Former US diplomat Victor Manuel Rocha will be expelled from the United States on charges of spying for Cuba for 40 years.
As the Donald Trump administration cracks down on individuals who obtained US citizenship fraudulently and publishes a list of 12 such people who are under fire, one name stands out clearly.
He is Victor Manuel Rocha, who was a former US ambassador to Bolivia. He was arrested in 2023 and admitted that he had worked as a secret agent for Cuba for 40 years.A native of Colombia, Rocha grew up in New York City, graduated from Yale University, studied for a master’s degree at Harvard University, and became a U.S. citizen in 1978. Three years later, Rocha began working for the U.S. State Department in 1981. His first position was as political officer at the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic, then in Honduras, and then as First Secretary of the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.In 2000, President Bill Clinton appointed Rocha as US Ambassador to Bolivia.In its complaint about revocation of citizenship, the Justice Department said that Rocha lied in the citizenship process because he had already been working as an agent since 1973.“Under no circumstances should a foreign adversary agent be allowed to hold the title of a U.S. citizen,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said. “Our mission is clear: to root out these fraudsters and preserve the sanctity of the naturalization process for those who abide by our laws.
Any individual who lied during the naturalization process to gain a foothold in this country will face the full weight of the Department of Justice.
“US Attorney Jason A. Redding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida: “Victor Manuel Rocha was not a low-level agent. He was a former U.S. ambassador and senior government official who admitted to having secretly served the Cuban regime for decades.”
“You helped the Southern District of Florida take down one of the most prolific Cuban spies ever exposed in the United States. This case of revocation of civil citizenship is about finishing the mission.
The complaint alleges that Rocha obtained U.S. citizenship through lying, concealment, and treason. A person who secretly serves Communist Cuba should not retain the privilege of American citizenship, even while in prison.
Unregistered agent for Cuba
Rocha was acting as an unregistered agent of the Republic of Cuba. When he applied for citizenship, Rocha asserted, under penalty of perjury, that he had committed no crimes for which he had not been arrested; He was not affiliated with the Cuban Communist Party; did not intentionally defend, believe in, support or promote the interests of communism; He believed in the Constitution of the United States and the form of government of the United States. None of that was true.The Justice Department said Rocha was ineligible for citizenship for several reasons, including that he committed illegal acts, gave false testimony during the naturalization exam, was not committed to the principles of the U.S. Constitution and was not well prepared for the good order and happiness of the United States, was affiliated with the Cuban Communist Party, and advocated communism. She added that the United States would also seek to revoke his naturalization because he obtained his citizenship by concealing material facts or intentionally misrepresenting numerous facts in naturalization proceedings related to spying for Cuba.
