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The United States Department of Justice will announce this Wednesday a possible federal criminal indictment against Raúl Castro, 94, for his role in the shooting down of two civilian aircraft belonging to Hermanos al Rescate on February 24, 1996, which resulted in the deaths of four Cuban-Americans over international waters in the Straits of Florida, according to several U.S. media sources confirmed.
The announcement will take place at the Freedom Tower in Miami at 1:00 p.m., coinciding with Cuba's Independence Day and a ceremony honoring the victims, nearly 30 years after the attack.
The event will feature the Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, federal prosecutor Jason A. Reding Quiñones, Deputy Director of the FBI Christopher G. Raia, Senator Ashley Moody, and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.
Federal sources familiar with the investigation told NBC News that a grand jury had been hearing evidence in the case and that formal charges would have already been filed ahead of the announcement scheduled for this Wednesday.
The four victims of the downing were Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales. Their bodies were never recovered.
The attack occurred when MiG-29 fighters from the Cuban Revolutionary Air Force destroyed two unarmed civilian Cessna 337 Skymaster aircraft in international waters.
The International Civil Aviation Organization determined that the shooting down violated international law. A third aircraft, which was carrying José Basulto, the founder of the organization, managed to escape.
One of the key elements mentioned regarding the case is an audio recording from June 1996 in which Raúl Castro, then Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, describes the order he gave: "I said to try to shoot them down over our territory, but they would enter Havana and then leave... Well, shoot them down at sea when they show up."
The audio, lasting 11 minutes and 32 seconds, was published in 2006 by journalist Wilfredo Cancio in El Nuevo Herald, and its authenticity was verified by specialists as well as Alcibiades Hidalgo, former personal secretary of Castro.
Declassified FBI documents —more than 10,000 pages— also reveal the existence of an "Operation Venice," planned since February 13, 1996, which points to premeditation of the attack.
The accusation is part of the maximum pressure policy of the Trump administration against the Cuban regime. On May 19, the U.S. imposed sanctions on 11 Cuban officials and three government entities connected to the island's security apparatus.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel described the sanctions as "immoral, illegal, and criminal."
Any potential accusation would, however, have mainly symbolic significance: Raúl Castro has never set foot on U.S. soil, and there is no extradition treaty between Cuba and the U.S., which makes his effective prosecution virtually impossible.
Basulto, whose small plane escaped the attack that February in 1996, encapsulated the sentiment of the victims' families: "I have wished for this for a long time. I have wished for justice, for justice to become a reality."
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