GOP rep forced to return money from ex-diplomat who sparked rant against Biden’s Cuba policies
Manuel Rocha, former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, has long painted himself as a major critic of the late Fidel Castro and Cuba's communist dictatorship. But on Friday, December 1, the 73-year-old Rocha was arrested for allegedly serving as an agent of the Cuban government.
Miami-born Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Florida), a former Telemundo reporter turned MAGA conspiracy theorist, has returned two checks she received from Rocha — who she formerly regarded as an ally.
Politico's Daniel Lippman, in a December 6 tweet, reports, "SCOOP: Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), who slammed the Biden admin. for its Cuba policies after the arrest of a former US ambassador on charges of spying for Cuba, is returning two donations that she received from that same ex-diplomat after I asked."
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In December 6's Playbook column, Political reporters Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade note, "Last year, Salazar received two donations totaling $750 from Manuel Rocha, the former career Foreign Service diplomat and ex-U.S. ambassador to Bolivia who was arrested Friday…. It's the only donation he appears to have made to any federal politician, according to FEC records."
After Rocha's arrest, Salazar accused the Biden Administration of being soft on Cuba. In a December 3 post on X, formerly Twitter, Salazar wrote, "A U.S. diplomat was reportedly arrested in Miami as an alleged spy for the Castro regime. Havana doesn't sleep in its effort to infiltrate our country and cause harm. The regime continues to be a danger to our national security. Biden administration, wake up!"
Salazar neglected to mention, however, that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland — a Biden appointee — has vowed to come down on Rocha with the "full force" of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
In an official statement, Garland declared, "This action exposes one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent. To betray that trust by falsely pledging loyalty to the United States while serving a foreign power is a crime that will be met with the full force of the Justice Department."
