U.S. Grand Jury Indicts Former Cuban President Raúl Castro Over 1996 Downing of Brothers to the Rescue Planes

The announcement was made on Wednesday at Miami's Freedom Tower — a site historically associated with Cuban refugees who fled to Florida — the same date recognized as Cuban Independence Day, when U.S. occupation of the island ended in 1902. The four men killed in the 1996 attack were Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, all members of the Brothers to the Rescue volunteer organization, which flew over the Florida Straits searching for Cuban migrants attempting to reach the U.S. by sea.

According to the indictment, as described by NPR and Fox News, Cuban government spies who had infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue shared details of upcoming flights with the Cuban government. The Cuban military then conducted training missions with fighter pilots to locate and track the organization's planes. The DOJ alleges that Raúl Castro gave the military express approval to use deadly force, and that on February 24, 1996, following orders from Raúl and Fidel Castro, Cuban Air Force aircraft shot down two of the three planes that flew that day. The International Civil Aviation Organization previously concluded the planes were in international airspace; Cuba has maintained they were in Cuban airspace and that the organization was engaged in activities aimed at destabilizing the government.

Acting Attorney General Blanche stated at the announcement that the indictment sends the message that "if you kill Americans, we will pursue you," regardless of title or time elapsed, and added, "This is not a show indictment." An arrest warrant has been issued for Castro, now 94 years old. When asked whether the U.S. planned an extradition operation similar to the one used against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, Blanche said he would provide no additional details, stating only that "we expect he will show up here, either by his own will, or another way."