From right wing South American telegram channel: A former U.S. diplomat who served as the ambassador to Bolivia has been arrested in a lengthy FBI counterintelligence investigation, accused of secretly serving as an agent of the Cuban government.

📌 Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in Miami on a criminal complaint, and more details about the case are expected to be made public in a court appearance.

⚠️ An informant said that the Department of Justice's case accuses Rocha of working to promote the interests of the Cuban regime. Federal law requires individuals working for a foreign government or entity within the United States to register with the Department of Justice, which in recent years has intensified criminal enforcement against illicit foreign lobbying groups.

📝 Rocha's 25-year diplomatic career unfolded under both Democratic and Republican administrations, much of it in Latin America during the Cold War, a period of sometimes tough U.S. policies and military interventions. His diplomatic posts included a stint at the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba at a time when the United States lacked full diplomatic relations with Fidel Castro's communist government.

🇧🇴 In his subsequent role as ambassador to Bolivia, he directly intervened in the 2002 presidential race, warning weeks before the vote that the United States would cut aid to the poor South American country if it elected former coca grower Evo Morales.

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

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