ICE deports Cuban man accused of concealing ties to Cuban intelligence

United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported a 61-year-old Cuban man who also holds Guatemalan citizenship after investigators determined that he fraudulently obtained lawful permanent resident status by concealing his alleged affiliation with the Cuban government.

ICE said Fernando Armando Valdes Perez, a resident of Kendall, Florida, was arrested at Miami International Airport on July 10 during an immigration enforcement operation involving ICE, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

According to ICE, investigators determined that Valdes had been a Cuban intelligence asset tasked with infiltrating and reporting on Cuban exile and dissident communities in Latin America and the United States dating back to the mid-1990s.

The agency alleged that Valdes gained the trust of late anti-Castro dissident Luis Posada Carriles and remained close to other prominent Cuban and Cuban-American figures in South Florida until his arrest.

ICE said Valdes concealed his position and affiliation with the Cuban government when applying for lawful permanent resident status, deceiving US immigration authorities to obtain the immigration benefit.

“Individuals who conceal ties to foreign intelligence services and exploit our immigration system pose a serious threat to the integrity of that system and to our national security,” said Matthew Elliston, director of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Miami Field Office.

“ICE will continue working with our federal partners to identify, arrest and remove those who obtain immigration benefits through fraud,” he added.

Valdes was placed in removal proceedings following his arrest and has since been deported from the United States, ICE said.