Cuba calls them ‘terrorists.’ These Miami exiles have every reason to be proud | Opinion

Those interested in Cuba-U.S. politics will have to wait until 2024 to possibly learn more about Victor Manuel Rocha alleged spy work on behalf of the communist regime. Two recent court hearings in Miami federal court have been postponed until January.

Rocha, 73, is accused of spying for the Cuban government. While not yet charged with espionage, he has been detained for allegedly acting as a foreign agent while living in Miami’s Cuban community.

While Rocha has not been convicted of anything, Cuba already is having a hissy fit.

A court hearing is an opportunity for us to learn some details about what information Rocha, an ex-U.S. diplomat once assigned to the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, and who retired to Miami, passed on to the island nation’s government.

What assignments did he complete while among us for his Cuban handlers? And how deeply did he actually infiltrate the Cuban exile community between 1981 to the present?

Facing charges

Rocha was taken into custody on charges of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent to defraud the United States, acting as an illegal agent for a foreign government and using a passport obtained by false statement.

The year 1996 was a crucial year for Rocha’s supposed undercover work As an analyst in Havana’s U.S. Interests Section at the time, Rocha is said to have helped formulate the Clinton administration’s response following the shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes. The Clinton administration did little to avenge the lives of the four Miami-based fliers who died when Cuban MiGs shot down their planes in international waters.

If it was done on Rocha’s advice, then the United States’ heft was undermined, unfortunately.

At the same time Rocha was working in Havana, Ana Belen Montes, an analyst and — confirmed — Cuban spy worked at the State Department, also helping with the U.S. response to the shootdown. It’s frightening what influence Cuba had.

Rocha is far from the first Cuban alleged agent captured in Miami since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, but he seems to be one of the longest in service.

His arrest shocked many in the intelligence community, from Miami to Washington, and also local leaders and politicians who lunched with him, believing him to be an anti-communist conservative who liked Donald Trump, as many Cuban exiles in Miami do.

After all, Rocha’s job was to fit into the exile community.

Cuba responded Rocha’s arrest by once again angrily lashing out at being included on U.S. government’s list of nations sponsoring terrorism. Cuba wants off the list, of course.

Like a petulant child, Cuba published its own list not of spies but of wanted “terrorists,” which includes the names of well-known Miami-based Cuban activists, media personalities and influencers who are critical of the regime. It was the first time Cuba made such a list public.

Some exiles view being listed as enemies of the Cuban government as something of which they can be proud, as well they should.

An ‘honor’

Among them is long-time Spanish-language radio personality and fierce anti-Castro activist Ninoska Pérez Castellón, of La Nueva Poderosa 670 AM WWFE Miami.

“Being on the list is a confirmation that my work has been effective in denouncing the atrocities of Cuba’s brutal regime. The Cuban government made it official this time,” she told the Editorial Board.

Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat, author, spokesperson for the Cuban Democratic Directorate and a member of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, echoed Perez’s sentiments, he told the Board.

“I am honored to be on this list because it shows us the effectiveness of our international advocacy and support for Cuba’s internal freedom activists.,” he said, calling on the United States to denounce Cuba’s baiting of the exiles. “The Biden administration should take action against this systematic use of harassment, threats, indictments and even physical assaults undertaken by the dictatorship in Havana against U.S. citizens in this country and in this hemisphere.”

Gutierrez, who writes an occasional column for el Nuevo Herald, says Cuba’s “terrorist list” is distributed to its friendly countries. When traveling to those countries, their names sometimes pop up during security checks, prompting questioning on behalf of the Cuban government.

The truth is that for decades, Cuban exiles who fought against the oppressive communist regime in Cuba have been labeled as terrorists by officials in Havana.

Perez and Gutierrez should be praised for standing up to Cuba and its harassment .

While the Cuban government seeks to portray such exiles as dangerous radicals, the reality is they are fighting for a free Cuba. They refuse to stand by as their homeland is ruled by a brutal regime that has imprisoned or killed countless innocent Cubans for the past six decades, not to mention sending 1 million into exile.

Being called a “terrorist” — who uses words and will to fight — by the Cuban dictatorship is nothing to be ashamed of. Rather, it is a badge of honor.