U.S. Considers Indictment of Raúl Castro Over 1996 Plane Shootdown
The U.S. is preparing a potential federal indictment of Raúl Castro for the 1996 downing of two civilian planes by Cuban fighter jets. The incident killed four people and occurred during flights by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue.
news24.comU.S. is taking steps toward a federal criminal indictment of Raúl Castro, the 94-year-old former Cuban leader, CBS News reported. The planes belonged to Brothers to the Rescue, a Florida-based group that conducted search-and-rescue operations for people fleeing Cuba.
The incident took place on February 24, 1996. m. Two of the planes were destroyed by a Cuban MiG-29 fighter jet over international waters, killing four people. A third plane returned safely to Florida.
Brothers to the Rescue was founded in the early 1990s by José Basulto. U.S. on rafts. By the mid-1990s, the Cuban government accused the organization of violating its airspace and distributing anti-Castro leaflets. 's International Civil Aviation Organization later concluded that the planes were shot down outside Cuban airspace.
The ICAO found that Cuba did not attempt radio communication or other non-lethal measures before firing.
U.S. responded by tightening sanctions on Cuba and suspending charter flights to the island. Former President Bill Clinton stated that the planes posed no credible threat to Cuba's security and that the attack had no legal basis under international law.
Cuba has maintained that the planes violated its sovereignty. Fidel Castro later said he had given general orders to stop such incursions but did not specifically order the February 24 shootdown. In recent months, some Florida lawmakers and members of Miami's Cuban American community have called for charges against Raúl Castro, who led Cuba's armed forces at the time of the incident.
The possible indictment comes as the Trump administration has imposed stricter measures on Cuba, including an oil blockade and offers of economic aid.
