US Indicts Raul Castro for Murder of Four Americans in 1996 Shoot-Down

The United States Department of Justice has indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro on charges of murder related to the 1996 shoot-down of two civilian aircraft. The landmark legal action, announced alongside a direct video address to the Cuban people by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, represents a major escalation in Washington’s policy toward Havana. The 1996 Brothers to the Rescue Incident The indictment focuses on the February 24, 1996, destruction of two Cessna aircraft operated by "Brothers to the Rescue," a Miami-based organization that conducted search-and-rescue missions for Cuban migrants in the Florida Straits. Cuban MiG fighter jets shot down the unarmed planes over international waters, killing four individuals: Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales. Castro, who was Cuba’s Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces at the time of the attack, is accused of directly authorizing the lethal strike. U.S. prosecutors allege the former leader conspired to murder American citizens, a charge that has remained a point of diplomatic friction for 29 years. This is the first time a former Cuban head of state has been criminally charged…