Cuba Falling: One Down, Five to Go. Justice Is (Partially) Served.

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By Sarah Anderson

On May 20, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the Department of Justice had unsealed a federal grand jury indictment of Cuban dictator Raúl Castro, charging him with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft, and murder. 

These charges stemmed from his role in the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown in 1996. That's when Castro ordered the Cuban air force to shoot down the organization's unarmed civilian planes in international waters. Three U.S. citizens and one permanent resident were murdered that day.   

Castro wasn't the only one who received those or related charges. There were five other co-defendants, including Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, a now 65-year-old retired Cuban air force pilot and lieutenant colonel, who played a part in that deadly mission 30 years ago. 

Well, it looks like at least González-Pardo is now going to face justice for his role in the murders.  In November of last year, González-Pardo was indicted on immigration fraud in the United States. He's been living here for years, but he wasn't exactly honest about who he was in Cuba. When applying to become a permanent resident of the U.S., he failed to let the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) know that he had  "prior membership in the Cuban Revolutionary Air and Air Defense Force from 1980 to 2009." 

He was charged with fraud and misuse of visa, permits, and other documents, and making a false statement to a federal agency; pled guilty; and in late May, he was sentenced to seven months in prison. That was in Jacksonville, Fla. On Tuesday, we learned that González-Pardo has been transferred to Miami to face a new criminal trial in the Southern District of Florida, "where he must appear before a federal court to formally hear the charge of conspiracy for being implicated in the deaths of American citizens." 

Here's more from CiberCuba: 

According to the accusation, González-Pardo did not fire the missiles that shot down the two Cessna 337 aircraft, but he piloted the MiG-29A 911 -identified as "Code 22"- in the pursuit of José Basulto's plane, founder of Brothers to the Rescue, who managed to escape because he was already approaching U.S. airspace.

The charges include conspiracy to assassinate U.S. nationals, two counts of aircraft destruction, and four individual counts of murder for the deaths of Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, whose bodies were never recovered.

González-Pardo may have lucked out in this situation. He could end up as a witness for the prosecution should the other five defendants ever end up in U.S. custody, which could reduce his sentencing. However, one problem he faces is that his wife still lives in Cuba, which could make the situation a bit more complicated for him, as the regime will most likely use her for leverage. Either way, he faces up to life in prison. 

Meanwhile in Havana, the Cuban regime paraded Castro, who is now a fugitive, out for his 95th birthday last week. It's the first time he's been seen in public in a while, and this was clearly an act of defiance in the face of the U.S. indictment. 

The regime remains as defiant as ever. "President" Miguel Díaz-Canel spoke at the event, stating that "If the homeland is attacked, we will respond in legitimate defense. And if they try to enter, there should be no doubt, there will be determined and firm combat."  

He also tried to make Cuba seem like the more reasonable of our two countries. "Cuba wants peace. Cuba does not provoke, does not attack, nor does it challenge," he said. "We continue to bet on an atmosphere of understanding with the United States based on mutual respect despite our differences, as has been shown to be possible."  

That guy seems to forget how well this type of language worked for Nicolás Maduro, who was literally being guarded by Cubans when we captured him on January 3. I know Venezuela and Cuba are totally different situations, but the dictatorships are starting to sound exactly the same. If Díaz-Canel starts dancing to a remix of his own broken English phrases like "yes peace" and "no crazy wars," I'm calling it. 

By the way, I wonder if Maduro dances in his jail cell:

In an interview that came out Monday,  Díaz-Canel also stated that he "sees three possible scenarios for the U.S. government in the country's immediate future: social unrest, coercive dialogue to take control of the Cuban economy, or armed conflict." 

The country's prime minister, Manuel Marrero, has also entered the chat. He's been posting on social media, defending GAESA, the regime's primary holding company for the military’s strangle-hold on the economy, and complaining about the latest rounds of sanctions against it. But I don't think anyone is listening. 

Aside from dropping those major sanctions and answering questions at hearings, we haven't heard too much publicly out of the Donald Trump administration about future plans for Cuba in recent weeks, but it still feels like we're on the verge of something big.

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