MIAMI — New developments are unfolding in the federal case against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro as political and legal pressure on Cuba intensifies.
One of the co-defendants named in Castro’s sweeping federal indictment has accepted a plea deal in a separate case he is charged in, Local 10 News learned Friday.
Court records show pilot Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez is currently in custody in central Florida and will be sentenced next Thursday in Jacksonville.
According to the New York Times, he pleaded guilty in January to immigration fraud charges.
The latest legal movement comes as the United States increases its posture in the Caribbean, including the deployment of the USS Nimitz, one of the largest and most powerful warships in the world.
The aircraft carrier — equipped with fighter jets, advanced weapons systems and extensive military technology — has recently sailed into the Caribbean at a time when the Trump administration appears to be taking a harder line against the Cuban government.
“Our preference is always a diplomatic solution, always, and a negotiated agreement,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday during remarks on the growing tensions.
At the same time, federal authorities in Miami on Thursday announced the arrest of Adys Lastres Morera, the sister of a top official connected to GAESA, the powerful military-run Cuban business conglomerate founded by Castro.
In a post on X, Rubio blamed GAESA for contributing to Cuba’s severe economic crisis, accusing the organization of controlling as much as 70% of the island’s economy while funneling billions in illicit funds and diverting humanitarian aid intended for the Cuban people.
Authorities say Morera was living and working in South Florida, primarily involved in real estate transactions allegedly tied to illicit cash flow from Cuba. Officials also allege she was in the United States illegally. She remains in ICE custody.
Her arrest came just one day after federal prosecutors unveiled an indictment against the 94-year-old Castro in connection with the deaths of four men with ties to South Florida.
The developments have sparked renewed conversations within South Florida’s Cuban exile community, where many are closely following the escalating tensions between Washington and Havana.
“Everything over there is super corrupt,” said Samantha Leyva, a South Florida resident with family still living in Cuba.
Leyva said she views the recent actions by the U.S. government as a significant turning point.
“I think it’s a really, really big step and a great step to finally having my island free,” she said. “I want to go back and see my family.”
Concerns are also growing over reports that Cuba has acquired hundreds of strike drones and that Russia has pledged support to the Cuban government if the United States were to take military action against the island.
President Donald Trump suggested the current moment could lead to major political change in Cuba.
“They want to invest in their country, see if they can bring it back,” Trump said. “Other presidents have looked at this for 50 or 60 years, and it looks like I’ll be the one that does it.”
Still, some analysts believe meaningful change in Cuba may not happen without direct intervention.
“They are not going to flee,” FIU Cuban Research Institute Interim Director Sebastian A. Arcos said of Cuba’s leadership. “They are not going to be part of a dismantling of a regime that they have been putting together for the last 70 years.”
Despite the uncertainty, some Cuban Americans remain hopeful.
“You feel like freedom is close?” Local 10’s Terrell Forney asked Leyva.
“I do,” she responded. “I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
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