A former senior U.S. diplomat admitted to passing classified information to Cuba as far back as 1981. Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, worked at the State Department for years in senior positions in Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia, among other countries, where, according to prosecutors, he was able Access to sensitive information. With his admission, Rocha’s lawyers hope to reduce his sentence.

Rocha is said to have met with Cuban intelligence agents and provided false information to the United States government, among other things. He is accused of, among other things, conspiring against the United States and acting as a secret agent for another country.

Rocha’s espionage work was exposed in 2022 when an FBI agent posed as a Cuban intelligence service employee on WhatsApp. The two met several times, and according to the US Department of Justice, Rocha spoke freely and proudly about his undercover work in those conversations.

When the undercover officer asked if Rocha was still loyal to Havana, he reportedly became angry because his loyalty was in question. He is also said to have repeatedly called the United States an “enemy.” Rocha was charged last December, and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 12.

Cuba and the United States have been on opposing sides since 1959, after communist Fidel Castro seized power on the island. The United States has tried for decades to force Cuba to change by isolating the country internationally.