Family of Cuban dissident who died in mysterious car crash sues accused American diplomat-turned-spy

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and JIM MUSTIAN

MIAMI (AP) — The widow of a prominent Cuban dissident killed in a mysterious car crash has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a former U.S. ambassador suspected of working for Cuba. The state lawsuit filed Thursday in Miami accuses former U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha of sharing intelligence that emboldened Cuba’s communist leaders to assassinate its chief opponent. Oswaldo Payá died in 2012 when his car crashed into a tree in eastern Cuba. The government called it an accident but a survivor and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said the incident likely involved state security agents.