Havana , Cuba ( CNN ) -- Proclaiming `` I am a soldier for the Cuban revolution , '' a Cuban intelligence agent said Friday he has no regrets about the spying that landed him in U.S. prisons for more than a decade . `` I felt that it was the right thing to do , '' René González said during a press conference in Havana . González was a member of the so-called `` Cuban Five , '' a network of agents in South Florida that the Cuban government said was gathering intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks against Cuba . U.S. federal prosecutors called the network a dangerous undercover spy cell . The men were convicted in 2001 and ever since have been the focus of an international campaign by Cuban officials to free them . González was released from prison in October 2011 but was required to serve three years probation in the United States . Last week , however , U.S. Judge Joan Lenard ruled that if González , who had already been allowed to temporarily return to Cuba for his father 's funeral , could stay there provided he renounce his U.S. citizenship . In her ruling Lenard wrote that federal prosecutors had said González would be less of a security risk to the United States if he returned to Cuba . Previously , prosecutors had argued that González should not be allowed to go back to Cuba . On Friday , Gonzalez showed off a certificate issued by the U.S. State Department that confirmed he had renounced his U.S. citizenship . Despite the reversal by federal authorities , González said his early return to Cuba did not demonstrate a thawing of U.S.-Cuba relations . `` This was no humanitarian gesture , '' he said . `` This was a decision we forced the U.S. government to take . The only option they had was to look worse . '' González 's comments did not bode well for jailed U.S. State Department contractor Alan Gross , who was sentenced in 2011 to a 15-year prison for importing banned communications equipment to Cuba . Last year , Cuban officials said Gross might be freed if the United States made a `` humanitarian gesture '' and agreed to negotiations over the five imprisoned Cuban agents . U.S. officials have dismissed the possibility of talks , saying Gross did not spy against Cuba . Born in the United States to pro-Castro Cuban parents , González returned with them to Cuba where he became an experienced pilot . González said before leaving for the United States , he was told by government officials that he could still back out of the mission . `` I was told first of all that it was a voluntary assignment , '' he said . `` No one forced me in any way . I felt that it was the right thing to do . '' González later flew with the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue , which scoured the Florida Straits by small plane looking for Cuban rafters . In 1996 , four members of the group were killed after their planes were shot down by Cuban military aircraft as the group 's planes flew towards the island to drop anti-government leaflets . Federal prosecutors argued that information supplied by the Cuban Five agents assisted in the downing of the planes . `` Some times when I would fly with them and they would manifest their resentment , '' González said Friday . `` I would daydream to myself that I was the first Cubana ( Airlines ) pilot to land a plane in the United States . '' González said he will now dedicate himself to bringing back to Cuba the four other still-incarcerated agents .
René González spent years in U.S. prisons after being convicted in 2001 . He was a member of the so-called `` Cuban Five '' network of Cuban agents . The five were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit espionage against Cuba, but they all denied any wrongdoing. `` I am a soldier for the Cuban revolution , '' González declares at a news conference .