Raul Castro, the brother of Fidel Castro, was charged with the murder of three U.S. citizens and one green card holder in the 1996 Brothers to the Rescue incident.
By Catholics for Catholics
The Justice Department pronounced charges on Raul Castro, the 94-year-old former president of Cuba, indicting him of murder and a plot to kill American citizens, in the case of the fatal downing 30 years ago of two planes over waters off the coast of his country.
Issued in Federal District Court in Miami, the indictment was a surprising intensification of the Trump administration’s many-sided forceful campaign against Cuba’s Communist government at a moment when President Trump has been seeking to overthrow it, according to a story by The Epoch Times.
The charges stem from Castro’s supposed role in Cuba’s 1996 shooting down of two planes that belonged to a humanitarian group called Brothers to the Rescue, in which three U.S. citizens and one lawful resident perished.
Filed in federal court in Miami, the indictment charged Castro and five co-defendants with one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, four counts of murder, and two counts of destruction of aircraft.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and South Florida U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones detailed the indictment at a press conference in Miami, which is home to many Cuban exiles.
Acting AG Todd Blanche spoke after the DOJ charged former Cuban President Raúl Castro with murder over his alleged role in shooting down two planes that were carrying humanitarian aid in 1996. The incident resulted in the deaths of several Americans. https://t.co/lCWlDfnop6 pic.twitter.com/bTOCgVnum0
— ABC News (@ABC) May 20, 2026
“For nearly 30 years, the families of four murdered Americans have waited for justice,” Blanche said. “My message today is clear. The United States and President Trump do not and will not forget its citizens.”
The younger brother of Fidel Castro, Raul Castro, 94, joined his older brother and Marxist revolutionary figure Che Guevara, in leading the guerrilla warfare that overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959.
But in 2006, when Fidel’s health started to worsen, Raúl Castro assumed leadership of Cuba. He formally became president in 2008.
Raul Castro headed Cuba until his retirement in April 2021, when he transferred power to the current president, Miguel Díaz-Canel.
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