Justice Department Moves to Strip Citizenship From Convicted Cuban Spy

The civil complaint alleges that Victor Manuel Rocha lied his way through the naturalization process while secretly serving Havana for decades.

The Justice Department filed a civil complaint Thursday seeking to revoke the U.S. citizenship of Victor Manuel Rocha, a former American ambassador who admitted to spying for Cuba for more than four decades, in one of the most significant denaturalization actions brought against a senior government official in recent memory.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that Rocha — a native of Colombia who naturalized as an American citizen in 1978 — obtained that citizenship through a pattern of lies, concealment, and willful misrepresentation. Prosecutors say he had already begun secretly working for Cuba’s intelligence services five years before he was sworn in as a citizen.

“Under no circumstances should an agent of a foreign adversary be permitted to hold the title of American citizen,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate. “Any individual who lied during the naturalization process to gain a foothold in this country will be met with the full weight of the Department of Justice.”

Rocha pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government and to defraud the United States, and to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. He is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence.

The government is pursuing seven independent counts seeking the revocation of his citizenship. Prosecutors allege that when Rocha applied for naturalization, he swore under penalty of perjury that he had not committed undisclosed crimes, held no affiliation with the Communist Party of Cuba, did not support communist interests, and believed in the U.S. Constitution. Federal prosecutors say none of those statements were true.

Rocha’s case stands apart from typical espionage prosecutions by virtue of the positions he held. He served as a U.S. ambassador and occupied senior roles across the federal government, giving Cuban intelligence rare and prolonged access to the inner workings of American foreign policy.

“Victor Manuel Rocha was not a low-level operative,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “He was a former United States ambassador and senior government official who admitted he secretly served the Cuban regime for decades. A person who secretly serves communist Cuba should not keep the privilege of United States citizenship, even while in prison.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Justice Department’s Denaturalization Unit, part of the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation, is litigating the matter alongside the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

By: DNU Staff