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The official White House account on X published a cinematic-style image this Wednesday titled "ENEMIES OF AMERICA – NEUTRALIZED, by President Donald J. Trump," accompanied by the message "Justice will be served," featuring Raúl Castro along with three other leaders identified as neutralized enemies of the United States.
The poster, circulated with the official White House logo, features four figures labeled in red: Nicolás Maduro as "ARRESTED," Ali Jamenei as "KILLED," Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki as "KILLED," and Raúl Castro as "INDICTED."
The publication occurs on the same day that the Department of Justice declassified a substituted indictment against the former Cuban leader, approved by a grand jury in the Southern District of Florida on April 23 and made public on May 20.
The charges against Castro, 94 years old, are related to the downing of two civilian planes belonging to the organization Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, over international waters of the Florida Straits.
In that attack, carried out by MiG fighters of the Cuban Revolutionary Air Force, Cuban-Americans Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales were killed. Their bodies were never recovered.
The accusation includes conspiracy to murder American citizens, destruction of civilian aircraft, and four counts of homicide.
Alongside Castro, five Cuban military officers were charged: Emilio José Palacio Blanco, José Fidel Gual Barzaga, Raúl Simanca Cárdenas, Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, and Lorenzo Alberto Pérez-Pérez.
As key evidence, the Department of Justice cites a recording from June 1996 in which Raúl Castro describes the order given to carry out the shootdown: "Well, bring them down in the sea when they appear...".
The reaction from the Cuban regime was immediate. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described the accusation as a “farce”, while Miguel Díaz-Canel came to Castro's defense, stating: “For me, Raúl Castro has been a mentor.”
Although the announcement represents one of the strongest legal moves against the Cuban military leadership in decades, its practical impact is limited because there is no extradition treaty between Cuba and the United States, and Raúl Castro has never set foot on U.S. soil.
The poster released by the White House visually summarizes four key operations of Trump's foreign policy in 2026. Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces in Venezuela on January 3; Ali Jamenei died on February 28 in a joint airstrike by the United States and Israel; and Abu-Bilal Al-Minuki, the leader of ISIS in Africa, was eliminated this past Friday in a coordinated operation with Nigeria.
Raúl Castro is the only one of the four leaders identified with the label "INDICTED" and not as "ARRESTED" or "KILLED," something that analysts interpret as a mechanism of political and symbolic pressure against Havana.
The publication also occurs amid a growing verbal and political escalation by the Trump administration towards Cuba. On May 2, the president stated that the United States “will take Cuba almost immediately” and signed a new executive order tightening sanctions against the regime. Days later, on May 16, he posted on Truth Social messages that included the words “Fire. Boom.”, interpreted as direct warnings to the Cuban authorities.
The case of the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes remained without judicial resolution for nearly 30 years. Although then-President Bill Clinton condemned the attack in 1996, no individual criminal charges were ever filed against those responsible.
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