Rocky De La Fuente
Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente Guerra (born October 10, 1954)[1] is an American businessman and politician. A perennial candidate,[3][4][5] De La Fuente was the Reform Party nominee in the 2016 and 2020 United States presidential elections. He also appeared on his own American Delta Party's presidential ticket in 2016, and on those of the Alliance Party and American Independent Party in 2020.[6][7][8]
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is De La Fuente and the second or maternal family name is Guerra.
Rocky De La Fuente
Republican (2018–present)
Alliance (2020–present)
Democratic (2016–2017)
Reform (2016, 2020)
American Delta (2016)
Katayoun Yazdani[1]
5[2]
De La Fuente unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for President in 2016, and the Republican nomination in 2020. He has also run for Congress numerous times, losing primaries for United States Senate in nine states simultaneously in 2018.[9] He also lost the March 2020 primary for U.S. House of Representatives seat for California's 21st congressional district. He has campaigned as a critic of President Donald Trump's immigration policies.[10]
Early life and education[edit]
De La Fuente was born on October 10, 1954, at Mercy Hospital in San Diego, California,[11] the son of automobile dealer and business park developer[12] Roque Antonio De La Fuente Alexander[13] (circa 1923 – 2002)[12] and Bertha Guerra Yzaguirre. His parents raised him in Mexico (Mexico City, Tijuana, Baja California), and in the United States (San Diego and Anaheim). He was educated by his parents and the Legionaries of Christ, the Marist Brothers, the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart, Daughters of the Holy Spirit and the Jesuits.
De La Fuente earned a B.S. in physics and mathematics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and studied accounting and business administration at Anahuac University near Mexico City.[11][14]
Career[edit]
Between 1976 and 1990 (when he took over his father's automobile dealerships after his father had had a stroke[12]), De La Fuente acquired 28 automobile franchises for Alfa Romeo, American Motors Corporation, Audi, Cadillac, Chrysler, Daihatsu, Dodge, GMC, Honda, and other brands.[11] He also opened three banks (one national bank approved by the OCC and two state charter banks approved by the California Banking Commission and the FDIC), assisted living facilities in Los Angeles and Lemon Grove, California, and eleven currency exchange locations in the United States and Mexico.[15]
In 1997, De La Fuente received a settlement of $38.7 million from San Diego County for 524 acres of land belonging to him and his father that the county had taken to build a new county jail.[12]
In 2004, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued an order barring De La Fuente from participating in any FDIC-insured institution. De La Fuente appealed and the 9th Circuit reversed the order in part and advised the FDIC to reconsider its sentence, stating that "De La Fuente's use of [First International Bank] as his personal piggy bank was in shocking disregard of sound banking practices and the law to the detriment of depositors, shareholders, and the public. Nevertheless, we remand this matter to the Board for it to consider, in light of this disposition, whether this extraordinary sanction remains deserved."[14][16]
In November 2015, De La Fuente and the city of San Diego settled a decades-long legal dispute over land-use issues regarding a 312-acre area that De La Fuente is developing in Otay Mesa.[17]
As of 2015, De La Fuente owned businesses and properties in Mexico, the United States, and Uruguay.[11] He sees potential profit to be found in the border wall being erected by the Trump administration, as his properties include 2000 acres along the border, surrounding areas that the government will be using. He intends to set a high price for the land, saying, "I'm in the business of making money."[18]
Personal life[edit]
De La Fuente married Katayoun Yazdani.[1]
De La Fuente has five children.[2] He has a stated goal of creating a political dynasty.[114] Two of his sons have also sought office.
His son Ricardo "Ricky" De La Fuente has sought several congressional seats.[118][119][120] He first ran as a Democrat in the 2017 California's 34th congressional district special election.[119] He then, in 2018, unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for Florida's 24th US congressional district.[119] In 2020 he unsuccessfully ran as a Democrat in the California's 21st US congressional district (competing against his father, who ran unsuccessfully as a Republican) and successfully won the Democratic nomination for Texas's 27th US congressional district (where he hoped to become a resident).[119][121] In 2020, Ricardo was also originally running for the Democratic nomination in Florida's 24th US congressional district.[122]
In 2020, his son Roque De La Fuente III[123] entered the Democratic presidential primaries in Arizona, California,[124][125] Colorado,[126] Idaho,[127] Missouri,[128] New Hampshire,[129] Texas,[58] and Utah.[68]