The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday unsealed a superseding indictment charging former Cuban President Raúl Castro and five co-defendants in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two ‘Brothers to the Rescue’ aircraft that killed four American nationals, including three U.S. citizens.
The indictment names Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz, 94, along with Lorenzo Alberto Perez-Perez, Emilio José Palacio Blanco, José Fidel Gual Barzaga, Raúl Simanca Cardenas, and Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez for their alleged roles in the February 24, 1996, attack over international waters.
According to prosecutors, the civilian aircraft belonged to Brothers to the Rescue, or Hermanos al Rescate, a Miami-based humanitarian organization that searched for Cuban migrants in distress in the Florida Straits.
Federal authorities allege Cuban military fighter jets operating under a chain of command overseen by Castro, who was head of the military at the time, fired air-to-air missiles at two unarmed civilian Cessna planes flying outside Cuban territory, killing Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales.
“Over three decades later, we are committed to holding those accountable for the murders of four brave Americans: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
“For the first time in nearly 70 years, senior leadership of the Cuban regime has been charged in the United States for alleged acts of violence resulting in the deaths of American citizens,” Blanche added. “President Trump and this Justice Department are committed to restoring a simple principle: if you kill Americans, we will pursue you. No matter who you are. No matter what title you hold.”
The superseding indictment charges conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, two counts of destruction of aircraft, and four counts of murder.
Prosecutors allege Cuban intelligence agents infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue during the early 1990s and relayed details about the group’s flight operations back to the Cuban government. Authorities say Cuban military pilots also conducted training exercises in the weeks leading up to the attack to intercept slow-moving civilian aircraft.
According to the indictment, three Brothers to the Rescue planes departed Opa-locka Airport on the day of the incident for a humanitarian flight south of the 24th parallel. Two of the aircraft, identified by tail numbers N2456S and N5485S, were allegedly shot down in international airspace without warning.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the case represents a long-awaited step toward accountability.
“For 30 years these families have waited for answers – and this FBI never forgot,” Patel said. “We will continue working with our Justice Department partners to bring to justice those who attacked our civilians.”
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said the passage of time did not diminish the significance of the case.
“For 30 years, the families of these men have waited. The Miami community has waited. Our country has waited. Today is a step toward accountability,” he said. “This passage of time does not erase murder. It does not diminish the value of these lives. And it does not weaken our commitment to the rule of law.”
Blanche traveled to South Florida for the announcement, which coincided with a ceremony honoring the victims at the Freedom Tower in Miami. Reding Quiñones described the building as “the Ellis Island for Cuban refugees.”
“It was the main processing center for countless exiles who fled communist Cuba with the hopes of reaching the American dream,” he said, adding that his mother “spent her first night (in) the United States in this very building,” CNN reported.
He said the history of the site underscored “a duty to seek justice for victims, a duty to stand with families who have carried this pain for decades, and a duty to make it clear that those who kill Americans cannot simply wait out American justice.”
The Justice Department said Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez, 65, of Havana, is currently in U.S. custody awaiting sentencing in Florida on an unrelated immigration false statements case.
If convicted, the defendants could face life imprisonment or the death penalty on the murder and conspiracy charges. Castro and Perez-Perez also face up to five years in prison for each count of destruction of aircraft.
The indictment comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Cuba. Blanche said the case was “not a ‘show indictment,’” adding that an arrest warrant had been issued for Castro.
“There was a warrant issued for his arrest, so we expect that he will show up here by his own will or by another way,” Blanche said.
Current Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the indictment, calling it “a political maneuver without any legal basis.”
“The purported accusation against Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, just announced by the US government, merely exposes the arrogance and frustration that the representatives of the empire feel because of the Cuban Revolution’s unwavering steadfastness, and the unity and moral strength of its leadership,” Díaz-Canel wrote on X.
He also defended Cuba’s actions in the 1996 incident, saying the country acted “in legitimate self-defense” after repeated violations of Cuban airspace.
The Cuban government has long maintained that the aircraft violated national airspace and said prior warnings had been issued that unauthorized planes could be intercepted.
Raúl Castro is the brother of the late long-time Cuban leader Fidel Castro and succeeded him as president of the country in 2008 when Fidel stepped down due to health issues. Raúl Castro was president until 2018, when he chose not to seek reelection.
