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A Cuban citizen pleaded guilty before the U.S. justice system for illegally registering and voting in a federal election despite not being a U.S. citizen.
Roberto Figueredo, a Cuban whose legal permanent residency had been revoked and who had an active deportation order from the U.S., pleaded guilty in federal court, announced the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida this Monday.
On January 29, 2020, Figueredo submitted a voter registration application in Florida, falsely stating that he was a U.S. citizen and entitled to vote, the statement specified.
"At that time, Figueredo was a convicted felon whose voting rights had not been restored. On October 1, 2020, he knowingly voted in a federal election," noted the Federal Prosecutor's Office.
On September 30, 2025, the Cuban pleaded guilty to casting a false vote and voting as a foreigner, and was sentenced on February 4 of this year.
Figueredo was one of three foreigners convicted in separate cases for participating in U.S. federal elections without the right to do so.
Authorities reported that Moisés Lima Junior, a Brazilian citizen who obtained permanent residency in January 2024, registered to vote just one month later, falsely claiming to be a citizen, and exercised his voting rights in October of that same year during the federal elections. He pleaded guilty last February and was sentenced on May 27.
Gordon Louis, a Haitian citizen with a criminal record, voted in the 2020 general elections for federal positions, including president, vice president, and member of the House of Representatives, despite knowing that he was not a U.S. citizen. He pleaded guilty to voting as a foreigner and was sentenced on April 15.
The authorities did not provide details about the sentences.
"The federal law requires that a person be a U.S. citizen to register and vote in federal elections. According to court records, the three defendants registered and voted in federal elections knowing that they did not meet the requirements to do so because they were not U.S. citizens," emphasized the Federal Prosecutor's Office.
The federal prosecutor Jason A. Reding Quiñones was emphatic when announcing the sentences: "Voting in federal elections is one of the most important rights and responsibilities of American citizenship."
He pointed out that "federal law is clear: only citizens of the United States can vote in federal elections. These defendants admitted to knowingly violating this law."
"The South District of Florida is committed to protecting the integrity of our elections and ensuring that those who undermine public trust in the electoral process are held accountable," concluded prosecutor Reding Quiñones.
The investigations were conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) units in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, with assistance from the Diplomatic Security Service of the Department of State and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Figueredo is not the only Cuban with irregular immigration status who has appeared before the courts for participating in elections without meeting the necessary requirements.
In January, Cecilia Castellanos, a Cuban with a deportation order since 1999, was sentenced to five years in prison for voting illegally in Arkansas during the November 2024 elections.
In that case, the investigation was initiated due to a complaint from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which detected irregularities in the electoral rolls of that state.
In April 2024, the Miami-Dade authorities arrested the Cuban Lázaro Valle Villar, 74 years old, accused of illegally registering and participating in the U.S. electoral process without possessing citizenship.
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