Ex-Cuban President Raúl Castro indicted in US over 1996 Plane Downing

The United States government has unsealed a major federal indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro and five other individuals. The criminal charges stem from the fatal February 24, 1996, shoot-down of two unarmed U.S. civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based Cuban exile humanitarian organization, Brothers to the Rescue.

The update to the case was formally announced during a news conference at Miami’s symbolic Freedom Tower. Federal court records indicate that a grand jury in South Florida returned the superseding indictment, which updates an existing case from 2003.

According to details provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, the 94-year-old former leader—who served as Cuba’s defense minister at the time of the incident—is facing specific criminal charges along with his co-defendants.

The formal charges listed in the federal court record include:

One count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals
Four individual counts of murder
Two counts of destruction of aircraft

The 1996 incident occurred when Cuban MiG fighter jets targeted and destroyed two Cessna aircraft over international waters, resulting in the deaths of four volunteers: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales.

A third plane, carrying the head of the organization, José Basulto, managed to escape the attack. While international investigators concluded the strike happened in international airspace, Cuba has historically maintained that the planes violated or closely approached its sovereign territory.

U.S. officials emphasized that the passage of three decades does not erase the gravity of the acts or diminish the value of the lives lost. Legal representatives reiterated that an indictment is an accusation containing allegations that the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.