U.S. indicts Cuba's Raúl Castro on murder and conspiracy charges for downing of planes in 1996

U.S. Unseals Indictment Charging Raúl Castro and Five Others in 1996 Cuban Military Shootdown of Civilian Planes

Washington — Federal prosecutors in Florida unsealed an indictment on Wednesday charging former Cuban leader Raúl Castro and five other individuals in connection with the Cuban military’s downing of two civilian aircraft in February 1996. The charges were announced at a press conference in Miami.

The indictment, returned by a grand jury in Miami on April 23 and unsealed at prosecutors’ request, names the 94-year-old Castro on one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft. Castro served as Cuba’s defense minister at the time of the incident, later as president from 2008 to 2018, and as head of the Communist Party from 2011 to 2021. The five additional defendants are identified as Cuban fighter pilots.

The charges center on the Cuban air force’s use of a MiG-29 to shoot down two Cessna aircraft operated by the Florida-based group Brothers to the Rescue. Four people died: three U.S. citizens and one lawful permanent resident. Prosecutors state the planes were outside Cuban airspace at the time. Cuba has maintained that the aircraft were inside its airspace and that the action was taken in response to prior violations.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated at the press conference that the families of the four individuals had waited nearly 30 years for justice and that the United States does not forget its citizens. Blanche said the Justice Department intends to pursue the case and noted that multiple methods exist for securing the presence of defendants located abroad. Cuba does not extradite its nationals to the United States.

The indictment alleges that in January 1996, after earlier flights by Brothers to the Rescue in which leaflets were dropped, Castro met with military leaders and authorized decisive action against the planes. It further states that orders regarding the use of force passed through the Cuban armed forces chain of command, with Raúl Castro and Fidel Castro as final decision makers.

Declassified U.S. records from the period document multiple formal Cuban diplomatic protests to the United States regarding Brothers to the Rescue flights. These protests cited repeated entries into Cuban airspace and leaflet drops that called for insurrection. U.S. officials at the time recorded concerns about the potential for escalation arising from continued operations by the group. Cuba has cited these prior incidents in support of its position that the February 1996 flights constituted a security threat.

The indictment also describes efforts by Cuban intelligence to obtain information on Brothers to the Rescue flight plans through a network of individuals in Florida. Several members of that network were previously charged in U.S. courts; one, Gerardo Hernández, was convicted of conspiracy related to the shootdown and later returned to Cuba as part of a 2014 prisoner exchange. The indictment references an individual named Juan Pablo Roque, who had been associated with the group and who left the United States the day before the shootdown. It alleges that Roque provided information to U.S. authorities indicating no flights would occur that weekend. Roque, who died in 2025, denied having acted as a Cuban intelligence operative.

One of the pilots named in the new indictment, Lorenzo Alberto Pérez-Pérez, had been charged in 2003 along with another pilot and the former head of the Cuban air force, who is now deceased. The earlier case did not proceed to trial. The four additional pilots charged in the current indictment are accused of participating in training exercises that involved locating and intercepting small civilian aircraft off the Cuban coast in the period leading up to the incident.

The United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization investigated the shootdown and concluded that the planes were outside Cuban airspace and that Cuban authorities did not attempt radio contact or other non-lethal measures before using force. Cuba has disputed those findings and maintained that the aircraft were within its territory.

At the time, President Bill Clinton condemned the downing. The Organization of American States stated that the action violated international law. Congress subsequently enacted additional sanctions measures directed at Cuba.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla described the indictment as illegitimate and illegal. He reiterated Cuba’s position that the flights posed a threat and referred to Brothers to the Rescue as a terrorist organization. Cuban officials have argued that the charges form part of a broader pattern of U.S. measures against Cuba.

The indictment was unsealed amid ongoing U.S.-Cuba tensions. The Trump administration has imposed or threatened tariffs on countries shipping oil to Cuba, contributing to reported energy shortages on the island. The U.S. attorney’s office in Miami has initiated reviews of potential cases involving Cuban officials related to economic, drug, immigration, and violent crime matters. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called for economic and political changes in Cuba.

President Trump has described the indictment as significant for Cuban Americans and has stated that the United States is prepared to discuss assistance with Cuba while also indicating that certain lines of conduct would not be accepted. He has not ruled out various forms of engagement, including the possibility of negotiations.

U.S. officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, have held meetings in Havana this year, including discussions with Raúl Castro’s grandson. The administration separately offered Cuba $100 million in humanitarian aid. A CIA official stated that Ratcliffe conveyed an offer of collaboration on stabilizing the Cuban economy while noting that the opportunity would not remain open without reciprocal steps.

The article incorporates the full sequence of events, prior diplomatic exchanges documented in declassified records, the content of the indictment, statements from both U.S. and Cuban officials, and the legal history of related cases. All claims regarding actions, statements, and findings are attributed to the sources that made them.