Raul Castro charged by US with murder, conspiracy to shoot down two planes in 1996 | Today’s news
A US grand jury in Florida has indicted former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five others in connection with the fatal downing of two planes by the Cuban military nearly three decades ago, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday (local time).
The criminal charges against the 94-year-old Castro, brother of the late Fidel Castro and widely regarded as one of Havana’s most influential and powerful figures, mark an escalation in US President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign against the Cuban government. Castro served as president of Havana from 2008 to 2018 and as the top official of the country’s Communist Party from 2011 to 2021, CBS News reported.
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The development comes days after CBS News reported that the Trump administration was moving to indict Castro.
According to a Justice Department document, Castro was accused along with Lorenzo Alberto Pérez-Perez of Las Tunas, Emilio José Palacio Blanco, José Fidel Gual Barzaga, Raul Simanco Cardenas and Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez. The six men were indicted for their alleged roles in the downing of two unarmed American civilian aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue (BTTR), also known as Hermanos al Rescate, over international waters on February 24, 1996.
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The accusations against Castro
According to the allegations, more than three decades ago, three BTTR planes flew from South Florida to Cuba. Cuban military fighters led by Raúl Castro fired air-to-air missiles at two unarmed civilian Cessna planes and destroyed them without warning while flying outside Cuban territory, killing four US citizens, including three US citizens: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales.
The prosecution alleged that in the weeks before the attack, Cuban military pilots conducted training exercises aimed at locating and intercepting slow-moving civilian aircraft. On the day of the incident, three BTTR aircraft departed the Opa-locka airport for a scheduled relief flight south of the 24th parallel. Two of the aircraft, tail numbers N2456S and N5485S, were reportedly targeted and shot down in international airspace, resulting in the deaths of all four victims.
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If convicted, Casto and the other defendants face the maximum penalty of death or life in prison for murder and conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, according to a Justice Department statement. Castro Ruza and Perez-Perez face up to five years in prison for each destruction of a number of aircraft. Statutory maximum sentences are set by Congress and are listed here for informational purposes only, as each defendant’s sentencing decision is made by a judge.
But it remains unclear whether the 94-year-old will ever stand trial because Havana does not extradite people to Washington.
What is BTTR?
BTTR was a Miami-based organization that conducted humanitarian air operations across the Florida Straits to search for Cuban migrants in distress. In the early 1990s, Cuban intelligence agents reportedly infiltrated the organization and passed detailed information on its flight operations back to the Cuban government. These reports were allegedly used by the military leadership in planning the February 24, 1996, operation.
What next for US-Cuba relations?
The plan came as the US increased pressure on the Cuban government. The Trump administration has threatened steep tariffs on any country exporting oil to Cuba, contributing to energy shortages as oil supplies have been largely cut off. Trump has pushed for major reforms in Cuba and floated the idea of a “friendly takeover” of the country.
Now, with the indictment of Raúl Castro, prosecutors are targeting a figure who has held high office in Cuba since his brother Fidel Castro overthrew the U.S.-backed leader there in 1959. Raúl succeeded his brother as head of the Communist Party of Cuba in 2011. Ten years later, he stepped down as party leader but stayed on.
