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The Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar reacted strongly this Wednesday to the announcement of federal criminal charges against Raúl Castro and stated that the former Cuban dictator "thought he would die without facing accountability for his crimes," but that "justice is finally knocking on his door."
The message, posted on her account on X, came after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced at the Freedom Tower in Miami the charges against Castro for the downing of two planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, an attack that resulted in the deaths of four Cuban Americans.
"I applaud the Trump Administration for finally confronting this bloodthirsty dictator with hands stained with innocent blood," wrote Salazar.
The congresswoman for Florida's 27th District emphasized that Castro "operated with total impunity for decades just 90 miles from our shores while Washington chose silence and complicity."
Salazar was straightforward in characterizing the attack: “The murder of innocent American citizens and members of Brothers to the Rescue was not an accident. It was a brutal and cowardly act against men who risked their lives rescuing Cubans fleeing tyranny in the Florida Strait.”
That same day, at a press conference at the Capitol alongside Congress members Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez, and Nicole Malliotakis, Salazar stated that "today marks the end of the Castro family" and delivered a direct message to the Cuban nomenklatura: "Understand well that your days are numbered. A federal indictment is a serious matter."
As an explicit warning, the congresswoman invoked the case of Nicolás Maduro, captured in Caracas on January 3, 2026 by U.S. forces and currently imprisoned in New York: "Maduro thought President Trump wasn't serious. Look where Maduro is today."
Salazar also offered an exit for the Castros: "They have the option of not ending up where Maduro is. They can leave now and leave the island in the hands of the opposition, in the hands of freedom."
The charges against Raúl Castro include conspiracy to assassinate American citizens, two charges of destruction of aircraft, and four individual charges of homicide for the deaths of Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario Manuel de la Peña, and Pablo Morales.
If found guilty, the 94-year-old former president —who will turn 95 on June 3— could face the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Alongside Castro, five Cuban military personnel were indicted, including Lorenzo Alberto Pérez-Pérez, the pilot who fired the missiles, and Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, who had already been under U.S. custody since November 2025 for immigration fraud.
The White House published this Wednesday an image entitled "Enemies of America — Neutralized, by President Donald J. Trump," featuring Raúl Castro tagged as "ACCUSED," alongside Maduro, the supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, and the leader of ISIS in Africa.
Salazar closed his message on X with a statement that captures the sentiment of the Cuban-American community: "Under President Trump, the era of appeasing tyrants has ended. Cuba will be free."
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