Published October 19, 2026
The state of Florida in the southeastern United States has issued an arrest warrant for former Cuban leader Raul Castro (95).
The move comes as U.S. authorities ramp up pressure on the Havana government.
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State Attorney General James Usmeyer said Monday that the warrant is based on criminal charges related to Mr. Castro’s role in ordering the downing of two unarmed planes in 1996.
The plane belonged to Brothers to the Rescue, a Florida-based organization that helps Cubans fleeing the country. Four people were killed in the attack.
Mr. Castro is facing a state-level charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in Florida.
“Raul Castro ordered the murder of four cold-blooded Floridians, and Florida will never stop holding accountable communist plots,” Usmayer said in a news release.
He said the arrest warrant was necessary to ensure accountability for the lives lost. “Thirty years later, we are still fighting for justice for Carlos Costa, Pablo Morales, Mario de la Peña and Armando Alejandre Jr.”
The decision to shoot down two small twin-engine planes became a new source of controversy last year as Republican President Donald Trump seeks to oust Cuba’s communist leaders.
The attack occurred on February 24, 1996. U.S. authorities said the plane was flying in international waters and received no warning before being shot down.
Meanwhile, Cuban officials claim that an earlier Brothers to the Rescue flight violated Cuban airspace despite warnings to stay away.
Castro, now 95, was Cuba’s defense minister at the time of the attack. A key figure in Cuba’s Communist Party, he became the island’s president in 2008, replacing his brother, the late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.
Although Raul Castro retired from the presidency in 2018, he remains a powerful figure in Cuba’s government.
The Trump administration has indicated since the beginning of the year that it wants regime change in Cuba.
To bring about these changes, the administration tightened U.S. restrictions on the island, including imposing a de facto energy blockade in January.
Experts say the United States has threatened to impose heavy tariffs on countries that supply Cuba with oil, effectively banning fuel exports to the country.
The result is worsening conditions on the island and straining the country’s already weak electricity system, which relies heavily on fossil fuels. Only 40 percent of Cuba’s oil is produced domestically.
Additional sanctions were imposed on Cuba’s economy, restricting state-owned industries.
But in May, the Trump administration announced a superseding indictment that also targets Raul Castro in the 1996 downing of a plane.
Castro is charged with federal crimes, including conspiracy to murder American citizens, destroying an aircraft, and four counts of murder.
The Trump administration issued a statement Monday supporting Florida’s action against Castro.
“We are committed to pursuing all lawful and prosecutable avenues to hold accountable, including simultaneous federal and state prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Redding Quinones.
“Our historic federal indictment laid the foundation, and James (Usmayer) and his team took the important step of filing charges under Florida law.”
President Trump has previously used the indictment to justify military operations targeting government leaders at odds with the United States, including former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
