Charges were brought against former Cuban President Raul Castro US indictment With murders and other crimes for his alleged role in the downing of two civilian airliners operated by Miami-based exiles in 1996 off the coast of the Caribbean island.
These allegations come as part of the Trump administration’s mounting pressure on the Cuban socialist government to open its economy to US investment and remove US adversaries. In addition, a US blockade on fuel and other goods has caused widespread power outages, food shortages, and economic collapse on the island.
Castro, now 94, was Cuba’s defense minister at the time the two small planes were shot down. It was operated by the exile group the Brotherhood of Salvation, which was dropping leaflets over Havana urging Cubans to rise up against their government. Russian-made fighter jets shot down two unarmed civilian planes, killing all four men on board the planes.
Here’s what to know about Castro, the indictment and the 1996 incident.
Castro is accused in the indictment of authorizing the use of deadly force against the Brotherhood of Salvation, after the group flew planes that dropped pro-democracy leaflets over Cuba in January 1996. US prosecutors said Castro and his older brother, Fidel Castro, who was president at the time, were the last to decide on the killing orders.
In February 1996, Raúl Castro ordered Cuban military officials to begin training, using MiG fighter jets from Russia, to find, track and intercept the group’s small planes off the coast of the island, the indictment said. The two planes were shot down on February 24, killing four American citizens, including three American citizens. A third plane managed to escape.
The indictment charged Castro and five other people, including MIG pilots. Castro is accused of conspiring to kill American citizens and multiple counts of murder and destroying aircraft. The murder and conspiracy charges carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment upon conviction, but it is unclear whether Castro will ever set foot in a US courtroom.
Acting US Attorney Todd Blanche, who announced the indictment on Wednesday in Miami, said he expected Castro to appear in the United States for trial, either “of his own volition or otherwise.”
The federal government often charges people outside the United States and uses a variety of methods to bring them to justice, Blanche said.
Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro He was charged with drug charges before US Special Forces arrested him and his wife in the Venezuelan capital in January.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. on February 24, 1996, the three brothers’ rescue planes took off from an airport in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Over international waters, outside Cuban airspace, two of the three unarmed Cessna planes It was dropped US prosecutors said the Cuban MiG pilots were killed without any warning. The MiG pilots then began pursuing the third plane, which escaped destruction, authorities said.
However, a Cuban official insisted at a UN Security Council meeting in late February 1996 that the two planes were violating Cuban airspace when they were shot down and that one of the civilian pilots ignored warnings not to enter that airspace, according to Security Council records. The official also claimed that the United States has not taken any effective measures to prevent such violations of airspace by American pilots, despite warnings from Cuba.
“Brothers to the Rescue” dates back to 1980, during the unexpected migration of 125,000 Cubans to the United States. It aimed to help Cuban refugees in the Florida Straits by dropping supplies from small planes and alerting the US Coast Guard during the crisis, which lasted for several months.
The current Cuban President, Miguel Díaz-Canel, condemned the indictment against Castro and accused American officials of lying about shooting down planes in 1996. He described it as “a political act that has no legal basis and aims only to strengthen the case they are creating to justify the foolishness of military aggression against Cuba.”
he Written on X And that the downing of the planes was “legitimate self-defense” after repeated and serious violations of Cuban airspace by “notorious terrorists.”
The Cuban government said in a statement that the Cuban people fully support Castro. The statement read: “Homeland or death, we will prevail.”
Marlene Alejandre Triana, whose father, Armando Alejandre Jr., was among those killed in the 1996 shooting, called the charges “long overdue.” She said her father just wanted to bring freedom to his Cuban homeland.
Members of the Cuban community in Miami also welcomed the charges against Castro.
“He’s a criminal,” said Peter Hernandez, whose family owns a fruit and vegetable market in Little Havana and whose parents moved from Cuba to South Florida before he was born. He added that he would support the United States sending its army to arrest Castro.
Castro served as Cuba’s Minister of the Army during his brother Fidel Castro’s decades-long rule as president. He took over as president in 2006 while his brother was ill and served until 2018, when he handed power to Díaz-Canel, a trusted loyalist.
In 2008, Castro launched a series of reforms that expanded Cuba’s private sector and allowed citizens greater freedom to travel and access information. In 2014, he led historic talks with former US President Barack Obama, which resulted in the reopening of embassies and the restoration of diplomatic relations.
While he retired in 2021 as head of the Cuban Communist Party, he is widely believed to wield power behind the scenes.