MIAMI, United States. – Jose J. Basultopresident of Brothers to the Rescue, together with Sylvia G. Iriondofrom MAR for Cuba, and Arnaldo Iglesias, requested this week an urgent investigation into the words humanitarian aid granted to former military man Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, who was linked to the attack against small planes Brothers to the Rescue.
In letters to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which he had access to, Marti Newsthe exiles demand clarification of how a Cuban soldier linked to the attack on February 24, 1996 was able to obtain permission to enter the United States.
“While González-Pardo Rodríguez was not the one who shot down the planes in this attack, he played a key role in the events that followed, pursuing our aircraft with the apparent intent of destroying us,” the letter said.
The 1996 attack, which occurred in international airspace, resulted in the deaths of four people: Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, Armando Alejandre and Pablo Morales, all linked to Brothers to the Rescue, an organization of Cuban exiles that assisted rafters at sea.
According to the applicants, González-Pardo’s participation in that operation raises serious doubts about the legitimacy of the words humanitarian status that was granted to him. “We are concerned about the screening process undertaken prior to granting him a visa… It is highly likely that he omitted critical details about his role in this attack or provided false information,” the signatories of the letter said.
So far, neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the State Department have issued an official response on the case.
For his part, González-Pardo Rodríguez himself denied in conversation with Marti News “most” of “the things that have been said” about him.
Retired with the rank of colonel, González-Pardo was part of the Anti-Air Defense and Revolutionary Air Force (DAAFAR). The news of his arrival, initially given on the YouTube channel “Darwin’s World”was also ratified by the former Cuban pilot Orestes Lorenzo Perezfriend and comrade-in-arms in Cuba of González-Pardo.
“Pardo has been living in the United States for several months. We have spoken on the phone a few times, and I have not been able to see him even though I have tried,” wrote Lorenzo Pérez.
González-Pardo, who visited the United States in 2017, has been residing permanently in the North American country for two months.
Lorenzo Pérez commented that during the events of February 24, 1996, when two planes from the Brothers to the Rescue organization were shot down by Cuban pilots, Pardo had been in command of a MiG-29 that took off that day with the mission of intercepting the flights.
To the list of repressors
Following orders from the Armed Forces, commanded by Raúl Castro, González-Pardo closely followed the flight of the Brothers to the Rescue. However, according to Pérez, there is no confirmation that he fired on the aircraft that were in international waters.
“The ICAO report showed that Pardo had followed Basulto to a point further north of the 24th parallel. This fact in itself may fit with the principle of following orders, such as the interception instructions he received by radio, but it does not prove his determination to shoot and kill Basulto,” Pérez explained in his publication.
For his participation in the events of February 1996, Pardo was placed on the list of Cuban Repressors.
