When he applied for citizenship, he testified that he was not affiliated with the Communist Party of Cuba or had supported communism, among other assertions.
In 2023, Rocha was charged with several counts related to spying for the Republic of Cuba and passport fraud, the DOJ stated. In April 2024, Rocha admitted he secretly supported the Republic of Cuba and its clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against the United States by serving as a covert agent of the country’s intelligence services, the DOJ reported.
Rocha pleaded guilty and was convicted of conspiracy as an agent of a foreign government and of defrauding the United States and acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. He is serving a 15-year sentence.
The DOJ has filed seven counts against Rocha seeking the revocation of his U.S. citizenship.
“Victor Manuel Rocha was not a low-level operative,” said Jason Reding Quiñones, U.S. attorney 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.”
As part of an ongoing effort to strengthen immigration enforcement, the Trump administration has prioritized revoking citizenship and canceling naturalization of citizens who violate the law.
“Individuals implicated in committing fraud, heinous crimes such as sexual abuse, or expressing support for terrorism, should never have been naturalized as United States citizens,” said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a statement May 8. “The Trump administration is taking action to correct these egregious violations of our immigration system.”
Blanche said the Justice Department was seeking to fully prosecute people who intentionally conceal their criminal histories or misrepresent themselves during the naturalization process.
In another case, federal prosecutors filed a civil denaturalization complaint in Phoenix against Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Houri, 48, a native of Iraq and alleged al-Qaeda terrorist. Ahmed entered the United States in 2009 claiming he and his family had been attacked by al-Qaeda terrorists.
In 2019, the Republic of Iraq requested that the U.S. extradite Ahmed to Iraq to face criminal charges in connection with the premeditated murder of two Iraqi police officers in 2006. Iraq claims Ahmed murdered the officers as a leader of al-Qaeda, the DOJ said.
Investigators learned that in 2015, Ahmed illegally procured his naturalization, which, according to the DOJ, warrants his denaturalization because he allegedly lied under oath about his background and history when he applied.
The DOJ has also filed denaturalization action against Oscar Alberto Pelaez, 75, a Colombian Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a child on multiple occasions from 1998 to 2000. In 2002, Pelaez pleaded guilty and was convicted on 13 counts of sexual assault against a child. The DOJ brought four claims against Pelaez, including that he lacked the good moral character to become a citizen and lied to immigration authorities.
In another case, Salah Osman Ahmed, 43, of Somalia, is facing denaturalization after he allegedly provided material support to terrorists in 2007. Ahmed pleaded guilty in 2009 to traveling to Somalia to fight and kill Ethiopians and joining the terrorist group al-Shabaab.
Khalid Ouazzani, 48, of Morocco, also faces denaturalization. Federal prosecutors said that in 2003, Ouazzani started planning ways to support al-Qaeda. In 2007, one year after he was naturalized, he sent al-Qaeda tens of thousands of dollars, and in 2008 took an oath of allegiance to the organization.
In 2010, Ouazzani pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering, and providing support to al-Qaeda.
Denaturalization cases were also filed against George Oyakhire, 66, a Nigerian native; Pin He, 53, a Chinese native; Debashis Ghosh, 62, from India; Abdallah Osman Sheikh, 28, of Kenya; Abduvosit Razikov, 46, of Uzbekistan; Kevin Robin Suarez, 31, of Bolivia; and Baboucarr Mboob, 58, of Gambia.