Florida obtains arrest warrant for Raúl Castro over 1996 plane shootdown
The state charges the former Cuban leader with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder over an attack that killed four men. Cuba disputes the US account of the incident.
Florida has obtained an arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raúl Castro in Miami-Dade County on a state charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder over the February 24, 1996, shootdown of two Brothers to the Rescue aircraft. Four men were killed. The warrant opens a state case alongside a separate federal prosecution over the attack.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said the charge concerns Castro’s alleged role in ordering the aircraft shot down. Fox News Digital, which obtained the warrant, reported that it is a no-bond warrant directing law enforcement to arrest him. The warrant says a judge found probable cause to believe Castro conspired to commit first-degree murder, according to Fox News. The charge and probable-cause finding do not establish guilt.
What the Florida warrant alleges
According to Fox News, the warrant alleges that a plan involving Cuba’s foreign intelligence service moved through the chain of command, with Raúl Castro and his brother Fidel identified as the final decision-makers. It names the four men killed as Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr. The aircraft belonged to Brothers to the Rescue, a Florida-based group that helped Cubans fleeing the country.
Castro was Cuba’s defense minister at the time. He became president in 2008 and retired from that office in 2018. Florida’s allegation concerns his actions in 1996, before he became president.
Cuba disputes the account of the shootdown
US authorities say the unarmed aircraft were over international waters and received no warning before they were shot down. Cuban officials have argued that earlier Brothers to the Rescue flights crossed Cuban airspace despite warnings. Fox News reported that the Cuban government rejects the prosecution and maintains that Cuba acted to defend its sovereignty.
A separate federal case is pending
A superseding federal indictment unveiled in May charged Castro over the same shootdown with conspiracy to kill US nationals, destroying aircraft and four counts of murder, AFP reported. The Florida warrant adds a state charge rather than replacing that federal case.
US Attorney Jason Reding Quinones described the state and federal cases as parallel efforts. ‘We’re committed to pursuing every lawful, prosecutable avenue to bring accountability, including parallel federal and state prosecutions,’ he said in a statement reported by AFP. Neither report establishes that Castro has been arrested under the Florida warrant.
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Sources and context
- Florida issues arrest warrant for Cuban leader Raul CastroAFP, published by Al Jazeera
- Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier secures state arrest warrant for Raúl CastroFox News Digital
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.