Cuban Mi-2 from the Cuban police

Cuban Mi-17 serial 133
Get ready for some good pictures, never seen befote.
Luis

This is one of the less than 8 MiG-23MF/ML that remain in cuban service, If anybody like to know why I say this is because number don’t lie.
MiG-23ML serial 241 at San Antonio

And here is one of the very few MiG-21BIS that remain active, less than 4.

Luis

True Life Escape, Like in a Movie

It was December 1992, and Orestes Lorenzo had decided that he was going to take matters into his own hands. He flew 130 miles from Marathon Key, Florida to Cuba to rescue his wife and sons. He knew that if he flew six feet above the wave height, he would not be detected by Cuban radar.

Lorenzo had grown up in Cuba during the height of the Cuban Revolution. He had believed in the Revolution and had trained as a fighter pilot in the Soviet Union. But, the older he became, the more clearly he began to see what the Revolution was doing to his country and to his family. While living in Perestroika, he had a religious awakening that changed his convictions.

Lorenzo and his wife decided that he would escape from Cuba and that somehow he would arrange for them to meet him in the United States. He was a major in the Cuban Air Force and in 1991 escaped from Cuba flying a MIG to the United States.

Twenty-one months later he was frustrated and tired of trying to legally bring his wife and sons from Cuba. Diplomatic and humanitarian pleas from around the world had not helped. He was worried about his family and knew how difficult the situation had gotten for them.

Since his defection from Cuba, his wife Victoria had been harassed by the Cuban government. She had been thrown out of their home, fired from her job and had been forced to live from the few rations her parents received. The Cuban Police had bugged the family’s phone and were watching her every move.

The worst part for Victoria was hearing government psychologists tell her that her children were mentally ill because their father was a traitor. The government bribed her with a new house and a job if she renounced her husband publicly. They even told her that her husband had found a beautiful rich woman and was getting married. At one point, they told her he was a homosexual and had forgotten all about her and the boys.

The government told Victoria that she would never be allowed to leave the country and that Raul Castro himself had said: “If Lorenzo had the guts to leave with on of my MIGS maybe he has the guts to come back and get his family.”

Lorenzo determined to get his family out of Cuba, and with the help of the Valladares Foundation a Washington-based human rights group, bought a 6-seat Cessna for $30,000.

Two Mexican women who the Lorenzo’s refer to as messengers of love flew to Cuba with a message for Victoria. She was to meet Lorenzo on a highway in the beach town of El Mamey.

Lorenzo had one minute to land the plane pick up his family, and take off again. When Victoria saw the Cessna she grabbed her sons hands, who had no idea about what was happening, and screamed, “Run- it’s your father”. His wife and sons climbed into the plane. Lorenzo swung the plane around and began down the highway, the wing of the plane nearly grazing a car.

As he began to fly his family out of Cuba his mind was calculating how much time they had before the Cuban air force would try to knock them out of the air. He looked back at his wife and sons and all he could think about was the Cuban crews running to their posts in the missile silos.

When he had flown twelve nautical miles he knew the missiles were already pointed at them and when he passed twelve and a half miles, he sighed with relief knowing they could not reach him.

The Lorenzo family now lives in Florida and they don’t have to worry about living in a country that denies a person dignity or spiritual values. Wings of the Morning, written by Orestes Lorenzo was published in 1994. It is an incredible book that describes this family’s courageous ordeal.

This is the MiG-23BN serial 722 that Orestes Lorenzo used to escaped from Cuba.

Here is where he landed to pick up his family, Fidel Castros brother, had said that the only way that orestes will be able to see his family again was if he would go back to Cuba, well I guess he did.
Luis

Santa Clara east with a retired mig-17 and 3 Mi-24/35, more bunkers

Luis

Santa Clara, 1 L-39C, 1 MiG-21Bis, and 5 Mi-8/17

now 8 Mi-24/35 five of them without rotos, how do i know that they are Mi-24/35 insted of Mi-8/17, I can tell secret, i don’t Like to tell fidel Castro everything I know.