Hero's Welcome for Cuban Spy Freed from U.S. Prison

A Cuban spy who spent more than 15 years in prison in the United States returned home Friday to a hero's welcome, Cuban state television proclaimed in a triumphant broadcast.

Fernando Gonzalez was released Thursday from a maximum-security prison in Arizona and then deported to Cuba.

Gonzalez was one of the "Cuban Five" -- intelligence agents convicted in a U.S. spy case that for years has been a major thorn in U.S.-Cuban relations.

Cuban television broke into its regular programming to announce his arrival.

"The hero of the Republic of Cuba and anti-terrorist fighter, Fernando Gonzalez, arrived at midday today in our country after completing a long and unjust sentence," declared the announcer.

Gonzalez and the other four were part of a ring that infiltrated the Key West Naval Air Station and Cuban exile groups in Miami.

They were arrested in September 1998 after they were linked to the shooting-down of two private aircraft by Cuban fighter jets.

Four members of the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue were killed in the 1996 attack.

Gonzalez was found guilty and sentenced in 2001 for not registering as a foreign agent and for possessing false identity papers.

He was the second member of the group to be released, following Rene Gonzalez, who left prison after completing his sentence in October 2011. Rene, who is not related to Fernando, has since returned to Cuba.

The other three are serving life sentences in the United States.

Cuba has acknowledged that the five were its agents but says they were spying on exiles to prevent terrorist attacks.