Controversy in Miami: Orestes Lorenzo talks about former pilot involved in the shooting down of Brothers to the Rescue.

Cuban exiles in the United States describe the presence of former pilot Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez as "unacceptable" and demand answers for the offense to the victims of Brothers to the Rescue.


The former Cuban official Orestes Lorenzo Pérez (Major), a former pilot of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) who arrived in Miami after stealing a plane from the regime, made statements about the presence in the United States of former pilot Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez (Lieutenant Colonel), involved in the shooting down of two planes from Brothers to the Rescue.

In an interview with Juan Manuel Cao, Lorenzo said that he has known González-Pardo since they studied aviation in the former USSR in the 1970s.

"His first visit to Miami was in 2017. I intervened with the United States Embassy in Havana to get him the visa because he wanted a meeting with the pilots from our initial group. The meeting would take place at my house," Lorenzo said.

"It is absolutely true that he participated in the downing of the planes of Brothers to the Rescue. There is no doubt about it. He was the pilot with the call sign 22 and was the one who pursued José Basulto," said Lorenzo, who confirmed that he had known this information since 2017.

Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez and Orestes Lorenzo Pérez met again in the United States in 2019, and according to the latter, they have not had any further contact since then.

González-Pardo was allegedly on an official visit in the U.S.

This week, journalist Mario J. Pentón showed a fragment of an internal document from the State Department where they requested to expedite the consular interview for military pilot Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, to obtain a second tourist visa to the U.S., where he later managed to establish himself with a Humanitarian Parole.

"González-Pardo Rodríguez was a key man for the United States due to his position as head of Terminal 2 at Havana International Airport (the one aimed at the Cuban community abroad)," Pentón warned.

Lorenzo said that if it were true, the information would help him decide whether González-Pardo is or is not an agent of the Cuban State Security.

Why did Lorenzo invite González-Pardo to the United States?

"I would like to invite every Cuban military member to the United States to show them what this country is, what a state of rights is, what freedom is, and to try to have them return to Cuba with that wealth of experiences to share with their families and peers, because it is the only way we can aspire to have a new country," said Lorenzo.

"In Cuba, justice must be served for the crime of the murder of the pilots of the Brothers to the Rescue planes, but that justice will not come until the regime is out of power. We know that it will not happen unless it is by force, and the people, even if they take to the streets, do not have the weapons. The future of Cuba will depend on the involvement of the Armed Forces. I hope they position themselves in favor of the people when the moment comes. That is my purpose," he commented.

Social media of Orestes Lorenzo Pérez

Lorenzo requested that the United States government present a second-by-second animation of what happened during the shooting down of the Brothers to the Rescue aircraft.

He stated that the voice recordings exist, they are in the hands of both governments, but only with a detailed analysis can it be confirmed whether González-Pardo lied to avoid killing Basulto, or if he did not do it because he did not receive the order.

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