{"id":446,"date":"2026-05-15T22:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T22:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=446"},"modified":"2026-05-15T22:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T22:34:22","slug":"brothers-to-the-rescue-founder-wishing-for-justice-amid-possible-raul-castro-indictment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=446","title":{"rendered":"Brothers to the Rescue founder \u2018wishing for justice’ amid possible Raul Castro indictment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to indict former Cuban leader Ra\u00fal 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.<\/p>\n

Read more Families caring for disabled relatives face unthinkable choices as Medicaid cuts loom<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

At the time of the attack, Castro was serving as Cuba\u2019s defense minister and oversaw the island\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Basulto, founder of Brothers to the Rescue and a survivor of the mission, told NBC 6 he has waited decades for accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been wishing for that for a long time,\u201d Basulto said. \u201cI’ve been wishing for justice to be served, justice to be realized.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February, when relatives of the men killed honored the 30th anniversary of the incident, they shared their thoughts on accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point\u2026it’d be great that they could bring him in, you know, whatever he has left in life to spend in prison,\u201d said Mirta Mendez of Castro. Mendez lost her brother, Carlos Costa, in the shootdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who had any part in it should be held accountable,\u201d said Marlene Alejandre-Triana, who lost her father Armando.<\/p>\n

The victims\u2019 families are expected to attend an event next Wednesday at Miami\u2019s Freedom Tower, which coincides with Cuban Independence Day.<\/p>\n

The development comes just hours after the CIA confirmed Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Havana for a high-level meeting with Cuban officials \u2014 the first publicly acknowledged meeting of its kind between the agency and Cuba in recent years.<\/p>\n

Read more Son of elderly Miami woman missing since 2023 arrested for using her benefits, cops say<\/a><\/p>\n

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 \u201cfundamental changes.\u201d Cuban officials were also warned the island could no longer serve as a haven for American adversaries such as China and Russia.<\/p>\n

The CIA also confirmed that Ra\u00fal Castro\u2019s grandson, Ra\u00fal Guillermo Rodr\u00edguez Castro \u2014 known in Cuba as \u201cEl Cangrejo\u201d \u2014 participated in the meetings.<\/p>\n

Speaking aboard Air Force One, President Donald Trump declined to comment directly on the possible indictment, saying only, \u201cI\u2019ll let DOJ comment on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cBut they need help, as you know. And you talk about a declining country. They are really a nation, a country in decline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the possible charges \u201clong overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 Nicol\u00e1s Maduro.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it were to occur now, it would be an extraordinary escalation in the United States pressure against the Cuban regime,\u201d Penelas said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Cuba\u2019s ambassador to the United States told The Hill there has been no progress in negotiations between the two countries, adding that Cuba\u2019s sovereignty “is not up for negotiation” and that the island is preparing for the possibility of an invasion.<\/p>\n

By all accounts, the humanitarian situation on the communist island is getting worse with the government reporting they\u2019re out of fuel causing major blackouts. Officials on the island are considering accepting the $100 million dollar the U.S. offered.<\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors would still need to present evidence to a grand jury before any indictment could move forward. No timetable has been announced.<\/p>\n

Read more Survivors take legal action after boat explosion at Haulover Beach<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to indict former Cuban leader Ra\u00fal Castro in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuba"],"yoast_head":"\nBrothers to the Rescue founder \u2018wishing for justice' amid possible Raul Castro indictment - Jacksonville Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=446\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brothers to the Rescue founder \u2018wishing for justice' amid possible Raul Castro indictment - 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