The United States has formally charged former Cuban leader Raúl Castro with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and multiple other offences linked to the 1996 shooting down of two civilian aircraft near Cuba.
The charges, announced on Wednesday, accuse Castro and five others of involvement in the destruction of planes belonging to the Cuban-American activist group Brothers to the Rescue, which resulted in the deaths of four people, including three American citizens.
At the time of the incident, Castro was serving as head of Cuba’s armed forces and faced widespread international condemnation over the attack.
Speaking at Freedom Tower in Miami, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced charges including destruction of aircraft and four counts of murder connected to the deaths of Armando Alejandre Jr, Carlos Alberto Costa, Mario Manuel de la Peña and Pablo Morales.
“The United States, and President Trump, does not and will not forget its citizens,” Blanche declared during the announcement.
Some of the charges carry possible life imprisonment or even the death penalty if prosecuted successfully in a U.S. court.
The indictment comes as the administration of Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Cuba’s communist government, demanding major political and economic reforms.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel immediately condemned the charges, calling them “a political manoeuvre without legal basis”.
Díaz-Canel accused Washington of attempting to justify possible military aggression against Cuba while distorting facts surrounding the 1996 incident.
According to the Cuban government, the aircraft were intercepted in what Havana described as “legitimate self-defence within Cuban territorial waters”.
The new case has intensified already strained tensions between Washington and Havana, especially following fresh U.S. sanctions and restrictions targeting Cuba’s economy and energy sector.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also issued a message to the Cuban people earlier Wednesday, claiming President Trump was offering “a new path” for relations between the two countries.
Rubio blamed Cuba’s military-linked conglomerate GAESA for ongoing blackouts and food shortages affecting the island nation.
Analysts say the indictment appears aimed at further pressuring Cuba’s leadership during a period of severe economic hardship and rising political isolation.
Latin American politics expert William LeoGrande suggested the strategy could be designed to force Cuba into concessions through escalating diplomatic and economic pressure.
Questions also emerged over whether the United States could attempt to physically detain Castro, similar to actions taken against foreign leaders in other cases.
Blanche confirmed an arrest warrant had been issued but declined to clarify whether Washington would attempt to capture the 94-year-old former leader.
“We expect he will show up here, by his own will or another way,” Blanche said.
Despite retiring from formal leadership years ago, Raúl Castro — younger brother of late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro — remains an influential figure in Cuba and is still regarded by supporters as one of the surviving architects of the Cuban Revolution.
The announcement drew strong reactions from Cuban exile groups gathered in Miami, many of whom described the charges as long-overdue justice for victims of the 1996 tragedy.
However, experts warned the indictment could push Cuba into adopting an even tougher stance against the United States, further worsening relations between the two longtime adversaries.
