Jason Reding Quiñones, federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Florida and architect of the formal charges against former Cuban dictator Raúl Castro, submitted his resignation this Friday to President Donald Trump with immediate effect, becoming the third high-ranking official of the Department of Justice to leave their position within just two days following the Republican loss in the midterm elections.
Quiñones' exit was not voluntary, according to sources quoted by CNN. The prosecutor was pressured to resign by the leadership of the Department of Justice, despite having driven some of the most controversial investigations that President Trump wanted.
In a post on X, Quiñones did not provide reasons for his departure and simply thanked the trust of the president. "Public service has been the honor of my life. But leading the Federal Prosecutor's Office in my home district has been especially meaningful," he wrote. "I leave with immense pride in what we achieved together and with deep gratitude for the opportunity to serve our great nation."
The Attorney General Todd Blanche publicly acknowledged Quiñones' career when announcing his departure. "We are grateful for Jason's leadership in the fight against violent crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and transnational crime, including the indictment of Raúl Castro," wrote Blanche on X.
The greatest achievement of Quiñones as head of the Florida Southern District Attorney's Office was precisely that historic accusation: the federal indictment against Raúl Castro for the downing of two small aircraft belonging to the organization Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, which resulted in the deaths of four people.
The charges include conspiracy to assassinate U.S. citizens, destruction of aircraft, and four counts of homicide. In October, a judge in Miami also signed a state arrest warrant against Castro for conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, without bail.
However, Quiñones' other major bet ended in failure. According to a report by CNN, the prosecutor led the investigation into the so-called "grand conspiracy," which used a grand jury in Fort Pierce, Florida, to target former officials from the Obama and Biden administrations for allegedly conspiring against Trump.
Quiñones promised to bring charges within months, but he never did, which eroded the confidence of the leadership at the Department of Justice in him.
His frequent trips to Washington outside his district only reminded his superiors of that failure, and the announcement of his departure took many by surprise in the federal prosecutor's office in Miami.
Quiñones, a native of Miami and a graduate of the Florida International University College of Law in 2008, had been nominated for the position by Trump in February 2025, while serving as a trial judge in Miami-Dade County.
The Department of Justice described him as a "decorated veteran with over 23 years of military service" in the United States Air Force and Army.
Her resignation adds to those of Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division, who left the position on Thursday, and John Eisenberg, head of the National Security Division, who also announced his departure on Friday.
The three resignations come days after the Democrats regained control of the Senate — with at least 54 seats — and the House of Representatives in Tuesday's elections.
The simultaneous departure of these three officials seriously complicates the Trump administration's ability to fill those positions through the confirmation process, as the Senate is now in the hands of the opposition.
The White House may resort to appointing interim leaders for the remainder of the presidential term.
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