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The Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, described on Wednesday the federal criminal charges presented by the U.S. Department of Justice against former leader Raúl Castro as a "farce (...) illegitimate and illegal," in a Facebook post that was issued hours after the official announcement in Miami.
"We condemn the farce of the US government in presenting an illegitimate and illegal accusation against the Leader of the Cuban Revolution, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz," Rodríguez wrote on the social network.
The chancellor defended the downing of the two planes from Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996 as an act in "Cuban airspace and in legitimate self-defense," rejecting the claim that it occurred over international waters of the Florida Straits, where the U.S. investigation places the events.
Rodríguez described the accusation as an attempt to "reinforce the fraudulent narrative to justify the heightened aggression against the Cuban people" and accused the United States government of being "complicit in the organization and execution of terrorist and violent actions against Cuba."
He went further by pointing out that Washington "has recently committed crimes of extrajudicial executions against nearly 200 people in international waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific, for alleged links to drug trafficking operations."
He closed his message with the phrase "Cuba will not renounce its inalienable right to legitimate defense" and the hashtag #RaúlEsRaúl.
The chancellor's statement came hours after the acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges at the Freedom Tower in Miami — a symbol of the Cuban exile — on a date filled with significance: Cuban Independence Day.
The charges, approved by a grand jury on April 23, 2026 and declassified this Wednesday, include conspiracy to assassinate American citizens, destruction of aircraft, and four individual counts of murder.
Alongside Raúl Castro, five Cuban military officers were accused: Lorenzo Alberto Pérez-Pérez, Emilio José Palacio Blanco, José Fidel Gual Barzaga, Raúl Simanca Cárdenas, and Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez.
The four victims —Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario Manuel de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, all residents of Miami— were killed when MiG-29 fighter jets from the Revolutionary Air Force destroyed their unarmed Cessna 337 Skymaster. Their bodies were never recovered.
The central piece of the accusation is an audio recording from June 1996 in which Castro describes the order he gave: “Shoot them down over the sea when they appear; and do not consult those who have the authority.” This is supplemented by over 10,000 pages of declassified FBI documents revealing a “Operation Venecia” planned since February 13, 1996.
Blanche summarized the government's position with a straightforward phrase: "If you kill Americans, we will hunt you down."
On that same day, Rodríguez also lashed out at Secretary of State Marco Rubio, labeling him a "spokesperson for corrupt and vengeful interests concentrated in South Florida."
Despite the historical weight of the announcement, the accusation has mainly symbolic significance: Raúl Castro is 94 years old, has never set foot on U.S. soil, and there is no extradition treaty between Cuba and the United States.
The congresswoman María Elvira Salazar celebrated the accusation with a statement that summarizes the feelings of the exile: "Today marks the beginning of the end for the Castro family."
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