A judge in Miami signed a state arrest warrant with no bail for Raúl Castro, age 95, for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in connection with the downing of two planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue that occurred on February 24, 1996.
The order was signed last Thursday by Ariana Fajardo Orshan, chief judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, as reported by Telemundo 51.
This Monday, Florida's Attorney General, James Uthmeier, publicly presented the details of the order at a press conference held at Florida International University (FIU), an institution with a strong symbolic connection to the Cuban-American community in Miami.
The state order stipulates that, if Castro is found outside the state, the authorities are authorized to seek his return to Florida.
The judicial documentation states that two Cuban agents infiltrated Hermanos al Rescate —with operations in Miami and Key West— collected and transmitted information about the flights and conducted surveillance activities related to the preparation of the attack, which establishes state jurisdiction.
This legal action is independent of the federal charges filed by the Department of Justice on May 20, 2026, which charged Castro and five other former Cuban military personnel with seven counts, including four counts of individual murder and one count of conspiracy to kill American citizens.
Since that date, Castro is considered a fugitive from federal justice for failing to appear before the court.
The only accused currently in U.S. custody is Luis Raúl González-Pardo Rodríguez, a former lieutenant colonel of the Cuban Air Force, transferred to Miami last June to face federal charges, to which he pleaded not guilty.
The case originates from the shooting down of two Cessna 337 aircraft over international waters in the Florida straits. Four men died: Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña —U.S. citizens—and Pablo Morales, a legal resident. Their bodies were never recovered.
Castro was then the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba. The centerpiece of the evidence against him is an audio recording from June 1996, made public in 2006 by journalist Wilfredo Cancio, in which the dictator acknowledges giving the order. In that recording, he can be heard saying: "Take them down in the sea when they appear; and do not consult those who have the authority."
Uthmeier reopened the state investigation on March 4, 2026, arguing that the case had been stalled during the previous administration. "We will not leave any detail unexamined," the prosecutor stated at that time.
Although neither the state nor the federal orders can be executed while Castro remains in Cuba, given that there is no extradition treaty between the two countries, the process accumulates increasing legal and symbolic weight in the international condemnation of the crimes of the Castro regime.
The press conference this Monday at FIU confirmed that the state order adds a second independent legal avenue to pursue Castro for the 1996 murders.
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