Justice Department Moves to Denaturalize Victor Manuel Rocha After Conviction for Acting as Cuban Agent

U.S. citizen in 1978 after lying on his naturalization paperwork filed in the late 1970s, according to the Justice Department. Rocha worked at the State Department and held various leadership posts since the early 1980s.

U.S. ambassador to Bolivia under President George W. Bush. All of that unraveled when he was caught on video outlining his crimes to an undercover agent in 2022, with court records detailing his activities unsealed in 2023.

He was convicted of serving as an unregistered agent for the Republic of Cuba and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Rocha is not expected to be released from prison for another decade as of May 2026. U.S.

Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. " >"This civil denaturalization case is about finishing the job," Jason A. Reding Quiñones added. " The Justice Department announced a dozen denaturalization cases on May 8, 2026.

They target immigrants from across the globe, including a Catholic priest from Colombia, several men connected with al Qaeda and al-Shabaab, a gun trafficker, and Victor Manuel Rocha. The Justice Department must prove that individuals concealed criminal activities or real identities to win denaturalization cases.

Among the other cases is Khalid Ouazzani, a 48-year-old native of Morocco who was naturalized in 2006.

He was working with al Qaeda, including assisting in a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange, at the time he naturalized. Baboucarr Mboob, 58, a native of The Gambia, took part in an extrajudicial execution of fellow military officers, which qualifies as a war crime.

" >"Our mission is clear: to root out these fraudsters and preserve the sanctity of the naturalization process for those who adhere to our laws," Brett Shumate continued.