Federal prosecutors have charged former Cuban leader Raúl Castro in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue, marking a sharp escalation in pressure by the Trump administration against Cuba’s communist government.
The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, May 20, accuses Castro and five Cuban military pilots of murder and destruction of an aircraft. Prosecutors allege Castro, who was serving as Cuba’s defense minister at the time, ordered the attack that killed four people aboard two unarmed Cessna planes.
The aircraft were shot down on Feb. 24, 1996, by Cuban MiG-29 fighter jets north of Havana after repeated confrontations between the Cuban government and the exile organization, which had flown missions over the Florida Straits and near Cuban airspace.
Speaking at a ceremony in Miami honoring the victims, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the victims “were unarmed civilians” conducting humanitarian flights “for the rescue and protection of people fleeing oppression across the Florida straits,” as reported by AP.
Blanche said U.S. authorities expected Castro to face the charges: “We expect that he will show up here, by his own will or by another way.”
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The indictment comes amid broader tensions between Washington and Havana. Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has intensified pressure on Cuba following the U.S. charges against, then capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the charges, calling them an attempt to “justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.” He also accused Washington of distorting the events surrounding the 1996 incident.
The case revives one of the most consequential confrontations in modern U.S.-Cuba relations. Brothers to the Rescue had drawn anger from Havana after conducting flights near Cuba and dropping anti-government leaflets over the island. Cuban authorities repeatedly warned that they would respond to further incursions.
The shootdown hardened U.S. policy toward Cuba during the Clinton administration and became a lasting source of tension between the two countries.
Legal experts said it remains uncertain whether Castro, who turns 95 next month and is believed to still wield influence behind the scenes in Cuba, will ever appear in a U.S. courtroom. The charges carry the possibility of life imprisonment or the death penalty if convictions are obtained.
