U.S. Justice Department Considers Indicting Raúl Castro in 1996 Shootdown of Exile Planes

The Justice Department is preparing to seek an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, three people familiar with the matter said on Friday. One of the people said the potential charges center on Castro's alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of planes operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro was defense minister at the time.

U.S. Cuba's shootdown of two Cessna aircraft operated by Brothers to the Rescue occurred on Feb.

26, 1996. Missiles fired by Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets downed two unarmed civilian Cessna planes just beyond Cuba's airspace that day, according to an International Civil Aviation Organization investigation. A third plane carrying the organization’s leader narrowly escaped.

Any criminal charge against Castro would need to be approved by a grand jury. The Cuban government did not respond to a request for comment on the potential indictment, which was reported earlier by CBS. The three people familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation.

U.S. demands. The Trump administration ordered an economic blockade that choked off fuel shipments to Cuba.

The economic blockade led to severe blackouts, food shortages, and a collapse in economic activity across Cuba. U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who were flown to the United States to face drug trafficking and other charges.

Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores have pleaded not guilty. The approach against Cuba bears some resemblance to the one used against Venezuela. " President Donald Trump made the statements about Cuba aboard Air Force One on Friday.

"But they need help, as you know, and you talk about a declining country — they are really a nation or a country in decline, so we’re going to see," Trump told reporters. CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials, including Castro’s grandson, during a visit to Havana on Thursday. The director made clear that time was short and Cuba needed to act, according to a CIA official.

U.S. is extending a genuine opportunity for collaboration, and -- as evidenced by Venezuela -- President Trump must be taken seriously,” the official said. Raúl Castro is 94 years old.

Raúl Castro took over as president from his brother Fidel Castro in 2011. Raúl Castro handed power to Miguel Díaz-Canel in 2019. Raúl Castro retired as head of the Cuban Communist Party in 2021. Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act shortly after the 1996 shootdown.

U.S. trade embargo enacted in 1962. U.S. has convicted only one person of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown. Gerardo Hernández was sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to commit murder in the shootdown case and was released by President Barack Obama in 2014.

Two fighter jet pilots and their commanding officer have been indicted in the shootdown case but live in Cuba.