Jose Imperatori was a Cuban diplomat and ambassador expelled from the United States in connection to a joint Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Naturalization Service espionage investigation called "Operation False Blue."
At the turn of the twentieth century, Jose Imperatori was given persona non grata (PNG) status and ordered to be expelled from the United States as a result of his connection to Mariano Faget Jr..[1][2] On the morning of February 26, 2000, Imperatori resigned from his post voluntarily.
[3] At a press conference announcing his intentions, Imperatori said: "From this moment I declare myself on a hunger strike until I have been absolutely cleared of the accusations brought against me.
I feel it is my duty to state that the INS official is innocent of the accusation of espionage made against him, and I can help to prove it.
"[3] The official spokesperson for the Cuban Interests Section, Fernando Ramírez, told reporters at the press conference: “We want to be very clear that he is completely innocent, that he didn’t do anything wrong, that the Cuban Interests Section in Washington does not do any kind of intelligence or espionage activities.” [4] The Cuban Interests Section hired Kurt Schmoke to represent Imperatori.