The United States is taking steps to indict Raúl Castro, 94, the former president of Cuba and Fidel’s brother, in connection with the downing of planes 30 years ago, according to American officials familiar with the matter.
The possible indictment – which would have to be approved by a grand jury – is expected to focus on the 1996 shooting down of planes in Cuba operated by the humanitarian group Brothers to the Rescue.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice declined to comment.
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The plan comes as the United States ramps up pressure on the Cuban government. The Trump administration has threatened huge tariffs on any country that exports oil to Cuba, resulting in lack of energy as oil exports are severely cut. President Trump is pushing for major reforms in Cuba and has reached out to a “friendly country” to take over the country.
Pressure on Cuba began to grow in January, after the American army ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from power and flew him to New York to face drug charges. Venezuela was an important ally of Cuba before the operation.
Raúl Castro officially dropped as the leader of the Communist Party of Cuba in 2021, but he is still widely seen as one of the most powerful people in the country. His grandson Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as “Raulito,” is considered the 94-year-old’s representative and an important point of contact between the US and Cuba.
Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe met with the younger Castro on Thursday, following the previous visit to the US last month. Ratcliffe personally delivered President Trump’s message that the US is “ready to engage in economic and security matters, but only if Cuba makes significant changes,” a CIA official said. The official added that Cuba “will no longer be a safe haven for enemies in the Western Hemisphere.”
Miami’s top prosecutor a few months ago led a new program against Cuban communist leaders. That initiative, involving state and local law enforcement and the US Treasury Department, is pursuing prosecutions involving economic crimes, narcotics, violent crimes and immigration-related violations, with a focus on targeting those in the leadership of the Communist Party, CBS News previously reported.
The incident that would eventually lead to Castro’s indictment dates back to February 1996, when two Cessnas operated by Brothers to Rescue – a group of exiles searching for Cubans who wanted to escape the island by raft – were shot down by a Cuban MiG-29 military aircraft, killing four people.
The report of the Organization of American States found that the planes were shot down outside of Cuban airspace, and alleged that Cuba violated international law by shooting without warning and without proof that it was necessary. The incident sparked outrage at the time, with President Bill Cinton condemning it in “strong terms.”
Cuban officials have denied that the shooting was legal, saying the group violated Cuban aviation and wanted to destroy infrastructure.
Fidel Castro told CBS Evening News anchor Dan. Instead, the Cuban military acted according to his “general orders” to stop the planes from entering the country. At the time of the Brothers to Rescue shooting, Fidel – who died in 2016 – was the country’s leader, Raúl leading the army.
One person, Gerardo Hernandez, was convicted in the US of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the incident, after prosecutors said he was part of a spy team that wanted to pass information about Brothers to the Rescue to Cuban intelligence. He was sentenced to life in prison, but was sent to Cuba in a prisoner exchange in 2014.
Earlier this year, Florida’s attorney general said at a press conference in March that he would reopen a closed state investigation into a similar plane crash in 1996.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott and other Florida lawyers also recently asked the Department of Justice to indict Castro and bring him to court in the United States.
In a social media post Thursday evening in response to a CBS News report, Gov. Florida’s Ron DeSantis wrote, “Let’s rip, it’s been a long time coming!”
