==

A former US ambassador to Bolivia and a National Security Council member were accused of working against the US government for decades in "secret intelligence-gathering missions" to communist Cuba.

Attorney General Merrick B. "This action exposes the most far-reaching and longest-running intrusion of the United States government by a foreign agent," Garland said.

“We allege that for more than 40 years, Victor Manuel Rocha acted as an agent of the Cuban government and sought and obtained positions within the United States government that would provide him access to non-public information and U.S. foreign "Will provide the ability to influence policy," Garland said. "Those who have the privilege of serving in the government of the United States, the public we serve, are entrusted with an enormous amount of trust. Pledge false loyalty to the United States while serving a foreign power Betraying that trust by doing so is a crime that will be met with the full force of the Justice Department."

Víctor Manuel Rocha's career in covert work began in 1980, before his collapse in 2012.

According to a Justice Department release, Rocha is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Colombia.

The 73-year-old man had allegedly secretly supported Cuba and its "secret intelligence gathering missions" against the United States by working as a covert agent for Cuba's General Directorate of Intelligence.

According to a criminal complaint from the DOJ, Rocha used his employment at the US State Department between 1981 and 2002 to obtain classified information and influence US foreign policy.

Following his employment at the State Department, Rocha was transferred in 2006 to be an advisor to the commander of U.S. Southern Command, a joint command of the United States military whose area of responsibility includes Cuba.

The DOJ said Rocha provided false and misleading information to the US to maintain his secret status, traveled outside the US to meet with Cuban intelligence operatives, and made false and misleading statements to obtain travel documents.

According to the complaint, Rocha made several recorded confessions to an undercover FBI agent who introduced himself as a Cuban intelligence operative, who reached out to Rocha on WhatsApp and said he had received a message, "Your friends in Havana. From."

Rocha praised the late communist leader Fidel Castro, calling him "Commandant", branded the US an "enemy" and bragged about his service for more than 40 years as Cuba's mole at the center of US foreign policy circles. .

Rocha also described his work as a Cuban agent as "a grand slam".

Rocha was charged with conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General; Acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notice to the Attorney General; and with using a passport obtained by false statement.

During a hearing in federal court in Miami on Thursday, Rocha said he agreed to plead guilty to two charges of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government, according to the Associated Press.

The AP said prosecutors agreed to dismiss more than a dozen other charges in exchange for his guilty plea.

https://www.libraryhistt.com/2024/03/former-us-ambassador-nsc-member-charged.html

https://www.libraryhistt.com/2024/03/former-us-ambassador-nsc-member-charged.html

>>20508079

Notable

Germany Confirms Leaked Audio Of Its Top Generals Discussing Blowing Up The Crimean Bridge

In a huge development and absolute smoking gun revelation, the government of Germany has confirmed the authenticity of a leaked audio recording file published by Russia's state-backed RT. The leak was first published by RT Editor-in-Chief Margarita Simonyan, who described that she received it from Russian security officials.

It first appeared under the headline "Alleged audio of German officers discussing Crimean Bridge attack leaked" - as it featured top ranking Germany military officials in a private discussion of "a potential German operation to bomb the Crimean Bridge in Russia," as it was initially described by RT. Russian media is now openly admitting that the call was in fact intercepted by Russia. Moscow is now saying this shows "direct" German involvement in the war.

The audio could have easily been dismissed in the West as simply Russian-sourced propaganda or even an AI fake; however, in an unexpected development the highest levels of the German government have now confirmed that the audio is indeed real and Berlin launched an investigation into the "serious" breach of secured communications.

"What is being reported is a very serious matter and that is why it is now being investigated very carefully, very intensively and very quickly," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Rome.

Germany's military has also confirmed the leaked recording, but officials have avoided weighing in the actual content of what was said pending an internal investigation:

A German defense ministry spokeswoman confimed to AFP that the ministry believes a conversation in the air force division was "intercepted".

"We are currently unable to say for certain whether changes were made to the recorded or transcribed version that is circulating on social media," the spokeswoman said. Experts consulted by Der Spiegel magazine said they believed the recording was authentic.

Germany’s Ministry of Defense said per the country's dpa: "According to our assessment, a conversation within the Air Force was intercepted. We cannot currently say with certainty whether changes have been made to the recorded or written version that is circulating on social media."

AFP further writes that "Topics include aiming the missiles at targets such as a key bridge over the Kerch strait linking the Russian mainland to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/germany-confirms-leaked-audio-its-top-generals-discussing-blowing-crimean-bridge

Negotiators Scramble To Rescue Gaza Hostage Talks As Refugee Area Struck In New Israeli Air Raid

Negotiators involved in Qatari-mediated peace efforts between Israel and Hamas are said to be scrambling to salvage talks after the deadly aid convoy incident. The death toll from that Thursday incident has reportedly risen to 118. President Biden has said he hopes a deal can be reached by the start of the Muslim season of Ramadan, which begins March 10.

"We’re not there yet," he told reporters Friday. The Wall Street Journal has reported on the emerging disappointment and fear that talks have been utterly stalled. "Talks between Israel, Hamas and their mediators were expected to kick into high gear as the two sides try to reach a cease-fire for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan…," the Saturday report describes. Meanwhile Al Jazeera reports of a new mass casualty attack near Rafah:

At least 11 Palestinians were killed and 50 wounded when an Israeli air raid directly hit tents housing displaced people in Tal as-Sultan, Rafah, an area previously designated as "safe".

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Qatari and Egyptian officials that the Israeli side will not participate in another round of talks until Hamas confirms a full list of living hostages still being held in Gaza.

Axios reported on Friday, "Israel made it clear to Egypt and Qatar that it will not hold another round of talks until Hamas presents a list of the hostages who are alive."

Israeli officials said: "There is no point in starting another round of talks until we receive the lists of which of the hostages are alive and until Hamas gives its answer regarding the ‘ratio’ that defines how many prisoners will be released for each hostage."

This has been a key part of the hold up all along: disagreements over numbers and the iterative phases of planned exchanges. Additionally Hamas has been requiring that all Israeli troops withdraw from the Gaza Strip first, something which Netanyahu has called "delusional".

"Hamas officials have told negotiators that in the coming days they may propose new figures for how many Palestinian prisoners they expect to receive in exchange for roughly 40 Israeli hostages," according to more from the WSJ. "The latest framework being discussed in Cairo involves exchanging about 400 Palestinian prisoners for 40 of the hostages still held captive in Gaza, including five female Israeli soldiers."

On Tuesday President Biden raised eyebrows in hastily and seemingly prematurely declaring his hope that a truce deal between Hamas and Israel would be achieved by Monday.

But now this is even less likely, though that timetable was acknowledged as unrealistic by all parties in response. On Thursday the president walked back the statement. And now he's opted to stick with the 'hopefully' by Ramadan timeline.

But there are now new reports of Israeli bombings of Palestinian tent encampments - in what looks like a dense urban or suburban area of Rafah - with horrific and tragic footage [warning: graphic] widely circulating, which will make successful talks between Hamas and Israel even less likely to progress.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/negotiators-scramble-rescue-gaza-hostage-talks-refugee-tents-struck-new-israeli-air

>>20508215

But only from Russian sauces

>>20508268

Newfag calling a bot a Newfag

Kek

>>20508307

*Namefag