Florida brings additional charges against former Cuban President Raul Castro
The 95-year-old former Cuban leader is accused of directing spies and ordering the 1996 downing of civilian planes.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday that former Cuban President Raúl Castro is facing additional charges in Florida related to the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles. The state charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder is based in part on a federal indictment announced earlier this year that included charges of murder and destruction of an airplane.
According to the state complaint, Castro, 95, directed spies to infiltrate the exile group Brothers to the Rescue and ordered the attack on their planes. At the time of the incident, Castro was the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and First Vice President of Cuba. Cuban Directorate of Intelligence agents infiltrated the group from the Miami area and the Florida Keys and reported flight plans, investigators said.
On February 24, 1996, three unarmed Cessna aircraft departed Opa-Locka Airport in Miami-Dade County. Cuban MiGs destroyed two of the civilian planes with air-to-air missiles outside of Cuba's territorial waters, killing all four occupants. According to U.S. officials, the aircraft were traveling away from Cuba and received no warning, despite contact with Havana air traffic control.
It remains unclear if Castro will face U.S. justice. Uthmeier stated that an arrest warrant would restrict Castro's ability to leave Cuba and travel to any country with an extradition agreement with the U.S. "I'm not ignorant of the fact that Raúl Castro is an older man who’s probably not looking to march himself into Miami," Uthmeier said. "I think others would get him before the court of law would, but at the end of the day, we stand ready to prosecute the case."
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones noted that the federal indictment laid the groundwork for the state's action. Castro led Cuba as president from 2006 to 2018, handing over power to Miguel Díaz-Canel. While he retired as head of the Cuban Communist Party in 2021, he is still believed by many to hold significant influence.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel previously called the federal indictment a political stunt aimed at justifying aggression against Cuba. He accused the U.S. of manipulating the events surrounding the shootdown.