Just as the U.S. Department of Justice announced the federal indictment of Raúl Castro for the downing of the planes from Brothers to the Rescue, two of the former Cuban agents convicted for their roles in that operation publicly came forward to defend the regime's narrative.
René González and Gerardo Hernández, two of the Cuban spies from the Wasp Network, continue to claim that the pilots of Brothers to the Rescue were "CIA-trained operatives" and not "humanitarian aviators."
The paradox is hard to overlook: both men were convicted precisely for their involvement in Cuban intelligence operations related to the downing on February 24, 1996, when Cuban Air Force MiG fighters destroyed two Cessna aircraft over international waters in the Florida Strait, killing four Cuban-American volunteers.
In an interview with the official channel Razones de Cuba, René asserts that the founders of the organization "were trained in sabotage, terrorism, and infiltration techniques against propaganda by the CIA" since the 1960s.
"When they came to violate Cuban waters, they were free Cubans coming to claim a right. But when Cuba reacted in self-defense, then they were American citizens demanding that the U.S. government do something to protect them," González argues.
What he omits is that he himself infiltrated Brothers to the Rescue in May 1991, carried out 54 missions as a pilot with the organization, and transmitted information about their flights and activities to Havana, according to statements from founder José Basulto.
He was sentenced in 2001 to 15 years in prison for conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign government, and was released in December 2014 as part of the diplomatic thaw between the Obama administration and Cuba.
Gerardo Hernández, for his part, was the head of the Wasp Network in Miami and received two life sentences plus 15 months for conspiracy to commit espionage and, specifically, for conspiracy to commit murder related to the downing of the aircraft.
This Wednesday, it was published on Facebook that "if they open the 'Pandora's box', many truths will finally come to light, and many myths will fall," referring to the shootdown on February 24, 1996.
He also wrote that "the United States could have prevented what happened" because Cuba sent at least 16 diplomatic notes complaining about the repeated violations of its airspace prior to the attack.
The four victims of the shooting down were Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales, all Cuban-American volunteers whose bodies were never recovered.
The indictment of Raúl Castro, aged 94, is based on an audio recording from June 1996 in which the then-Minister of Defense admits to having given the order: "Well, throw them in the sea when they show up; and do not consult those who have the authority."
The accusation holds mainly symbolic significance as there is no extradition treaty between Cuba and the United States, but the founder of Hermanos al Rescate, José Basulto, captured the sentiment of the victims' families: "I have wished for this for a long time. I have wished for justice to be served, for justice to become a reality."
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