The Government of USA made public this Wednesday, May 20, a federal accusation against the former Cuban president Raul Castropointing out crimes related to the death of four airmen of the humanitarian organization Brothers to the Rescuein an event that occurred 30 years ago off the coast of Cuba.
The accusation, filed initially in April before a federal court in Florida and kept under wraps until now, was announced by the acting attorney general, Todd Blancheduring an event held at the Freedom Tower in Miami, a historical symbol of the Cuban exile.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ)Castro is accused of murder, conspiracy to kill US citizens and destruction of aircraft, charges linked to the downing of two of the organization’s small planes in February 1996.
What happened in 1996?
The case dates back to the moment when Cuban military planes shot down two of the three aircraft Brothers to the Rescuean organization that carried out overflights in the maritime area between Florida and Cuba to locate and assist rafters.
Four people were killed in the attack: three U.S. citizens and one legal U.S. resident.
At the time, Raul Castro He held the position of Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba.
While the Cuban Government maintained that the aircraft violated its airspace, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) later concluded that the shootdown occurred in international waters.
Could face life in prison
US authorities indicated that the charges could lead to life imprisonment and even the death penalty for each of the four murders attributed to the former Cuban president.
The accusation also includes other Cuban soldiers accused of participating in the air operation.
However, the US Government did not detail what the next steps in the judicial process will be or how it will seek to bring Castro to justice, taking into account that he remains in Cuba and that both countries maintain frozen relations.
During the conference in Miami, Todd Blanche assured that Castro will appear before US justice “by his own will or otherwise”, although he avoided confirming whether there is an capture plan similar to the operation carried out in Venezuela against Nicolás Maduro last January.
Cuba rejects the accusation
The Cuban Government responded by describing the accusation as “a political action” and assured that it had no legal basis.
The president Miguel Diaz-Canel He publicly defended Raúl Castro and affirmed that the attack against the small planes occurred in “legitimate defense” within Cuban jurisdictional waters.
The alleged accusation against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, which the US Government has just communicated, only demonstrates the arrogance and frustration that it provokes in the representatives of the empire, the unbreakable firmness of the Cuban Revolution and the unity and… pic.twitter.com/0r0wV0kUX9
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) May 20, 2026
Havana also accused Washington of manipulating the events that occurred in 1996 and recalled that it had previously denounced alleged air violations carried out by the organization Brothers to the Rescue.
New pressure on Cuba
The accusation against Raúl Castro occurs amid increasing tensions between USA and Cuba during the administration of donald trumpwhich has tightened economic and energy sanctions against the island.
Trump assured this Wednesday that the accusation does not represent a new escalation against Cuba, although he stated that “that place is falling apart,” in reference to the Cuban economic situation.
The judicial process also It was celebrated by sectors of the Cuban exile in Miami, where anti-Castro organizations assured that the measure represents “the end of impunity” for leaders of the Cuban regime.
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