.D. Fla.).Text
  6. ↑ Jean Friedman-Rudovsky, Bolivia to Expel US Ambassador, Time, September 11, 2008
  7. ↑ "Former Ambassador Manuel Rocha Joins LLYC USA as Senior International Business Advisor". WHTM-TV (Press release). EIN Presswire. September 6, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  8. ↑ Rabinowitz, Hannah; Lybrand, Holmes; Perez, Evan (December 4, 2023). "Former US Ambassador to Bolivia Charged With Being a Covert Agent of Cuba's Government". CNN. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  9. ↑ Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas (December 4, 2023). "Retired U.S. Diplomat Accused of Working as a Secret Agent for Cuba". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.