U.S. indicts Raúl Castro over 1996 plane shootdown

Federal prosecutors in Miami on Wednesday unsealed an indictment charging former Cuban President Raúl Castro with conspiracy and murder for his alleged role in authorizing the 1996 shootdown of two civilian planes, escalating the Trump administration's pressure campaign against Havana.

The 20-page indictment, which a judge approved for unsealing, alleges that Castro — then Cuba's defense minister — met with military leaders in January 1996 and authorized "decisive and deadly action" against aircraft operated by the Florida-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges at a press conference in Miami. "For nearly 30 years, the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice," Blanche said. He added that "this isn't a show indictment" and that the Justice Department intends to try the case.

The charges stem from the February 24, 1996 incident in which Cuban MiG-29 fighter jets shot down two unarmed Cessna aircraft over the Florida Straits, killing three U.S. citizens and one permanent resident. The United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization found that the planes were outside Cuban airspace when attacked, a finding Havana disputes.

What the indictment alleges

The indictment charges Castro, 94, with one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft. Prosecutors allege that "all orders to kill by the Cuban military traveled through [the armed forces'] chain of command with [Raúl] Castro and Fidel Castro as the final decision makers."

Five additional defendants — identified as Cuban fighter pilots — face related charges. Lorenzo Alberto Perez-Perez, one of the pilots allegedly responsible for firing on the planes, was previously indicted in 2003 alongside other officials, though that case never reached trial. Four other pilots are charged with conspiracy for allegedly conducting training missions to intercept civilian aircraft before the shootdown.

The indictment also describes an espionage operation known as Operation Scorpion, in which Cuban intelligence allegedly infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue through the Wasp Network spy ring. The document claims that accused double agent Juan Pablo Roque falsely told the FBI the group would not be flying on the weekend of the attack, and that Cuban officials instructed Roque and another individual not to board the planes that weekend. Roque died in 2025.

Cuban government response

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the indictment on X, calling the allegations "illegitimate and illegal" and repeating Cuba's position that the shootdown occurred in self-defense. He called Brothers to the Rescue a "terrorist" group and accused the United States of trying to justify "intensified aggression against the Cuban people."

Carlos F. de Cossío, Cuba's deputy foreign minister, posted on social media that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "lies" about Cuba because he "knows full well that there is no excuse for such a cruel and ruthless aggression." The posts came after Rubio issued a video message urging the Cuban people to choose "a new path."

Context of U.S.-Cuba tensions

The indictment lands amid severe tensions between Washington and Havana. The Trump administration has threatened tariffs against countries shipping oil to Cuba, contributing to energy shortages and grid failures on the island. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social last week that "Cuba is asking for help, and we are going to talk!!!"

Despite the public hostility, American officials have visited Havana for talks at least twice this year. CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Castro's grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, in Havana last week. According to a U.S. intelligence official, Ratcliffe offered Cuban leaders "a genuine opportunity for collaboration" to stabilize the economy, while warning that the window would not remain open indefinitely.

Secretary Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said in his Wednesday video message that "the only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country." He spoke hours after Blanche declined to detail how U.S. authorities might bring Castro to trial, saying only that "there's all kinds of different ways" to apprehend defendants abroad.

Castro served as Cuba's president from 2008 to 2018 and led the Communist Party until 2021. Cuba does not extradite nationals to the United States, and Castro is widely believed to remain influential behind the scenes despite his formal retirement.

The 1996 shootdown hardened U.S. sanctions against Cuba and led to convictions of several Wasp Network operatives in federal court, including alleged leader Gerardo Hernández, who received a life sentence for murder conspiracy before returning to Cuba in a 2014 prisoner exchange.

Blanche said the indictment sends a message that "the United States and President Trump does not and will not forget its citizens." Whether Castro ever appears in a U.S. courtroom remains uncertain.