Florida is seeking to arrest former Cuban leader Raúl Castro over his alleged role in a conspiracy to shoot down and murder three U.S. citizens and one lawful resident aboard two civilian aircraft more than 30 years ago.
The state arrest warrant was announced Monday by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who accused Castro of having spies embedded in America to help carry out the shooting down of two unarmed planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, a humanitarian organization that promotes Cubans’ efforts against the country’s long-standing communist regime.
The former Cuban leader, now in his mid-90s, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and also faces a parallel, federal indictment by the Department of Justice, announced May 20.
“Raúl Castro ordered the murder of four Floridians in cold blood, and Florida will never stop pursuing accountability for that communist conspiracy,” Uthmeier said in a news release. “The Castro regime’s spies operated in our communities, fed intelligence to Havana, and helped put civilian pilots in the crosshairs of Cuban MiGs.”
The four victims in the planes shot down on Feb. 24, 1996, were Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña, and Armando Alejandre Jr.
According to the affidavit, Castro, who was the minister of Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces and first vice president at the time of the incident, was the final decider in authorizing the attack, giving senior military officials an order to “shoot them down at sea when they show up, and those who have the authority are not to consult anyone.”
Cuban spies operating in South Florida’s Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties infiltrated the Brothers to the Rescue organization and reported their flight plans back to Cuban leaders, the news release said.
On the day of the attack, three unarmed Brothers to the Rescue aircraft departed the Opa-Locka Airport in Miami-Dade County. Once they crossed the 24th latitude line, while still outside the island-nation’s territory, Cuban MiGs destroyed two of the civilian Cessnas with missiles, killing the four onboard.
“For thirty years, their families and our Cuban American community have carried this profound loss and refused to let the pursuit of justice fade,” Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz said in the news release. “Today’s action sends a clear message: the passage of time does not diminish the value of these lives or our responsibility to pursue accountability.”
The news release added that the aircraft were traveling away from Cuba and received no warning before the attack.
Elements of the alleged criminal conspiracy, like the gathering of intel by stateside Cuban spies, occurred in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. Chief Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the 11th Judicial Circuit, which encompasses Miami-Dade, signed the arrest warrant.
Florida’s Office of Statewide Prosecution has assumed jurisdiction of the ongoing investigation, Uthmeier said, and additional charges against Castro are possible.
“Under President [Donald] Trump’s administration, we’re committed to pursuing every lawful, prosecutable avenue to bring accountability, including parallel federal and state prosecutions,” U.S. Attorney Jason Quiñones said in the news release.
Florida’s arrest warrant against Castro joins the United States’ increasing pressure campaign against Cuba’s brutal communist rule, as Trump administration officials have long stated their intentions of wanting regime change on the island nation.
On Aug. 6, the State Department announced sanctions against Cuba’s military.
More recently, Trump took the stage at the United Nations on Sept. 22 and called Cuba a failed state, adding that “freedom will be coming” to the island. The Cuban delegation walked out.
A week after that speech, Trump told reporters at the White House that he believed the United States and Cuba could reach an agreement, and American military action would not be necessary.
Prior to that comment, the president hinted in June that a potential Cuba operation could mirror the Caracas, Venezuela, raid on Jan. 3 to apprehend then-Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, both of whom are in custody in New York and pleading not guilty to a number of charges.
Cuban Americans told The Epoch Times they were hopeful for U.S. military action against their home country following the overnight operation in Caracas.
They also reacted with glee over the U.S. indictment against Castro in May.
Alina Fernández Revuelta, the daughter of Fidel Castro, welcomed the charges against her uncle.
“The charges increase pressure on a regime untouchable for decades,” she told The Epoch Times in a text message. “Coming from a family directly connected to that history, you understand the weight of this moment in a different way.”
