The family of a Cuban dissident killed in a mysterious accident has accused the United States ambassador to Havana, Manuel Rocha.

The widow of a prominent Cuban dissident killed in a mysterious car crash filed a lawsuit Former US ambassador vs. wrongful death Suspected of working for Cuba, the former diplomat was accused of sharing intelligence that encouraged Cuban communist leaders to assassinate a key opponent.

Osvaldo Paya He died in 2012 when his car crashed into a tree in eastern Cuba in what the government believed to be an accident caused by driver error. However, one survivor said that The vehicle was hit from behind by a red Lada with government plates, a claim that is consistent with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ conclusion last year that state security agents likely participated in the activist’s death.

In a state lawsuit filed Thursday in Miami, Ophelia Pye is the accused Manuel Rocha, the former United States ambassador to Bolivia, for being “complicit” in the “murder” of her husband. Rocha was arrested in December on charges of acting as Cuban secret agent Since 1970.

Rocha “directly assisted Cuban officials by providing critical information obtained through his top secret security clearance and influential roles,” the lawsuit alleges. “Cuba could not have executed Peña with impunity without conspiring and supplying the accused. Intelligence and Aid to the Cuban Dictatorship.”

The lawsuit, filed on what would have been Payá’s 72nd birthday, highlights Deep anger and a sense of betrayal were felt by Miami’s powerful Cuban exile community, who saw Rocha as a conservative standard-bearer and one of their own. Payá is represented pro bono by an attorney Carlos TrujilloThe son of Cuban immigrants who served as ambassador to the Organization of American States during the Trump administration.

While the lawsuit cites no evidence linking Rocha to the death, it claims that in 2002 the U.S. As a diplomat and businessman after retiring from the Foreign Service, Rocha secretly sought ways to strengthen Castro’s revolution.

Those efforts reportedly included a position from 2006 to 2012 as special adviser to the head of the US Southern Command in Miami, which has responsibility for Cuba.

“Under this fine of loyalty and service to the United States, the defendant a Secret loyalty to the Cuban regime” the lawsuit alleges.

A review conducted by the agency Ap of secret diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks It found that over 20 months, between 2006 and 2008, diplomats from the US Interests Department in Havana sent reports to the commander of the Southern Command about Penny’s activities, his financing by the US government and his interactions with United States officials.

In a February 2008 cable, the then Chief of Mission Michael Parmley Summary for Admiral of the Navy James StavridisA meeting with Pay, the Southcom commander, followed, in which he urged the activist to take advantage of an upcoming visit to the Vatican to intensify his pressure on the regime to release more political prisoners.

“Peya is convinced that (the government) is under intense pressure to achieve radical change by the population within Cuba,” according to the cable.

At his death, aged 60, Pay earned a reputation as one of the fiercest opponents of the Cuban regime.Formed a grassroots network of like-minded Christians, called Varela ProjectTo promote freedom of assembly and human rights on the tightly controlled island.

In 2002, the European Union Payá was awarded its highest human rights award, named after a Soviet dissident. Andrei Sakharov. He dedicated the award to his fellow Cuban. “You have rights too,” he said in his acceptance speech.

(with information from AP)