The correspondent for the newspaper ABC at the White House, David Alandete, posted this Monday on his X account that a source in the Department of Justice in Washington confirmed to him that this Wednesday, an announcement is expected in Miami regarding criminal charges against Raúl Castro for the homicide of Cuban-American exiles during a rescue operation.
"A source in the Justice Department in Washington has confirmed to me that on Wednesday, it is expected to announce in Miami criminal charges against Raúl Castro for the homicide of exiles in a rescue operation," Alandete wrote.
The leak aligns with what the Miami Herald reported, citing two sources familiar with the investigation: that a federal grand jury indictment against Castro would be revealed this Wednesday, May 20, at the Freedom Tower in Miami, during an event organized by the Federal Prosecutor's Office for the Southern District of Florida, coinciding with Cuba's Independence Day.
The charges refer to the shooting down of two unarmed Cessna planes belonging to the organization Hermanos al Rescate on February 24, 1996, when MiG fighters from the Cuban Revolutionary Air Force brought them down over international waters in the Florida Straits, killing four Cuban-Americans: Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales.
Their bodies were never recovered.
The International Civil Aviation Organization determined that the downing occurred in international airspace, which makes it an illegal act under international law.
The central element of the accusation would be an audio from June 1996, revealed by journalist Wilfredo Cancio, in which Raúl Castro —then Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces— is heard describing the decision: "I said to try to take them down on land, but they would enter Havana and leave... Well, take them down at sea when they show up."
Additionally, Congressman James McGovern stated in December 2014 that Castro himself personally confessed to him: "I gave the order. I am responsible."
Federal Judge James Lawrence King ruled at the time that Cuba acted "with an outrageous disregard for international law and basic human rights" by murdering four individuals in international airspace.
The families of three victims received a civil compensation of 187 million dollars; Cuba refused to pay, but Washington authorized the transfer of 93 million dollars from frozen Cuban assets to the relatives.
The accusation comes after years of pressure from Cuban-American congressmen — Rick Scott, Carlos Giménez, Mario Díaz-Balart, and María Elvira Salazar — who formally demanded that the Department of Justice prosecute Castro.
In November 2025, the DOJ charged former Cuban pilot Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez with immigration fraud for concealing his military history related to the shootdown.
In March 2026, the Florida Attorney General reopened the criminal investigation into the case.
Asked about the possible accusation on board Air Force One last Thursday, President Donald Trump refrained from confirming it: "I will let the Department of Justice speak on that. But they need help, as you know."
The leader of Hermanos al Rescate, José Basulto, who piloted the third aircraft and managed to escape the downing, was cautious last Saturday: "I remain skeptical," he declared to Telemundo 51, until the actual criminal charges are brought.
Raúl Castro, who will turn 95 years old in June 2026, still holds the highest formal authority in Cuba as the First Secretary of the Communist Party, although he has not exercised the presidency since 2018.
Three decades after the crime, the potential criminal charge would arrive amid the maximum pressure campaign of the Trump administration, which has imposed more than 240 new sanctions against Cuban entities and officials since January 2026.
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