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.
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The Russian-made plane was supposed to be used for soil fumigation in Cuba, but Machado used it to escape the island.
Once he landed, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents took him into custody and he's remained behind bars.
His attorney, Eduardo Soto, had said sending Machado back to Cuba could be a matter of life or death.
