12/05/2026
Former US Ambassador Who Spied for Cuba Is Among 12 People Facing Loss of Citizenship
Terrorists and a priest convicted of sexually assaulting a child are also on the Justice Department’s list.
The U.S. Justice Department is trying to take away citizenship from 12 people, including a former U.S. ambassador.
Victor Manuel Rocha, 75, was born in Colombia. He spied for Cuba starting in 1973, before he became a U.S. citizen in 1978. When he applied for citizenship, he lied and said he had no ties to communism or Cuba’s Communist Party.
Rocha worked for the U.S. government for years. He was on the National Security Council from 1994 to 1995 and served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002.
In 2023, he was charged with spying and passport fraud. In April 2024, he admitted he secretly worked for Cuba’s intelligence services for decades. He pleaded guilty and is now serving 15 years in prison. The DOJ filed seven counts to revoke his citizenship.
U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said Rocha wasn’t a small-time spy. He was a senior official who secretly helped Cuba for decades.
The Trump administration says it’s cracking down on people who lied to become citizens. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said people who commit fraud, violent crimes, or support terrorism should never have been given citizenship.
Other cases include:
• Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Houri, 48, from Iraq. He claimed al-Qaeda attacked his family to enter the U.S. in 2009. Iraq says he was actually an al-Qaeda leader who killed two police officers in 2006. He became a citizen in 2015 after allegedly lying. • Oscar Alberto Pelaez, 75, a Colombian priest. He was convicted in 2002 of sexually abusing a child multiple times from 1998 to 2000. Prosecutors say he lied and lacked “good moral character” for citizenship. • Salah Osman Ahmed, 43, from Somalia. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to joining terrorist group al-Shabaab and fighting in Somalia in 2007. • Khalid Ouazzani, 48, from Morocco. He became a citizen in 2006. In 2007 he sent tens of thousands of dollars to al-Qaeda and swore loyalty to them in 2008. He pleaded guilty in 2010 to bank fraud, money laundering, and supporting al-Qaeda.
Seven more people from Nigeria, China, India, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Bolivia, and Gambia are also facing denaturalization.
