JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Cuban national was sentenced here in Jacksonville for lying on an immigration form on Thursday.
The man, Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez, is also one of the five people incited alongside former Cuban President Raúl Castro for the 1996 shoot down of two US civilian aircraft near Cuba.
Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez was sentenced to seven months in prison for lying on an immigration form back in 2024.
Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez lied about his past service in the Cuban Air Force and will now serve out the remaining ten-days of his sentence here in Jacksonville, as he had already been in federal custody for more than six months and was granted time served.
But according to the judge, he is likely to be immediately arrested to face new charges, stemming from this federal indictment issued in April.
The indictment names Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez, four other Cuban Air Force pilots and former Cuban President Raul Castro, accusing them of conspiring to kill four US nationals as part of the infamous shutdown of two Brothers to the Rescue civilian planes off the coast of the island nation in 1996.
Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez is not accused of pulling the trigger, but the indictment does accuse him of participating in the military response that day and chasing down a third plane that ultimately escaped.
Outside the courtroom on Thursday, Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez’s family members declined to answer questions from reporters about those new charges.
His attorney also declined to comment.
“Everything I had to say I said during the sentencing hearing,” said attorney Miguel Rosada.
When asked if he planned to represent Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez in the upcoming case, Rosada simply responded, “Not at this time”.
Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez will have his first appearance for the new charges he faces here in Jacksonville at a yet-to-be-set date.
He’ll then be transferred to stand trial in Miami where the judge on his immigration case said he “has bigger fish to fry”.
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