The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday (May 8) that the federal government is seeking to revoke the U.S. citizenship of former U.S. Ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha, who had previously admitted to serving as a Cuban government spy for over 40 years in a criminal case.
According to a statement issued by the Department of Justice on Thursday (May 7), a civil lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of Florida federal court accusing Rocha of illegally obtaining U.S. citizenship through fraudulent statements during the naturalization process.
The Department of Justice stated that Rocha’s actions constituted a significant betrayal of national security and citizenship honor. The complaint detailed multiple instances of perjury committed by Rocha during his citizenship application: he claimed to have never committed any unarrested crimes knowingly; he declared no affiliation with the Communist Party, professed faith in the U.S. Constitution and form of government, and pledged absolute allegiance to the U.S. However, the Department of Justice pointed out that “none of this was true.”
At the age of 73, Rocha, born in Colombia, officially became a U.S. citizen in 1978. During his tenure at the State Department, he was stationed in Argentina, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Honduras, and served as the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. Additionally, he also acted as a special advisor to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
According to the criminal charges from December 2023, since entering the State Department in 1981, Rocha had been a secret agent for the Cuban Intelligence Directorate (DGI). Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland described this as one of the “longest-running and most far-reaching penetration operations by a foreign agent against the United States.”
Garland said, “Those privileged to serve in the U.S. government are entrusted with significant public trust. To betray that trust by serving a foreign power while falsely swearing allegiance to the U.S. is a crime that the Department of Justice will vigorously combat.”
Rocha pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiracy and defrauding the U.S. government, admitting that he had been working for Cuba since 1973, before becoming a citizen. He is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors in the latest civil complaint emphasized that Rocha had lied when applying for citizenship in the late 1970s. Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate bluntly stated, “Under no circumstances should agents of hostile foreign powers be allowed to carry the title of ‘U.S. citizen.'”
Rocha’s spy identity was exposed during meetings with an undercover FBI agent between 2022 and 2023. In those conversations, he referred to the U.S. as an “enemy” and highly praised the deceased Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Florida Southern District prosecutor Jason A. Reding Quiñones noted that Rocha was not a low-ranking agent, and the citizenship-stripping lawsuit is a way to “tie up loose ends.” He emphasized, “One who secretly served communist Cuba should not retain the privileges of U.S. citizenship, even while imprisoned.”
(Partial information sourced from The Hill)