In 1991, a group of Cuban exiles in the United States founded the organization Brothers to the Rescue (HAR) to locate and rescue those fleeing socialism in fragile boats. Unarmed, in civilian aircraft, the pilots flew over the Florida Straits to alert the U.S. Coast Guard to the location of the rafters and prevent them from dying at sea.

On February 24, 1996, eight HAR activists departed in three small planes on a routine mission from Florida. They were unaware that, at the same time, Soviet MiG-29 and MiG-23 fighter jets were taking off from the island as part of Operation Scorpion. One of the pilots was Luis Raúl González-Pardo, in his thirties.

In international airspace, air-to-air missiles struck two HAR Cessna 337s, instantly killing activists Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre, Pablo Morales, and Mario de la Peña, three of whom were American citizens.

The third small plane was targeted by González-Pardo’s MiG. Hiding behind the clouds, it managed to reach U.S. airspace and returned to Opa-Locka Airport. On board were José Basulto, Andrés and Sylvia Iriondo, and Arnaldo Iglesias.

But memory and the yearning for justice are not ethereal companions on the path of a nation dismembered by socialism. They beat strongly from generation to generation; they do not die with the murdered. And that is terrible news for the executioners.

‘Key Contact for the U.S. Embassy’ during the Obama Era?

Despite his extensive service record to the Castro regime, González-Pardo experienced the frequent blackouts and shortages of medicine and food under the socialist system he served and so vehemently defended. At 63, he thought it would be a good idea to enjoy a comfortable retirement in Jacksonville, Florida.

In April 2024, he entered the United States through the Humanitarian Parole program, announced by President Joe Biden, which was later discontinued due to corruption scandals. How weak must the administration have appeared for military personnel involved in crimes to opt for its programs!

During the open borders policy, between 2020 and 2024, there was a surge in repressive figures and Castro officials entering the United States.

On the island, González-Pardo was a member of the Cuban Air Force and the Revolutionary Air Defense Force from 1980 to 2009, where he attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He then held a position in civil aviation: Second in Command of Terminal 2 at José Martí International Airport in Havana. This terminal is special: it handles only flights to and from the United States and is heavily monitored by the political police.

Several dissidents who attempted to fly off the island were prohibited from doing so at Terminal 2 because they were on the regime’s blacklist; there, authorities informed many that they were “regulated.” González-Pardo would share responsibility for the violation of these individuals’ freedom of movement or for associated acts of intimidation.

In 2013, Cuban independent journalist Henry Constantín traveled abroad for professional events. That year, upon returning to Cuba, he was detained by Customs officials at Terminal 2 of José Martí International Airport, who thoroughly searched his luggage and intimidated him to gain access to his laptop.

In statements made for this article, Constantín opined that González-Pardo was part of that repressive mechanism that still seeks to intimidate dozens of journalists who work outside the socialist state.

Journalist Mario Pentón, who has extensively covered the case, confirmed that after multiple failed attempts to obtain a visa to visit the United States, on November 7, 2016, the State Department under the Obama administration received a request from another U.S. citizen and former Cuban pilot to expedite a B2 tourist visa in González-Pardo’s name.

The argument in that letter? From his position at Terminal 2 of Havana’s airport, the former pilot was “a key contact for the U.S. Embassy to coordinate aviation and security matters, as well as support VIP delegations arriving from the U.S.”

Extend Charges to ‘Crimes against Humanity,’ Advocates Say

While many dissidents who were barred from leaving Cuba when González-Pardo ran Terminal 2 were still being harassed on the island, González-Pardo had spent more than a year in Florida, visiting places like NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral and meeting with former colleagues and family.

In April 2025, he filed an I-485 form with the Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services, to apply for permanent residency in the United States. However, the document contained false statements: he denied having received military training, serving in an army unit, or participating in groups that used or threatened to use weapons.

Adding insult to injury, González-Pardo applied for permanent residency through the Cuban Act, which allows Cubans fleeing the island to adjust their status to refugee status.

In early November, FBI agents arrested the former pilot. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida accuses him of “fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, and making a false statement to a federal agency.” These charges could land him in prison for up to 15 years.

Attorney General Pam Bondi stated regarding the case: “This man’s past as a longtime military pilot for the evil Castro regime, which has caused untold suffering to the Cuban people, should have been front and center in his immigration file.”

The majority of the Cuban-American community celebrates González-Pardo’s arrest, and other exiles are closely watching the outcome of the proceedings, as it sets a precedent for justice against former henchmen of the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan regimes who have reached U.S. soil.

However, human rights advocates say the former military officer should be charged not only with immigration fraud, but also with crimes against humanity.

Months ago, the think tank Cuba Siglo 21 pointed out that “the international community does not recognize so-called ‘obedience to orders’ to superiors as justification for committing cold-blooded, premeditated, and treacherous murders.” Acts such as the downing of the HAR planes “were not acts of war, but planned homicides,” because “they went out that day ready to kill.”