The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to indict former Cuban leader Raúl Castro in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft that killed four men over the Florida Straits, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
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The potential indictment marks a dramatic escalation in tensions between Washington and Havana and comes nearly 30 years after Cuban fighter jets shot down the civilian planes during a humanitarian mission.
At the time of the attack, Castro was serving as Cuba’s defense minister and oversaw the island’s armed forces. The group Brothers to the Rescue conducted flights aimed at locating Cuban rafters fleeing the island during the 1990s migration crisis and relaying their coordinates to the U.S. Coast Guard.
José Basulto, founder of Brothers to the Rescue and a survivor of the mission, told NBC 6 he has waited decades for accountability.
“I’ve been wishing for that for a long time,” Basulto said. “I’ve been wishing for justice to be served, justice to be realized.”
In February, when relatives of the men killed honored the 30th anniversary of the incident, they shared their thoughts on accountability.
“At this point…it’d be great that they could bring him in, you know, whatever he has left in life to spend in prison,” said Mirta Mendez of Castro. Mendez lost her brother, Carlos Costa, in the shootdown.
“Anyone who had any part in it should be held accountable,” said Marlene Alejandre-Triana, who lost her father Armando.
The victims’ families are expected to attend an event next Wednesday at Miami’s Freedom Tower, which coincides with Cuban Independence Day.
The development comes just hours after the CIA confirmed Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana for a high-level meeting with Cuban officials — the first publicly acknowledged meeting of its kind between the agency and Cuba in recent years.
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According to a CIA official, Ratcliffe delivered a message from President Donald Trump stating the United States is prepared to engage with Cuba on economic and security matters only if the Cuban government makes what officials described as “fundamental changes.” Cuban officials were also warned the island could no longer serve as a haven for American adversaries such as China and Russia.
The CIA also confirmed that Raúl Castro’s grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro — known in Cuba as “El Cangrejo” — participated in the meetings.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump declined to comment directly on the possible indictment, saying only, “I’ll let DOJ comment on it.”
He added: “But they need help, as you know. And you talk about a declining country. They are really a nation, a country in decline.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the possible charges “long overdue.”
Political analyst Alex Penelas said an indictment could significantly increase pressure on the Cuban government and draw comparisons to the U.S. strategy used against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
“If it were to occur now, it would be an extraordinary escalation in the United States pressure against the Cuban regime,” Penelas said.
Meanwhile, Cuba’s ambassador to the United States told The Hill there has been no progress in negotiations between the two countries, adding that Cuba’s sovereignty “is not up for negotiation” and that the island is preparing for the possibility of an invasion.
By all accounts, the humanitarian situation on the communist island is getting worse with the government reporting they’re out of fuel causing major blackouts. Officials on the island are considering accepting the $100 million dollar the U.S. offered.
Federal prosecutors would still need to present evidence to a grand jury before any indictment could move forward. No timetable has been announced.
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