JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A former Cuban Air Force fighter pilot indicted alongside former Cuban dictator Raul Castro in the 1996 shoot down of two civilian aircraft from the U.S. was sentenced in federal court in Jacksonville Thursday on an unrelated case.
Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez, 65, was sentenced to seven months in federal prison Thursday after he pleaded guilty to fraud and misuse of visa after making a false statement to U.S. immigration officials.
The charge stems from Rodriguez’s 2017 visa application, in which he stated he never served in the Cuban military. According to the 2025 indictment, Rodriguez stated on his application he never received weapons training or military-type training, had never been a member of any militant group, and had never been a member of any military or police unit…