Cuban pilot who defected in an old Soviet plane granted political asylum in the U.S.

It was a daring escape in an old Soviet plane that was most likely poorly maintained in communist Cuba and could’ve easily gone down over the Florida Straits. As a matter of fact, just a few weeks later, that same plane crashed in the Everglades when two contracted pilots attempted to reposition it to another location.

Nevertheless, Ruben Martinez Machado’s gamble has paid off when an immigration judge granted him political asylum, and he will now be allowed to remain in the U.S.

Via Miami’s NBC 6:

A Cuban pilot who made headlines with a bold flight to South Florida on an old Russian plane will be allowed to stay in the United States.

An immigration judge on Thursday accepted Ruben Martinez Machado’s request for political asylum. He’s expected to be released Friday morning.

Machado made his daring 200-mile journey back in October in a single-engine Antonov An-2 plane.

He left Sancti Spiritus, Cuba, and landed at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport off Tamiami Trail in the middle of the Florida Everglades.

The Russian-made plane was supposed to be used for soil fumigation in Cuba, but Machado used it to escape the island.

Welcome to freedom, Ruben. Despite the lies told by the communist Castro dictatorship and the complaints of American leftists, you’ll never see Americans risking their lives to escape capitalism.