14ymedio, Havana, 30 May 2026 / The Federal Prosecutor’s Office for the Southern District of Florida maintains that the indictment against Raul Castro for the shootdown, 30 years ago, of the Brothers to the Rescue light aircraft is not symbolic and that it is seeking to bring him before a Miami court. “We are waiting for Raul Castro. This was not a show,” said prosecutor Yara Klukas, second in command of that office, in an interview with Telemundo 51.
The official went further, stating that the former Cuban leader, aged 94, is considered a “fugitive” by the US justice system. The reason, she explained, is that he has not appeared before the court after an arrest warrant was issued against him and the other defendants in the proceedings. Klukas maintained that Washington has several avenues open to secure his appearance before a South Florida jury, though she did not specify what concrete mechanisms have been activated.
The indictment, declassified on 20 May by the United States Department of Justice, revisits one of the most serious episodes in recent history between Havana and Washington: the shootdown, on 24 February 1996, of two civilian light aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue by MiG fighter jets of the Cuban Air Force. Four people were killed in the attack – three US citizens and one Florida resident, all of Cuban origin: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Pena and Pablo Morales.
The charges include conspiracy to kill US citizens, destruction of aircraft, and murder
The planes, the Prosecutor’s Office contends, were flying over international waters and were unarmed. Havana, by contrast, has maintained for three decades that it acted in response to violations of its airspace. That has been the crux of the diplomatic and legal dispute ever since, but the new indictment seeks to move the case beyond the political debate and place it on criminal grounds.
Raul Castro is not the only defendant. The case file also names the MiG crew members Lorenzo Alberto Perez-Perez, Emilio Jose Palacio Blanco, Jose Fidel Gual Barzaga, Raul Simanca Cardenas, and Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez. The charges include conspiracy to kill US citizens, destruction of aircraft, and murder. If convicted, some of the defendants could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty.
The Prosecutor’s Office places Raul Castro at the centre of the military chain of command that, according to Washington, made the attack possible. In 1996, Castro was Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and had authority over the Cuban military apparatus, including the Revolutionary Air Defence and Air Force. For the prosecutors, that position directly links him to the operation that resulted in the shootdown of the aircraft.
Klukas stressed that the indictment was presented before a federal grand jury and that an active arrest warrant exists
The court document also maintains that the Cuban regime infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue through agents of the Wasp Network, who sent information about the organisation’s flights to Havana’s intelligence apparatus. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, that data was used by the Cuban authorities to prepare the military response against the light aircraft.
One of the elements that has reactivated the case is the presence in the United States of Luis Raul Gonzalez-Pardo Rodriguez, a former Cuban military pilot who was convicted in Florida for immigration fraud. Klukas avoided confirming whether he is cooperating with the Prosecutor’s Office, but acknowledged that having “a pilot on this side” in custody opened up new lines of investigation. Once his immigration case is concluded, he will be transferred to Miami to face proceedings for the shootdown.
The case carries a strong symbolic weight for the Cuban exile community, but the Prosecutor’s Office insists it is not merely a political gesture. Klukas stressed that the indictment was presented before a federal grand jury and that an active arrest warrant exists. She also confirmed that her office is working on investigations related to Cuba and did not rule out further action against other regime officials.
The case comes at a time of toughening US policy towards Havana and of growing pressure on figures within the Cuban regime. For Miami, the case represents the possibility of reopening a wound that never healed. For Havana, it poses the threat that one of its most prominent historical figures may suffer the same fate as Nicolas Maduro.
Translated by GH.
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