The decision by Florida to issue an arrest warrant against Raúl Castro for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder has legal implications that go beyond the duplication of charges related to the downing of the Hermanos al Rescate planes in 1996: no president of the United States could grant clemency to the former Cuban leader for a crime prosecuted under state laws.
The Florida Attorney General, James Uthmeier, initiated the investigation that led to a warrant signed by Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan, President of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, on October 16. This measure adds to the federal charges filed in May 2026 against Castro and five other former Cuban military personnel.
"If a Communist supporter were to return to the White House, he cannot pardon, he cannot commute, he cannot shield these dictators from our state procedures." Uthmeier warned this Monday at a press conference held at Florida International University (FIU).
The coexistence of both procedures introduces a fundamental difference: while the U.S. President has constitutional authority to grant pardons for federal offenses, he lacks the authority to pardon state crimes. That power belongs to the competent institutions of each state, according to their legislation.
An accusation that would survive a federal pardon
Uthmeier himself emphasized the significance of this difference while presenting the new arrest warrant. According to the newspaper El País, the Florida Prosecutor's Office pointed out that state action would prevent a future U.S. government from neutralizing the criminal prosecution through the exercise of presidential pardon powers.
The distinction is outlined in the U.S. Constitution: the president can grant pardons for offenses against the United States, that is, federal crimes, but not for violations of state criminal laws.
In Florida, Article IV, Section 8 of its Constitution and Article 940.01 of its statutes grant the governor the power to grant state pardons, with the approval of at least two members of their cabinet. Therefore, the case against Castro is not entirely outside the possibility of clemency, but specifically beyond the scope of presidential pardon.
This autonomy becomes particularly significant because both procedures refer to the same event: the shooting down, on February 24, 1996, of two civilian planes from Hermanos al Rescate over international waters, which resulted in the deaths of Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales.
While the federal indictment filed in May includes seven charges against Castro and five other former Cuban military members, the state order is based on a charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
The jurisdiction of Florida and Cuban spies
The state prosecutor's office claims it has jurisdiction over the case because part of the conspiracy occurred in Florida, involving Cuban agents infiltrated in Hermanos al Rescate.
According to the sworn statement supporting the order, those spies transmitted information about the organization's flights, monitored military facilities in Key West, and were instructed not to travel on their aircraft during the days scheduled for the operation.
One of them left Florida and returned to Cuba on February 23, 1996, just a day before the attack.
Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan determined that these elements provided probable cause to attribute to Castro participation in a criminal conspiracy that took place in part in Florida, according to the Miami Herald, which had access to the arrest warrant and the affidavit.
A second legal avenue, but with obstacles to implement it
The new order does not mean that Castro will soon appear before a U.S. court. The former leader remains in Cuba, where U.S. authorities lack the ability to directly execute an arrest warrant.
The absence of an operational extradition mechanism between both countries currently keeps the possibility of transferring him to the United States blocked. The state order stipulates that Florida will request his extradition if he is detained in another U.S. jurisdiction.
It does not imply that a potential federal pardon is currently a possibility considered by the Trump administration. The significance of the state initiative lies in its preservation of a path for criminal prosecution that is independent of the decisions made by the White House, even under future administrations.
Thirty years after the downing, Florida has initiated a process whose continuation does not rely on presidential powers of pardon. However, its outcome will still be contingent upon the possibility of capturing Castro, the strength of the evidence, and the decisions of the courts.
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