US Indicts Former Cuban President Raúl Castro for 1996 Downing of Refugee Rescue Planes

On May 21, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a federal indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro and five other defendants, marking a significant escalation in the Trump administration's campaign to pressure Cuba's six-decade-old communist government.

According to court documents obtained by CBS, Raúl Castro, 94, was indicted in Miami, Florida, on charges including conspiracy to murder U.S. citizens, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft. The other defendants include a fighter pilot previously indicted in connection with the 1996 shootdown that killed four people at the hands of the Cuban military during a humanitarian mission in the Florida Straits.

The indictment alleges Castro ordered the opening of fire. The incident occurred on February 24, 1996, when two small planes belonging to the Miami-based exile volunteer group "Brothers to the Rescue" were shot down. The group regularly flew along the 90-mile stretch of water between Cuba and the Florida Keys to search for refugees. Four men—Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales—died when their Cessna aircraft were hit by missiles fired from Cuban Air Force MiG fighter jets.

The indictment was announced amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Cuba, with President Trump threatening military action against the Cuban government, compounded by an energy crisis resulting from a U.S. oil embargo that has led to rotating blackouts and protests in Havana.

The indictment was unveiled at the Freedom Tower in Miami—a site that processed more than half a million Cuban refugees from 1962 to 1974 following Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. Raúl Castro stepped down as president in 2018 and relinquished the post of Communist Party secretary three years later, but remains one of the most powerful figures in Cuban politics. His brother, Fidel Castro, died in 2016 at age 90. It remains unclear whether Raúl will be required to appear before a U.S. court to answer the charges.

The same day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a message in Spanish on X, addressing the Cuban people: "The reason you are forced to live without electricity is not because of the U.S. oil embargo. No electricity, fuel, or food exists because those in control have stolen billions of dollars and spent nothing to help the people."

In response, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Cossio wrote on X: "The reason the U.S. Secretary of State lies continuously and unethically when referring to Cuba, trying to justify the aggression against the Cuban people, is not ignorance or incompetence. He knows full well there is no reason for such cruel and despicable aggression."

Earlier in Washington, a group of Cuban-American members of Congress welcomed the indictment. Representative Maria Elvira Salazar of South Florida said: "Today is a glorious day for Cubans who had to leave their homeland against their will... After six decades of tragedy, misery, suffering, Cubans will soon be free."

Republican Representative Carlos Giménez, also of Florida, stressed: "Too long this incident has had no consequences for those responsible, or at least the person most responsible—Raúl Castro. Why did it take 30 years? I don't know, but the number one job of any government is to protect its citizens."

The developments on May 21 followed an Axios report that Cuba had purchased more than 300 military drones and discussed plans to attack the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel warned on X that any U.S. military action would lead to a "bloodbath," asserting that "Cuba is not a threat."