Lawmaker urges U.S. military action to detain former Cuban official over 1996 aircraft incident

A Staten Island representative whose family fled Cuba called on the U.S. military to detain a 94-year-old former Cuban official and bring him to the United States for trial. The request came as the Department of Justice prepared to unseal a superseding indictment against the official and five others.

The indictment charges the former official and five others with seven counts of murder, conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, and destruction of aircraft. The charges stem from the Feb. 24, 1996, shoot-down of two unarmed civilian aircraft outside Cuban waters, which killed three U.S. citizens and one legal resident.

Background on the 1996 incident The aircraft belonged to Brothers to the Rescue, a Miami-based group that conducted humanitarian flights. The indictment alleges that Cuban military jets fired air-to-air missiles at the planes. The representative joined three Florida members of Congress on Feb.

17 in sending a letter urging the Department of Justice to pursue the case. The indictment was presented on Wednesday.

Concerns about possible flight The representative expressed concern that the former official might leave Cuba for China, Russia, or Iran. She cited the January detention of a Venezuelan official as a possible model for how such an operation could be carried out.

She stated that the Venezuelan operation was executed with precision and speed. The representative said she is not aware of any current plans but argued the former official should face prosecution for the deaths of the U.S. citizens. A demonstration was held in front of the U.S. embassy in Havana on Friday.

The former official's daughter told reporters that Cuban forces are prepared to resist any attempt to detain him.