The administration of US President Donald Trump has filed criminal charges against former Cuban leader Raul Castro over the shooting down of two civilian planes in 1996, killing four people.
In a speech at Miami’s Freedom Tower on Wednesday, Acting U.S. Attorney Todd Blanche said the indictment was a historic moment.
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“For the first time in nearly 70 years, senior leaders of the Cuban regime have been indicted in this country, in the United States, for acts of violence that resulted in the death of an American citizen,” Blanche said.
“We cannot allow a nation and its leaders to target and kill Americans and not hold them accountable.”
The criminal charges against Mr. Castro, a prominent figure in the Cuban Communist Party, and five co-defendants could further escalate tensions between Cuba and the United States.
Since returning to power for a second term, President Trump has tightened sanctions and imposed a de facto fuel blockade on the island in an effort to force a change in leadership in Havana.
“The United States will not tolerate a rogue nation conducting hostile foreign military, intelligence, or terrorist activities just 90 miles (145 kilometers) from our shores,” President Trump said Wednesday. “We will not rest until the Cuban people are free again.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American, released a video statement on X and addressed the Cuban people.
He blamed Cuba’s current economic and humanitarian problems on Cuba’s leadership, and reiterated that the US government had offered $100 million in humanitarian aid in exchange for reforms.
But Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the 1996 shootout was an act of “legitimate self-defense.”
He added that the United States is “well aware, based on abundant documentary evidence, that our actions were not reckless and did not violate international law.”
How do the indictments fit into U.S. strategy?
The case against Mr. Castro, 94, centers on the 1996 shooting down of two planes operated by the Cuban exile group Brothers to the Rescue.
But critics say the charges are part of a broader U.S. neo-colonial effort to tighten its grip on Cuba through sanctions, economic coercion and diplomatic isolation.
Since the 1960s, the United States has had one of the longest trade embargoes in modern history against Cuba.
But the economic strain increased further in January when President Trump cut off the exchange of funds and fuel between Venezuela and Cuba.
He then threatened to impose economic sanctions on countries that supplied fuel to Cuba, effectively cutting off the country’s foreign oil supplies.
Cuba’s aging infrastructure makes it highly dependent on oil imports, and the country has suffered nationwide power outages in the months since, exacerbating an already deep economic crisis.
Castro ended his term as president in 2018, but remains one of the most influential figures in Cuban politics, even after the death of his brother Fidel Castro in 2016.
The Castro brothers were leaders of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, which brought the island’s communist government to power.
Since the United States abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January and subsequently taken over Venezuela’s oil industry, the United States has renewed its focus on Cuba, pushing for regime change and economic reform.
President Trump also indicated that he was considering U.S. military action if his demands were not met.
But Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez struck a defiant tone earlier this month.
“Despite (US) embargoes, sanctions, and threats of military force, Cuba continues on its sovereign path toward socialist development,” Rodriguez said.
Who is Raul Castro?
Born in 1931, Raul Castro played a central role, along with his brother Fidel, in the U.S.-backed rebel movement that overthrew the repressive leader Fulgencio Batista.
He then helped repel the U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 and became one of the leaders of the Cuban revolution.
Castro served as Cuba’s defense minister from 1959 to 2008, making him one of the longest-serving defense ministers in the world. He was also a member of the Communist Party’s powerful Politburo from 1965 to 2021.
He succeeded Fidel Castro as president in 2008 and remained in office until 2018, but continued to wield significant influence behind the scenes even after leaving office.
During his presidency, Raul Castro oversaw a thaw in relations with Washington under former President Barack Obama.
“The American people are among our closest neighbors. We should respect each other. We have never harbored any animosity toward the American people. Good relations will be mutually beneficial. We probably won’t be able to solve all of our problems, but we will be able to solve a good portion of them,” Castro said in a 2008 interview.
In 2013, Mr. Castro and Mr. Obama shook hands at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service in Johannesburg. A year later, the two governments announced plans to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies after more than 50 years of hostility.
President Obama then visited Havana in 2016, becoming the first sitting US president to visit Cuba in 88 years.
However, relations deteriorated again during US President Donald Trump’s first term. In 2019, the US government imposed sanctions on Mr Castro and banned him from entering the US over Cuba’s support for the Maduro regime in Venezuela and allegations of human rights abuses.
What is Mr. Castro being charged with?
Kast is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit the murder of a US citizen, four counts of murder, and two counts of destroying an aircraft.
In 1996, the communist leader was defense minister when the Cuban government shot down two planes belonging to the Miami-based Cuban exile volunteer group Brothers to the Rescue.
Four people were killed: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales.
Brothers to the Rescue said it frequently searches the Florida Straits for Cuban migrants attempting to flee the island and frequently flies close to Cuban territory.
Cuba argued that the attacks on the aircraft were a legitimate response to repeated violations of its airspace. Fidel Castro said the military acted on “standing orders” to shoot down planes entering Cuban territory, but insisted Raul Castro had not personally ordered the attack.
The U.S. government condemned the attack and imposed sanctions, but stopped short of criminal charges against the Castro brothers. In 2003, the Justice Department indicted three Cuban military officers in the case, but none were extradited.
The International Civil Aviation Organization later concluded that the plane was shot down in international waters.
Critics, including Diaz-Canel, say the new indictments reflect a broader U.S. campaign against Cuba’s leadership.
“This is a political maneuver with no legal basis, and its sole purpose is to inflate the documents it is fabricating to justify the folly of its military invasion of Cuba,” Díaz-Canel wrote on Wednesday.
According to media reports, President Trump wants to remove Díaz-Canel as Cuba’s president and replace him with another leader.
The Trump administration has not identified a preferred candidate, but reports say it is in talks with Raul Castro’s grandson, Raul “Laurito” Rodríguez Castro, and his son, Alejandro Castro Espin.
But the charges could jeopardize further negotiations with Cuban officials.
How important is this move?
The charges against Raul Castro mirror previous U.S. criminal cases targeting foreign leaders like Maduro.
For example, in 2020, the Trump administration indicted President Maduro on charges of narcoterrorism and drug trafficking.
After launching a military raid on Caracas on January 3 to abduct President Maduro, the country updated its charges and characterized the operation as a necessary law enforcement action to bring the Venezuelan president to justice.
President Maduro is currently being held in New York and has pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and weapons possession.
President Trump has repeatedly accused the Cuban government of corruption and warned Havana that “Cuba is next” following military actions against Iran and Venezuela.
As such, Wednesday’s indictment has heightened speculation among critics that President Trump may be laying the groundwork for a similar operation to remove Cuba’s communist government from power.
However, Javier Farge, a journalist and historian specializing in Latin American issues, told Al Jazeera that he believes Washington’s strategy is more of a gradual political and economic transformation.
“I don’t think regime change is a priority for the United States. Look at what happened in Venezuela,” Farge said, pointing to how the United States removed Maduro while keeping the government largely intact.
Farge added that Trump’s tough words could be part of a negotiating strategy to extract concessions from the Cuban government.
“I think Mr. Trump and Mr. Rubio are playing good cop and bad guy. Mr. Rubio is more willing to negotiate and discuss issues,” he said. “There is pressure to release prisoners and open the economy for oil.”
Farge also pointed out the political risks of a military conflict with Cuba. Already, economic pressures on the island are prompting mass migration to the United States. The fighting could exacerbate the problem and undermine President Trump’s efforts to limit immigration to the United States.
“If Cuba were attacked, there would be a huge influx of refugees into the United States, and that’s not what President Trump wants,” Farge said.
While the Trump administration seeks to weaken Cuba’s government, it also seeks to strengthen the country’s private sector.
Farge explained that it is also a key consideration as the Trump administration plans its next actions.
Already, U.S. policy allows diesel exports to Cuba’s small private sector while maintaining restrictions on state-owned companies.
“I feel that Mr. Rubio’s idea is to create change within Cuba through the economy and to strengthen Cuba’s still small but increasingly influential private sector,” Farge said.
