Miami, Florida – September 18, 2024
The Payá family and the Foundation for Pan-American Democracy (FDP) join José J. Basulto, Sylvia G. Iriondo, and Arnaldo Iglesias in their formal petition to U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, requesting an urgent investigation into the humanitarian visa granted to Lieutenant Colonel Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez.
FDP and the Payá family express full solidarity with Basulto, Iriondo, and Iglesias in condemning the visa granted to González-Pardo, a key figure in the brutal 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue planes over international waters, which resulted in the deaths of four pilots, including U.S. citizens. It is unacceptable that a known repressor, responsible for crimes against both Cuban and American citizens, could be granted entry into the U.S.
“It is inconceivable that such individuals are allowed to enter the U.S. legally,” said Rosa María Payá. “The Cuban regime remains a national security threat, sending spies to infiltrate the U.S. and recruit American citizens at the highest levels of government, as demonstrated by the recent case of the U.S. Ambassador Rocha, a traitor and spy who is now imprisoned. Our family has taken legal action against Rocha for civil conspiracy and facilitating terrorism.”
FDP and the Payá family stand with the survivors and the families of the four murdered pilots, whose deaths occurred with the complicity of González-Pardo, and call on the U.S. government to uphold justice and reject impunity.
“Es inconcebible que se otorgue visa a individuos como este a los Estados Unidos”, dijo Rosa María Payá. “El régimen cubano sigue siendo una amenaza para la seguridad nacional, enviando espías a infiltrarse en EE.UU. y reclutando a ciudadanos estadounidenses en los más altos niveles del gobierno, como lo demuestra el reciente caso del embajador Rocha, un traidor y espía que ahora está encarcelado. Nuestra familia ha emprendido acciones legales contra Rocha por conspiración civil y facilitar el terrorismo”.
