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Federal prosecutor Yara Klukas, second in command of the Southern District of Florida's Office of the Prosecutor, confirmed that the United States government has already activated concrete measures to bring Raúl Castro before a court in Miami, and officially declared him a fugitive from U.S. justice.
"Raúl Castro is a fugitive because he has not appeared in court. Since last Wednesday, there has been an arrest warrant issued against him and the other pilots, and to date, he has not shown up," Klukas stated in remarks to Gloria Ordaz from Telemundo 51.
The prosecutor, born in Cuba and arriving in the United States at the age of six, was emphatic about the intentions of the Prosecutor's Office: "We are waiting for Raúl Castro. This was not a show. He will have his day in court before a jury in South Florida."
Klukas explained that the case gained new momentum when authorities managed to take former Cuban pilot Luis Raúl González Pardo, one of the five co-defendants into custody on U.S. soil.
"When we managed to have a pilot on this side, that’s when the new investigations began and that paved the way," he noted.
González Pardo was sentenced last Wednesday to seven months in prison for immigration fraud in a federal court in Jacksonville, after lying about his military background when applying for residency in the United States.
According to Klukas, he will soon be transferred to Miami to face trial for the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue aircraft in 1996. "Now that case is over, he is being moved to Miami to confront this trial. The trial is starting now," said the prosecutor.
The formal charges against Castro, 94 years old, were approved by a grand jury on April 23, 2026, and declassified on May 20.
The charges include conspiracy to murder American citizens, destruction of aircraft, and four individual charges of murder for the deaths of four pilots, which occurred on February 24, 1996, when Cuban Army MiG-29 fighters shot down two Cessna planes from Brothers to the Rescue over international waters in the Florida Strait.
Klukas denied that it is merely a political accusation: "This is not just a paper accusation. Every day we bring charges against people who are in other parts of the world." He added: "We didn't fabricate this case. I didn't make it up, the federal prosecutor Jason didn't make it up."
As precedents indicating that the process may succeed, the prosecutor mentioned the capture of Nicolás Maduro and the extradition of the Venezuelan businessman Alex Saab, who arrived in Miami days ago. "We have many avenues to ensure that these defendants appear here in court," she stated.
Federal prosecutor Jason Reding Quiñones has made cases related to Cuba a priority since he took office, according to Klukas. "When Jason steps into this position, he asks, 'Bring me all the Cuba-related cases.' And, to our surprise, there weren't many cases; the investigations had been closed or there weren't many leads," he recounted.
The prosecutor also confirmed the establishment of a task force dedicated solely to investigations related to Cuba and did not rule out future charges against other figures of the regime. "We have many investigations related to this matter," she warned.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio had already described Castro as a "fugitive from American justice" on May 21 and promised to bring him to the United States without revealing how.
Klukas, when asked whether Castro could be found guilty and face life imprisonment or the death penalty, stated that a potential reward for his arrest would depend on a decision by President Trump or Rubio himself.
In response to Mariela Castro's public statement that her father "will not be kidnapped," the prosecutor issued a direct warning: "Time will tell how this situation will end, but we have seen examples in other times… Maduro's plan has shown that it is possible."
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