Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced criminal charges against former Cuban President Raul Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles as the Trump administration escalated pressure on the island’s socialist government.
The indictment accuses Castro of ordering the shootdown of two small planes operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro, who turns 95 next month, was Cuba’s defense minister at the time.
The charges, which were secretly filed by a grand jury in April, included murder and destruction of an airplane. Five Cuban military pilots were also charged.
“For nearly 30 years, the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in Miami at a ceremony coinciding with Cuban independence day to honor those killed.
“They were unarmed civilians and were flying humanitarian missions for the rescue and protection of people fleeing oppression across the Florida straits.”
Asked to what lengths American authorities would go to bring Castro to face charges in the US, Blanche said: “There was a warrant issued for his arrest. So we expect that he will show up here, by his own will or by another way.”
Asked what will happen next for Cuba, President Donald Trump said, “We’re going to see.” He added that the US is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to a “failing nation.”
The charges pose a real threat, observers said, following the capture by US forces in January of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to face drug charges in New York.
“He’s going to have to keep his head pretty low from now on,” said Peter Kornbluh, a specialist on the US-Cuba relationship at the National Security Archive at George Washington University.
While it remains unclear whether Castro will ever step foot in a US courtroom, the murder and conspiracy charges carry the potential for life in prison or the death penalty upon conviction.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the indictment as a political stunt that sought only to “justify the folly of a military aggression against Cuba.”
In a message on social media, he accused the US of lying and manipulating events surrounding the shootdown, including ignoring repeated warnings by Cuban officials at the time that they would defend against “dangerous violations” of their airspace “by notorious terrorists.”
Among those attending Wednesday’s ceremony in downtown Miami was Marlene Alejandre-Triana, whose father, Armando Alejandre Jr, was killed while she was away for her first year of college.
Over the years, she spoke to multiple federal investigators about charging Castro, referring to him as “one of the main architects of the crime.” But none until now had the courage to seek justice for her family and the other victims.
“It has been long overdue,” she said standing before a giant photo of her father.
