The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to unseal an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro as early as , according to multiple reports from U.S. officials.
The expected charges center on his alleged role in ordering the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, according to a report from CBS News.
The 1996 incident occurred on February 24, when Cuban MiG fighter jets shot down two unarmed Cessna aircraft flying in international airspace north of Cuba. The planes were part of Brothers to the Rescue, a nonprofit organization that conducted search-and-rescue missions for Cuban rafters attempting to reach the United States and dropped leaflets over Cuba.
Four people were killed in the attack, including Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, all of whom were U.S. citizens. Armando Alejandre, a U.S. permanent resident, was also killed.
At the time, Raúl Castro served as Cuba’s minister of defense. Lawmakers and reports have cited evidence, including intercepted communications and later admissions by Cuban officials, linking the order to the highest levels of the Cuban military.
According to a report from Reuters, which cited a senior DOJ official with knowledge of the indictment, the Trump administration plans to announce charges on May 20 in Miami. The date coincides with Cuban Independence Day (marking the 1902 establishment of the Republic of Cuba), which holds symbolic importance in Miami’s Cuban exile community.
The DOJ has scheduled an event at Freedom Tower for 1 p.m. Eastern Time, when the charges are expected to be announced. This historic site, built in 1925 and modeled after the Giralda Tower in Seville, served as a processing center for Cuban refugees in the 1960s and is a prominent symbol of Cuban exile history and freedom.
Attendees are expected to include high-level officials such as Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason A. Reding Quiñones, FBI Deputy Director Christopher G. Raia, and Florida officials including Attorney General James Uthmeier and Senator Ashley Moody. Victims’ families and members of the Cuban exile community are also expected to be in attendance.
