A Cuban pilot fled his country to cross to the United States, landing in Florida on Friday (October 21) aboard a single-engine Russian plane.
At around 11:30 a.m. local time, an Antonov AN-2, a Russian-built propeller biplane aircraft, landed at an airfield in South Florida.
The pilot said "
he was fleeing his country and that he came from Sancti Spiritus
", a region in the center of the communist country, they further noted.
The American border police, seized of the case, went on the spot.
"
Cuban authorities have not received official notification from US agencies
," assured Cuban civil aviation, via the official newspaper Granma, ensuring "
investigate the details of the incident
".
More than 200,000 Cuban fugitives in one year
Martinez Machado, who worked at the National Air Service Company, flew at 7 a.m. local time on Friday from the central province of Sancti Spiritus to carry out fumigation work, Cuba confirms, however.
But "
after completing his second test flight
", he did not return to base, says civil aviation.
“
This morning, my son left the country illegally on the plane he was working with.
I do not approve of his decision, but he remains my son
, ”reacted Friday Elisa Machado Padron, the mother of the deserter, on her Facebook page.
Many Cubans have in recent months left their country, hit by shortages and the worst economic crisis in 30 years, to try to reach the United States.
Between October 2021 and August 2022, nearly 200,000 Cubans were arrested at the US border, compared to 30,000 over the same period last year, according to border police figures.
