Cuban Pilot Sentenced to Seven Months for Immigration Fraud

U.S. immigration authorities when he applied for permanent residency last year. Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez was indicted on immigration fraud charges on Nov. 6. The indictment alleged he concealed prior membership in the Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force. He was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida, the next day.

Rodríguez arrived in the United States in 2023 under humanitarian parole with his daughter and son-in-law. Court records show he left Cuba about three years earlier. In February he accepted a guilty-plea agreement. S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Jacksonville, he appeared in an orange prison uniform and apologized for concealing his military service.

His lawyers told the court he feared losing the chance to remain in the United States. S. citizens, asked the judge for leniency and said he is the family’s main financial provider.

Prosecutors noted that the plea and sentencing agreement were reached before a separate indictment last week that alleges González-Pardo Rodríguez took part in the 1996 downing of two civilian planes flown by Cuban exiles. Judge Wendy W. Berger stated the immigration case and the 1996 case are independent but told the defendant, “They are waiting for you in Miami.