CounterIntelligence Failure: How Cuban Intelligence Infiltrated the American Embassy in Mexico

Counterintelligence Failure

Copyright © 2024 by Rafael Fermoselle. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Derechos reservados conforme a la ley de derechos de autor Fermoselle, Rafael, 1946-

Counterintelligence Failure

Includes Index

1.   Fermoselle, Rafael, 1946-.

2.   Cuban Revolution – Cuba.

3.   Cuba – Espionage.

4.   Cuba – Directorio General de Inteligencia.

5.   United States – Relations-Cuba

6.   United States – Central Intelligence Agency

7.   Espionage – American-Cuban.

8.   History – United States.

9.   Constitutional issues – United States.

10.   National Security – United States.

11.   National Defense – United States.

12.   Federal Bureau of Investigation – United States.

13.   Mexico – Espionage in Mexico

14.   Mexico – United States Embassy in Mexico.

15.   Riera Estrada, Pedro

16.   Rocha, Victor Manuel

ISBN 979-8-89376-072-9 (e)

2024.06.24

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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This book is dedicated to the memory of American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, and Founding Father, and First Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Jay (1745-1829), who is considered the Founding Father of American Counterintelligence.

War is ninety percent information.

- Napoleon Bonaparte

It’s always helpful to learn from your mistakes because then your mistakes seem worthwhile.

- Garry Marshall

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.

- Oscar Wilde

All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.

- Winston Churchill

The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.

- Theodore Roosevelt

Cuba has the the best damn intelligence service in the world for cultivating agents…

- Brian Latell

(Retired CIA Analyst, and former head of the agency’s Latin American Division)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In August 1986, the author was stationed at the American Embassy in Mexico, when he received a phone call from Cuban Consul General Pedro RIERA Escalante, who invited him to lunch. With over 10 years of intelligence experience, he immediately notified authorities at the U.S. Embassy and requested guidance. At the time, he was a commercial officer and no longer connected to the intelligence community. He was instructed to accept the invitation. It was a clear case of a recruitment effort by Cuban intelligence (CuIS). They were unaware of the author’s background, despite having made an effort to assess his potential recruitment. In the end, it was RIERA, who defected and spilled the beans about how CuIS had infiltrated the American Embassy. They had spies at the Security Office, as well as the Mail Room at the American Embassy. CuIS had at least one female asset who frequently visited the embassy and acted as a "dangle" to bed American diplomats and intelligence officers, to collect pillow talk. Adding to the security mismanagement, after RIERA’s defection, the CIA failed to provide proper protection. CuIS assets in the Mexican security services kidnapped RIERA and sent him to Cuba, where he would have been executed as a traitor. Only extensive lobbying by the U.S. Government, including warnings of significant consequences to the Government of Mexico, was RIERA’s life spared, but he ended up serving years in jail in Cuba. Finally, he was able to leave the island and go to Spain, and eventually to the U.S., where he currently lives. The U.S. Government provided some compensation for the serious mishandling of his case. The author outlines lessons that should be learned from this experience. Too many people dropped the ball in the world’s oldest profession.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Don’t cry because it’s over; Smile because it happened.

Dr. Seuss

This is a somber narrative. Despite the potential for dreadful experiences to transform into wisdom, American society often fails to embrace valuable lessons due to the discomfort they bring. The culture of imperial confidence contributes to missteps, emphasizing the high cost of knowledge and understanding. Personally, my encounters with individuals adhering to a Satanic ideology, namely Communists, began in my youth in Cuba and persists, providing ongoing insights into their operations. Transforming vexing interactions with these demonic actors into learning experiences has been the key. My memories of life under Communism, and the fight against their demented ideology, remain vivid, undiminished by the passage of time, driven by a steadfast belief in distinguishing right from wrong. Their inherent malevolence is undeniable.

Despite my aversion to Communists, there are instances when "doing the right thing" brings a sense of fulfillment. Assisting someone who comes to grasp reality is a rewarding experience. In this case, Pedro RIERA Escalante, the principal actor in this drama finally understood reality through crushing disappointments with his Communist masters. Disappointments, while painful, can guide individuals toward the truth, making no experience truly wasted. As the saying goes, "The truth shall set you free" (John 8:32). Sometimes, people need a metaphorical exorcism to rid themselves of the evil spirits clouding their judgment. Every circumstance holds a lesson, and my hope is that those who read this story emerge wiser.

It essential to note that the views expressed here are entirely my own and have not been authorized or approved by any U.S. government authority. The majority of the details are available in open source and documented in footnotes.

ANOTHER NASTY SURPRISE

On 1 December 2023, the FBI arrested yet another Cuban spy who had worked at the American Embassy in Mexico as a political officer at the time of the events recounted in this book. Pedro Riera Escalante was only part of the network of Cuban spies that had penetrated the American Embassy. My association with Manuel Rocha dates back to our time together at the American Embassy in Santo Domingo during his initial overseas assignment. Upon his arrival in Mexico, likely around 1988, we rekindled our friendship and sporadically stayed in touch via email until his eventual arrest. Contrary to his public persona as an active participant in U.S. Conservative politics and a fervent supporter of President Donald Trump, Rocha was, in reality, a foreign spy working for the Communist dictatorship in Cuba.

Born in Colombia and reared in New York City, he attended Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown universities. According to the FBI indictment, he may have been recruited by Cuban intelligence as far back as 1973, when he was a college student, and was already a Cuban spy when he entered the U.S. Foreign Service, climbing the rank and holding key positions such as Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) in the Dominican Republic, Deputy Chief of Mission in Cuba, Acting Principal Officer in Argentina, and U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia. After 25 years of dual allegiance, working for the U.S. Government while covertly serving as a Cuban spy, Rocha retired and settled in Miami. There, he secured at least three lucrative positions in the private sector until his arrest at age 73. This case serves as a start reminder that even seemingly insignificant adversaries pose a significant threat, and the Cuban Communist government remains a serious concern for the U.S. Unfortunately, both Republican and Democratic administrations have consistently fallen short in supporting Cuban citizens dedicated to resisting the dictatorship of the Castro brothers and their clan. Upon reading the pages of this book, it becomes evident that American counterintelligence (CI) has struggled over the years to effectively address this formidable enemy. Sure, numerous Cuban agents have been arrested over the years, but the experience can best be described as too little too late.¹

V. Manuel Rocha admitted spying for Cuba for decades on 29 February 2024. He told Federal Judge Beth Bloom that he would admit to several counts of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government. He appeared in court shackled at the hands and ankles. Sentencing will take place on 12 April 2024.²

The arrest of Manuel ROCHA results in some interesting questions. How come RIERA did not snitch on ROCHA when he defected? Did he know about ROCHA? Was his defection some kind of charade? Without doubt it is puzzling! The intelligence business is full of riddles, pretenses and deception.³ It essential to note that the views expressed here are entirely my own and have not been authorized or approved by any U.S. government authority. The majority of the details are available in open source and documented in footnotes. Other details stem from many personal interviews.

How do you tell a good guy from a bad guy?

What are the signs?

¹ For more details see pages 123-134: Case study: Who dropped the Ball?

² Joshua Goodman and Jim Mustian. Carrer US Diplomat abruptly admits to spying for Communist Cuba for decades. AP. 29 February 2024.

³ Play Henry Mancini’s Charade… from the 1963 movie written by Peter Stone and Marc Behm, and starring Cary Grant and Audrie Hepburn HENRY MANCINI - Charade – YouTube

TROPICAL MISCHIEF-MAKERS

Relatively small countries can make up for their deficiencies with superior intelligence and ingenuity.

Allen Dulles

(1893-1969)⁴

There is no such a thing as a "small adversary, an insignificant foe, or an unimportant enemy. An old French proverb says: Il n’y a pas de petit ennemi." A Spanish proverb says: No hay enemigo pequeño. Cuba is a small country led by Satanic Communists since 1959, but because of the island’s size, they are not suspected as being among the worst enemies of the United States (U.S.) and the Free World.⁵ Cuban Communist intelligence operatives emulate Satan prowling the earth like lions in search of prey. After over sixty years of dealing with many sinister and creepy incarnations of Satan – men and women – I am convinced that Hell is empty because all of Satan’s demons are here.

It is delusional to think that it is possible to completely wipe out evil. Nevertheless, it is possible to control malicious elements and the harm they cause. It may seem like an attempt to boil the ocean to destroy infection, but when there is a will, there is a way. When one is part of what I call the Magic Circle, dealing with all types of evildoers, it becomes a lifetime assignment. Anybody can turn out to be an incarnation of Satan. Evil schemes are abundant in the world’s oldest profession, but every case is judged depending on the prism through which it is examined. Spies filter and distort their self-image and either romanticize or demonize every situation in which they are involved. Every spy is narcissistically heroic in their world and their antagonists or opponents are always cast as evil.

In the world’s second oldest profession one has to be looking over the shoulder with a special sense of controlled paranoia. I had the experience of an FBI agent going rogue, and trying to blow me out of the water back in 1969, but despite having met me, he had not been given my name other than the fact I was Cuban-born. Another FBI agent showed up for a clandestine meeting practically dressed like a pimp at a busy corner in Austin, Texas, attracting all kinds of attention – the excuse was that he was not an intelligence officer he normally only chased bank robbers… I had to deal with supervisors from another organization who showed up drunk for clandestine meetings, and who probably failed to do proper dry cleaning before meeting with me when I was out in the cold. In the spook business, you can never trust anybody… The vast majority are aboveaverage fantastic people, but one has to be on guard (vigilant) all the time because not everyone is perfect. I am not perfect either.

Prisms bend light, and don’t let you see what is directly in front of you due to a sinful evaluation of self-importance that is endemic in the world’s second-oldest profession. It’s a jungle out there! I am biased. I am convinced that Communists are evil and that they cannot be trusted. Sometimes we have to be a little evil ourselves to defeat evil. That is the way it is. Heifer dust happens! In the spoke business, nothing is necessarily what it appears to be.

The stories covered in this case study are based on personal experience and enjoy the unusual benefit of looking at them through the prism used by the enemy to provide an unusually balanced view of what happened. The enemy in this case "defected and spilled out the details of what he was up to against the United States. Let’s assume that he is truly repentant," even when it may be wise to question everyone’s sincerity. An effort has been made to leave arrogance outside this story. Readers need to leave their arrogance and sense of self-importance aside. Americans are not better, smarter, or superior to everyone else. Excessive pride, over-confidence, and arrogance can be blinding and can lead to disaster.

Most people think that only leading world powers engaged in extensive espionage activity, and would credit Americans, British, Soviets, Germans, French, Japanese, Chinese, or Israel with staging significant major coups in intelligence collection, analysis, and clandestine operations. Cuba and Cubans are generally left out of the list. Cuba is a