The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, described on Wednesday the federal accusation presented by the United States against Raúl Castro and five Cuban military officials as a "fraudulent" act with no "legal, political, or moral basis." He also denounced that major international and U.S. media outlets are fueling the idea of an inevitable military aggression against the island.
The indictment, presented by a federal grand jury in Miami on April 23, 2026 and declassified this Wednesday, charges Castro and five military officials with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of homicide for the downing of two planes belonging to the organization Hermanos al Rescate on February 24, 1996, in which four Cuban Americans died.
Cossío framed the accusation as part of an ongoing aggressive escalation throughout this year, rather than an isolated incident. "This is not an isolated event; it is part of that aggression, a cowardly act within that aggression," he stated.
The official also pointed out that the accusation amounts to "a political favor" to what he described as a clique that, due to "the corrupt nature of the American political system," wields disproportionate influence over the current government's decisions.
Regarding the role of the media, Cossío was straightforward: he stated that both major U.S. headlines and international publications are "pushing and fueling the idea of the supposed inevitability of military aggression" against Cuba, and that some may be motivated by requests from the U.S. government or by a thirst for sensationalism.
To defend the accused military personnel, Cossío reviewed the background of the 1996 incident. He recalled that between 1994 and 1996, there were dozens of air incursions by Brothers to the Rescue over Cuban territory, and that Cuba diplomatically protested on 25 occasions to the State Department and the Federal Aviation Administration.
On January 15, 1996, forty days before the downing, Havana issued a public statement warning that "any aircraft flying over its airspace without authorization would be intercepted and, if necessary, neutralized."
Cossío emphasized that on the day of the events, the State Department, the National Security Council, and the civil aviation authority of the United States "were aware that this flight incursion was going to occur" since the night before. "The White House knew about it and did not act. They made the decision not to act. In other words, there was complicity in that event," he stated.
He also cited declassified documents published on Wednesday by the National Security Archive in which officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the State Department acknowledged the danger of incursions and anticipated a "catastrophic scenario."
The deputy minister firmly defended the accused: "The comrades here charged in this accusation acted in fulfillment of a duty. The duty to protect the airspace, the homeland, and the peace of the Cubans. Therefore, what was done today was not an act of justice; it was an act of injustice."
The escalation between Washington and Havana in recent weeks includes new sanctions against the military conglomerate GAESA, statements from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth before Congress labeling Cuba as a "threat to national security," and an intelligence report regarding the alleged acquisition of over 300 military drones of Russian and Iranian origin.
The president Díaz-Canel described the accusation as a "political maneuver with no legal basis," while the chancellor Bruno Rodríguez called it a "farce."
Cossío concluded with a direct warning: "Any attempt to use this excuse for action against these comrades within Cuba will encounter fierce resistance from the Cuban people."
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