US Considers Indicting Raúl Castro for 1996 Shootdown

United States officials are considering a federal indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro for his alleged role in the 1996 shootdown of two civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The incident occurred on February 24, 1996, when Cuban Air Force MiG fighters downed two Cessna 337 planes over international waters in the Florida Strait, as determined by an International Civil Aviation Organization investigation. The attack killed four people: U.S. citizens Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales, and U.S. permanent resident Armando Alejandre. The planes were conducting search-and-rescue missions for Cuban rafters fleeing by sea and had previously dropped leaflets over Cuba. Cuba has maintained that the aircraft violated its airspace and posed a security risk, a claim rejected by U.S. authorities.

At the time, Castro, now 94, served as Cuba's minister of defense. Intercepted communications and other evidence have linked the order for the shootdown to senior Cuban military officials, sources said. Any federal charges would require grand jury approval, and the Justice...