Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in December in what U.S. officials called "one of the most far-reaching and longest-running infiltrations by a foreign agent" He pleaded not guilty in February to conspiracy charges but later accepted a plea deal.
After a three-and-a-half-hour hearing in Miami on Friday, Judge Beth Bloom gave the former ambassador "the maximum sentence allowed by law" In addition to the 15-year sentence, he was fined $500,000. He began helping Havana as an undercover agent for Cuba's Directorate General of Intelligence (DGI) in 1981, when he joined the State Department.. He rose through the ranks as a career diplomat, holding positions in Havana, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Washington. He also served on the National Security Council from 1994 to 1995 under the administration of President Bill Clinton, and was ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 under Clinton and George W. Bush. He was originally from Colombia and a naturalized American.