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The former Cuban pilot Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, imprisoned in the United States since November for immigration fraud, is one of the five military officers charged alongside Raúl Castro for the downing of the aircraft of Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996.
González-Pardo, 65 years old, now faces additional charges: murder and conspiracy, after being identified as the pilot in the cockpit of the MiG-29A 911 during the pursuit of José Basulto's aircraft.
This has been made possible thanks to Luis Domínguez, a researcher at the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba, who tracked him for years and managed to unmask the accused's secret alias: "Código 22."
"In aviation, codes are used in radio communications to ensure that identities remain confidential, so he was identified as code number 22. Although he made mistakes and many times, two or three times, he mentioned the pilot's name instead of the code, as is said in Cuba," he explained to Telemundo 51.
Domínguez analyzed the recordings from that day, confirmed González-Pardo's connection with the regime's armed forces, and clarified his role in the attack that resulted in the deaths of the members of Hermanos al Rescate.
"He participated in the second group of aircraft that took off that day. There were two pairs, and he was part of the second pair. He was with two other pilots," Domínguez revealed.
The "Código 22" is a fundamental piece in the process that the U.S. Department of Justice has initiated against Raúl Castro.
"He has all the information about what happened that day. He knows who was in the control tower, who gave the orders from the San Antonio de los Baños airbase. There is no one else here who has that kind of information," Domínguez emphasized.
González-Pardo arrived in the United States on April 19, 2024, with a humanitarian parole, trying to remain unnoticed as a civilian.
In his application for permanent residency, he denied having a military background, despite having reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Cuban Anti-Air Defense and Revolutionary Air Force (DAAFAR).
For this reason, the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida arrested him and charged him with fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, as well as making a false statement to a federal agency, charges for which he could face up to 15 years in prison.
The former Cuban military pilot Orestes Lorenzo, who defected from Cuba in 1991, revealed to Telemundo 51 that he confronted González-Pardo in 2017 and demanded that those responsible for the downing be held accountable for the crime. In response, González-Pardo claimed the excuse that the pilots were "merely following orders."
However, as noted by the think tank "Cuba Siglo 21", "the international community does not recognize the so-called 'superior orders' as a justification for committing deliberate and premeditated murders with malice aforethought."
The downing of the aircraft of Brothers to the Rescue "were not acts of war, but rather planned homicides," as "they set out that day intent on killing," and it constitutes a crime against humanity that does not expire.
The substitute indictment against Raúl Castro and the five military officials – including González-Pardo – includes charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft.
The accusation is based on an audio recording in which Castro allegedly ordered: "Throw them into the sea when they show up; and do not consult those who have the authority."
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