U.S. charges Raúl Castro over 1996 plane downing.
Indictment targets key Cuban communist leader.
Cuba dismisses charges as political maneuver.
Atlas AI
The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday it has charged former Cuban President Raúl Castro with conspiracy to murder U.S.
nationals and other crimes tied to the 1996 downing of two civilian aircraft. The case, announced in Miami by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, revives an indictment first brought in 2003.
Officials said the charges accuse Castro, 94, and five others of shooting down planes operated by the Cuban American group Brothers to the Rescue. Four people were killed, including three U.S.
citizens.
Blanche said prosecutors also charged Castro with destruction of aircraft and brought four counts of murder over the deaths of Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Alberto Costa, Mario Manuel de la Peña, and Pablo Morales. A warrant has been issued for Castro’s arrest, officials said.
The Justice Department’s announcement targets a prominent figure in Cuba’s communist leadership as Washington increases pressure on the island’s one-party government to enact political and economic reforms.
Cuba calls charges political
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel rejected the U.S. move, calling it a “political manoeuvre, devoid of any legal foundation.” He said Cuba acted in “legitimate self-defence within its jurisdictional waters.”
U.S. officials have said the case relates to the 1996 incident involving Brothers to the Rescue aircraft flying between Cuba and Florida. The renewed charges revive a longstanding dispute over responsibility for the shootdown and the legal jurisdiction surrounding it.
Sanctions and economic pressure
In parallel with the legal action, the United States has imposed sanctions on Cuba and an oil blockade, steps that U.S. officials say are intended to increase pressure on the government. The measures have been linked to blackouts and food shortages on the island, according to the account in the article.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has blamed those hardships on GAESA, a Cuban military-run conglomerate. Díaz-Canel, in turn, has accused the United States of imposing collective punishment on the Cuban people.
Officials did not give a timeline for any next legal steps beyond the arrest warrant. The case is likely to keep attention on U.S.-Cuba relations and on the broader pressure campaign Washington is pursuing toward Havana.