Accused of being a spy in the United States , Fernando Gonzalez can expect a hero 's welcome when he returns to Cuba . The Cuban intelligence agent was released from a U.S. federal prison Thursday after serving 15 years for failing to register as a foreign agent and possessing forged documents . Gonzalez will be the second member of the `` Cuban Five '' to be released from prison . Cuban officials said they expected that he would return to the island after being transferred to the custody of immigration officials for deportation proceedings , which could take several days . The five were part of 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 . One of the exile groups that the intelligence agents targeted was Brothers to the Rescue , which searched for Cuban rafters on the Straits of Florida from small airplanes . In 1996 , four members of Brothers to the Rescue were killed after they were shot down by Cuban fighter jets as the group 's planes headed toward the island to drop anti-government leaflets . Federal prosecutors argued that information supplied by some of the `` Cuban Five '' agents assisted in the downing of the planes . Another seven agents cooperated with prosecutors . The five agents were convicted in 2001 and have since been the focus of an international campaign by the Cuban government to free them . Cuban officials have said they wish to discuss the case of the Cuban agents and that of jailed U.S. State Department contractor Alan Gross , who was sentenced in 2011 to 15 years in prison after being convicted of importing banned communications equipment to Cuba . But U.S. officials have rejected the idea of a swap , saying Gross did not engage in any intelligence-gathering in Cuba . Last year , `` Cuban Five '' member Rene Gonzalez returned to Cuba after completing his prison sentence . He has been treated as a hero by Cuba 's state media and has led the media campaign to free the other intelligence agents . `` Of course , he will need a need to rest , '' Rene Gonzalez said last month of his fellow agent 's impending release . `` Then I hope he will take up the fight for our three brothers . ''
Fernando Gonzalez is a member of the network of Cuban spies . He was released recently from U.S. custody . Cubans have long pushed for his release .