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The federal court in Miami has set August 24, 2026 as the start date for the jury trial against Luis Raúl González Pardo Rodríguez, a former lieutenant colonel and ex-pilot of the Cuban Air Force, accused of participating in the shooting down of two planes from Brothers to the Rescue in 1996, according to Telemundo 51.
The order was issued by federal judge Darrin P. Gayles of the Southern District of Florida, who also scheduled a calendar hearing for August 19, five days before the trial begins, to review the status of the case.
González Pardo, 65 years old, pleaded not guilty in June to the charge of conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, the only charge he faces in this process, which carries a potential life sentence and a fine of up to $250,000.
According to the federal indictment, González Pardo piloted the MiG-29A identified in the radio communications as "Code 22" during the operation on February 24, 1996, in which Cuban Air Force jets destroyed two Cessna 337 aircraft of Brothers to the Rescue over international waters of the Florida Strait.
In that attack, four people died: Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario Manuel de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, three of them U.S. citizens and one permanent resident. Their bodies were never recovered.
Although González Pardo did not fire the missiles, the prosecution argues that his involvement in the conspiracy makes him criminally liable: "The fact that he did not fire does not mean he is not responsible for a conspiracy to kill American citizens."
The accused is the only one of the six defendants in the federal indictment who is in U.S. custody. The superseding indictment, issued by a grand jury in Miami on April 23, 2026, and unsealed on May 20 by Attorney General Todd Blanche, also includes Raúl Castro —who was the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in 1996— and four other former Cuban military members, all considered fugitives.
González Pardo was arrested by the FBI in November 2025 in Jacksonville, Florida, for concealing nearly three decades of military history while applying for humanitarian parole in 2024 under the Biden administration. After pleading guilty to immigration fraud, he was sentenced to seven months in prison in May 2026—a sentence he had practically already served—and was moved to Miami to face charges related to the downing.
The court determined that he qualified for legal representation funded by the state and appointed Juan Michelin as his federal public defender. The prosecution requested that he remain in custody during the proceedings, a condition that the defense accepted.
Lawyer Alfredo Izaguirre, who is not involved in the case, explained that the declaration of not guilty is the usual procedure at this stage and pointed to a possible negotiated outcome: "What he could do is reach an agreement with the government, wait for the other defendants, including Raúl Castro, to testify against him, and in exchange, they would reduce his sentence."
The case took on a new dimension on July 4, 2026, when an unreleased recording of the victims' final minutes was brought to light, captured from José Basulto's airplane cockpit by former pilot Reinaldo Martín and kept secret for nearly thirty years, which serves as central evidence in the case.
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