MIAMI — The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that a federal grand jury in Miami has indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro and five others on murder and conspiracy charges related to the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft operated by a Cuban exile group.
Castro, 94, who served as Cuba’s defense minister at the time of the incident, faces charges including one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft, according to court documents and officials. The indictment, returned on April 23 and unsealed Wednesday, accuses him of involvement in ordering Cuban military forces to shoot down the planes flown by the Miami-based Brothers to the Rescue group.
The Feb. 24, 1996, incident resulted in the deaths of four people, including three U.S. citizens and one U.S. resident. Cuban fighter jets downed the two small aircraft over international waters off Cuba’s coast. A third plane returned safely. Brothers to the Rescue, founded by Cuban exiles, conducted search-and-rescue missions for rafters fleeing the island.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges at Miami’s Freedom Tower, describing the case as holding accountable those responsible for the deaths. “Those who kill Americans cannot simply wait out American justice,” Blanche said, according to reports of the event.
U.S. officials said the indictment targets Castro and several former senior Cuban military figures, including pilots. Details of the specific allegations against each defendant remain limited in public statements.
Cuba has rejected the move. Cuban officials called the indictment a “political maneuver” by the Trump administration, part of broader efforts to increase pressure on the island’s government, according to statements reported by Reuters.
The case revives a long-standing grievance in U.S.-Cuba relations. After the 1996 shootdown, the U.S. tightened sanctions on Cuba, and the incident strained ties for years. Castro, who succeeded his brother Fidel Castro as president in 2008 and stepped down in 2018, has remained a symbolic figure in Cuba. He has not left the island, and Cuban authorities are not expected to extradite him.
Prosecutors described the charges as an effort to deliver justice decades after the event. No trial date has been set, and it is unclear whether any defendants will appear in U.S. court.
The Justice Department said the investigation drew on declassified materials and witness accounts from the original case. Five other Cuban nationals were charged alongside Castro.
