Payam Javan: A former U.S. diplomat and retired State Department employee, Victor Manuel Rocha, has been arrested in Miami, Florida, on charges of acting as a covert agent for the Cuban government for over 40 years.

The Justice Department has charged Rocha with multiple federal offenses, including conspiring to act as a foreign agent and using a passport obtained through false statements.

Attorney General Merrick Garland called it one of the most extensive infiltrations of the U.S. government by a foreign agent in history. The FBI Miami Field Office, along with the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, investigated the case.

Rocha, who served in various government positions, allegedly maintained his status as a Cuban agent secret and continued supporting Cuba’s intelligence services even after serving as the U.S. ambassador to Bolivia. The arrest follows a series of meetings in which Rocha allegedly admitted to decades of working for Cuba. A detention hearing is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday.