The Justice Department is seeking to denaturalize a former diplomat who was caught spying for the Cuban government.

For nearly 40 years, Manuel Rocha acted as a spy for the Cuban government under the guise of being a U.S. diplomat, according to the Justice Department. 

Rocha is a native of Colombia, but became a “great friend” of the Cuban government. The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in the Southern District of Florida alleges that he lied on his naturalization paperwork when he filed it in the late 1970’s.

“Under no circumstances should an agent of a foreign adversary be permitted to hold the title of American citizen,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said in a statement. “Our mission is clear: to root out these fraudsters and preserve the sanctity of the naturalization process for those who adhere to our laws. Any individual who lied during the naturalization process to gain a foothold in this country will be met with the full weight of the Department of Justice.”

He had worked at the State Department and held various leadership posts since the early 1980’s, according to the Justice Department. All of that unraveled when he was caught on video outlining all of his crimes to an undercover agent in 2022.

“Rocha celebrated his activities on behalf of the DGI and against the United States’ interests, and explained why and how he continued to preserve the secrecy of those activities,” according to court records unsealed in 2023.

He was sentenced to 15 years behind bars.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Quiñones said that Rocha was not a “low level operative” but rather “a senior government official who admitted he secretly served the Cuban regime for decades.”