The Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar stated this Wednesday that she does not expect to see Raúl Castro behind bars in the United States, despite the formal charges announced today against the former Cuban dictator for the downing of two planes from Brothers to the Rescue in 1996.
"I don’t think so. I believe they are far more intelligent than Maduro was, and that they will understand the signals being sent by the White House and that Raúl, his son, and his grandson will leave Cuba," Salazar stated in comments shared on social media.
The representative for district 27 of South Florida directly compared the situation to the capture of Nicolás Maduro, who was detained by U.S. forces on January 3, 2026 in Caracas to face federal charges of narco-terrorism.
According to Salazar, the Cuban regime has the ability to read the political moment and act accordingly, unlike the Venezuelan one.
The congresswoman suggested that the smartest move for the Castros would be to relinquish power and seek exile in a third country.
"Let them go to another country where they have no relevance to the future of Cuba, and that in this future Cuba, all of us Cubans agree to make Cuba like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan."
Still, Salazar celebrated the indictment as a long-delayed act of justice: “It was about time he was brought to American justice, but now Donald Trump is in the White House, and now their time has come.”
The Department of Justice announced today the formal indictment of Raúl Castro, aged 94, during an event held at the Freedom Tower in Miami, coinciding with Cuba's Independence Day.
The charges center on the downing of two unarmed civil Cessna aircraft from Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, when MiG-29 fighters from the Cuban Revolutionary Air Force destroyed them over international waters in the Florida Straits, killing four Cuban Americans: Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales.
The key evidence in the case is an audio recording from June 1996 in which Raúl Castro himself, then minister of the Armed Forces, describes the order he issued: "Knock them down in the sea when they appear; and do not consult those who have the authority."
Salazar, who the day before had warned that the Trump administration was not kidding with the Cuban regime, nuanced her stance this Wednesday by acknowledging that the accusation has a primarily symbolic reach: there is no extradition treaty between Cuba and the U.S., and Castro has never set foot on American soil.
Regarding the 300 drones that the regime supposedly possesses, the congresswoman dismissed them as a real threat: "That's just like a paper tiger. They know they shouldn't use them."
Salazar also called for accountability in the future for all those involved in decades of repression: "Nuremberg trials for everyone at Villa Marista and for all those who have oppressed that poor people for so many years."
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