The key facts

  • The warrant was signed by Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan; the charge is conspiracy to commit first-degree murder; Castro is ordered held without bail.
  • On February 24, 1996, Cuban fighter jets shot down two Brothers to the Rescue planes, killing Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Pena and Armando Alejandre Jr.
  • This is the second warrant in the case: in May Castro was federally charged; Cuba and the US disagree on where the incident occurred.

Arrest warrant and charges

A judge in Miami has issued an arrest warrant for 95-year-old former Cuban president Raul Castro in connection with the 1996 shootdown of two civilian planes, in which four people died, including three US citizens. The warrant charges Castro with conspiring with Cuban intelligence agents to commit first-degree murder. According to the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times, citing court documents, the warrant was signed on Friday following an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The warrant was signed by Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit Ariana Fajardo Orshan; the court ordered Castro held in custody without bail.

Basis for Florida's jurisdiction

According to the affidavit, Florida believes it has jurisdiction because two Cuban intelligence agents allegedly 'infiltrated' the Brothers to the Rescue organization in Miami and Key West and passed information about flights to Cuban authorities before the incident. The document states that the spy network instructed informants not to fly with the group from February 24 to 27, 1996; one of the informants left Florida and returned to Cuba on February 23, the day before the planes were shot down. The affidavit says there is 'probable cause to believe' that Raul Modesto Castro Ruz agreed with others to commit first-degree murder of the people aboard the group's planes. It also notes that the intelligence agents surveilled a naval air station.

The February 24, 1996 incident

On February 24, 1996, Cuban fighter jets shot down two of three unarmed Cessna planes flown by Brothers to the Rescue — a Florida-based nonprofit organization of Cuban exiles known for its opposition to the Cuban government. All four people aboard were killed: Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Pena and Armando Alejandre Jr. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the planes took off from Opa-Locka airport in Miami-Dade County and were flying away from Cuba. Cuba said the planes were in its airspace and justified the action as self-defense; the US maintained they were flying over international waters — a position later supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which concluded the incident occurred outside Cuban airspace.

Prior actions and statements

The warrant is the second in this case. In May, Castro — who at the time of the incident was commander-in-chief of Cuba's armed forces — was charged by the US Department of Justice with murder and conspiracy to commit murder; the federal charges also include conspiracy to kill US citizens and destruction of aircraft. In March, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the start of a state-level investigation; the case was reopened at his direction last year, and the warrant was secured by the Office of Statewide Prosecution and investigators. Uthmeier announced the warrant on Monday at a press conference in Miami and wrote on X: 'Raul Castro ordered the premeditated, state-sanctioned murder of four Floridians in cold blood.' He pledged that Florida would continue to seek accountability for the victims. State authorities said the investigation will continue.

Context

The incident remains a source of tension between Washington and Havana. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the shootdown; calls for prosecution have sounded for decades. Raul Castro is the brother of the late Fidel Castro, who ruled the country for nearly 50 years and died in 2016. Raul Castro served as president of Cuba from 2008 to 2018, succeeding his brother, who temporarily handed him power in 2006 after a serious illness.